Tracey Ladner was a La Rabida patient back in the 1970s. She was treated for symptoms doctors initially thought were associated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. When she was a little girl, her hands would swell up so badly she couldn’t even open them, she remembers.

 “There have been seminal points in my life that have shaped my outlook on life and La Rabida was one of the first ones,” she says.

“What I learned from La Rabida is that just because you’re sick, just because there’s something wrong with you, doesn’t mean that you can’t live a full life.”

And that’s exactly what Tracey did. 

After graduating from Lindbloom High School, she would go on to attend the University of Illinois. She’d become an officer in the U.S. Navy and after graduating from law school, she’d become a Judge Advocate General’s Corp (JAG) prosecutor.

“I can’t tell you how many times in my life I’ve been the only black, the only woman, the only black woman in the room,” she says. “The key thing is, whatever’s going on around you, you can’t let it affect you, your career and your decisions.”

As the Director of Human Resources for the Chicago Police Department she was instrumental in the way the city enforced the Shakman decree, which banned political considerations in hiring and firing.

“It’s very fulfilling to see something that’s wrong, and being able to change it,” she says.

In her retirement now, she says she chooses to give her time and resources strategically. La Rabida is at the top her of list.

“It’s not like I give a ton of money, but I think it’s important that you reach back and help those who helped you.”

“It’s one thing to give to the American Cancer Society or the American Lung Association. Whether I give to them or not they’re going to keep going,” she says.

“But smaller organizations that have very specific needs are the ones that I choose to support, like La Rabida. I’ve always respected the fact that La Rabida never turned anybody away.”