Nina Stillman 

I have known Nina her whole life.  We grew up together and even went to law school together.  Nina has worked very hard for everything she has built in her law practice in Chicago.  She moved there without any connections, joined networking groups and hustled constantly to build her business.  She is a solo practitioner and all her clients depend on her alone.  She does not have backup or a support team. 
 
Not only is Nina a solo practitioner, she is a single woman, without the support system of her longtime family and friends, most of whom do not live in, or within commuting distance to Chicago in order to help her on the most difficult of days during her treatment and surgeries. 
 
I have watched her face her diagnosis and treatment with grace, grit and humility.  She is not the kind of person who typically would ask for help.  There are days when we speak (I do not live in Chicago so can’t be there, as I would be if we lived in the same town) that she is literally falling asleep as she tries to get some work done, or simply have a conversation. I am proud of her for reaching out for assistance from the foundation rather than trying to do this alone. 
 
Cancer is the first time I have ever seen Nina slow down.  She has overcome many obstacles in her life, all with the same grace and grit she fights this battle.  It would be amazing for her to receive some assistance so that she does not have to take any backward steps in order to support herself while fighting cancer.
 
Thank you for the wonderful work of the foundation and the opportunity to speak on behalf of Nina, a deserving candidate who has always done for others through volunteering and donation.  Now, I hope, is a time when someone else will get the chance to help her.
 
Warm regards,
Susan Krelitz