TEAM CHICAGO
Members

Edie Chan, MD

Edie is general and transplant surgeon practicing in Chicago who is thrilled to be involved in Operation International.  In her spare time, she considers herself a “foodie”, loves traveling and practicing yoga.

Ami Shah, MD

Ami Shah is a board certified pediatric and general surgeon at Rush University. She completed her general surgery training at University of Illinois at Chicago and Pediatric Surgery Fellowship at the University of Florida.  She is excited to be part of Operation International and spends her free time with 2 children and husband. 

Ali Shah, MD

Ali is a general surgeon practicing in northern California.  In his spare time, he continues to adopt and find more dogs to add to his home with his wife.

Jason Cacioppo  MD

Jason is board certified plastic surgeon who practices in Indiana.  In his spare time, he enjoys flying planes, playing hockey and spending time with his wife and kids. 

Ben Johnson, MD

Ben is an anesthesiologist with a fellowship in regional anesthesia. He is part of the Global Health Program of McGaw Medical Center at Northwestern University and has been involved in global health work since 2010. In his spare time, Ben enjoys rock climbing, cycling, and mixology.

Anjali Dogra, MD

Anjali is an anesthesiologist and intensivist in New York City. In her free time, she enjoys travel, musical theater, board games, and DIY 

Jennifer Walton BSN, RN, CNOR

Jenny has been an operating room nurse for fifteen years specializing in open heart surgeries within the pediatric and adult population as well as all other surgical specialties. I’m passionate about mission work and helping those in need. When not working I enjoy spending time with my husband James, son Christopher and daughters Abigail, Magdalyne and Elena.

Tanya Kidandi, MSN, AGNP-C

Tanya Kidandi is a Nurse Practitioner at Rush University Medical Center.  She completed her graduate nursing degree from Marquette University and undergraduate nursing degree from University of Wisconsin. Tanya is currently pursuing a Certificate in Public Health from Loyola University. She is passionate about providing comprehensive care to vulnerable patient populations. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family. ​

Sara White, CRNA

Sara White is a CRNA from Fort Worth, TX, on the adult cardiac, transplant, and ERAS teams. Sara enjoys participating in yearly mission trips and looks forward to serving in Uganda.

Alyssa Smith, RN

I’m an OR nurse originally from Minnesota, but currently living in Sicily with my partner and our 3 dogs. In addition to my passion of serving others in need around the world, I also enjoy snowboarding, skydiving, and of course, my Jeep! 

Emily Krumme RN

My name is Emily Krumme and I am a graduate of the Indiana University School of Nursing. I have been an ICU nurse for 6 years in many different care areas. I moved to Chicago a few years ago as a travel/agency nurse and found my latest permanent work home at Rush Medical Center!  

Angelika Diraduryan, RN

Hi! My name is Angelika Diraduryan. I have been an ICU nurse for over 4 years and currently work in the SICU/CVT-ICU. I am also enrolled in the FNP program. I have three dogs and on my free time I enjoy going on runs. My favorite shows include Parks and Rec, Always Sunny, and BBC’s Sherlock. Go Cubs! 

Stephanie Walsh, RN

My name is Stephanie Walsh. I am the proud mother of 3 boys(25,15,&13)and married to my soulmate Brian. I have been in the operating room since 1999. This is been a dream of mine to be a part of a mission trip!! I feel very blessed to be part of this team!

Smiles, Stef

Demetrius Iverson, cst

Demetrius Iverson CST

Demetrius has been a surgical technician for 15 years in the hospital setting.  He is an active member of CST in the National board of Surgical  Technologist and Surgical  Assisting and he is known for his attentive attention to detail, his keen understanding of  Interactive strategies, and his knack for cutting to the chase and getting things done with a smile. 

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Primitivo Garcia, CST

Primitivo has 21 years of experience as a surgical technician at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital in Chicago. He served 8 years in the U.S. Navy as a corpsman including one year in Germany at Ramstein Hospital. He has volunteered on multiple missions trips: 4 to Honduras, 3 to Colombia and once to Peru.

Karolina grauslyte, rn

Karolina has been in the medical field for over 16 years started working as a Medical Assistant in the Ophthalmologist office. After awhile I joined Lurie Children’s Hospital working as a Surgical Technician, then finished nursing school and now I have been working as an Operating room nurse. I am a multilingual speaker. During my free time I enjoy traveling and learning about new cultures.