Caryn Berman

Caryn Bermanwas a Chicago-based social worker.

Biography

Caryn was born inRosedale, Queensto Paul and Rachel Berman. She was the wife for 36 years of Laura Cuzzillo.Berman and Cuzillo married May 22, 2010, inDes Moines, Iowa.

While attendingSUNY Stony brook,Berman worked for theCenters for Disease Control and Preventiongetting transferred in 1976 toChicago.While there, she ended up getting her master's degree from theUniversity of Chicago School of Social Service Administrationin 1980.

She died September 1, 2014,after a five-year battle withovarian cancerat the age of 61.

Career

Motivated by the 1985 neath of a friend fromHIV/AIDS,Berman became an AIDS educator, policymaker and service provider atCenter on Halsted(formerly known as Horizons Community Services),Heartland Alliance,and theAIDS Foundation of Chicago.

While working as a clinical social worker atEvanston Hospital,Berman “developed a groundbreaking sex-education program for persons with chronic mental illness” before going into private psychotherapy practice, part time.

At theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago,she was the Illinois program director of the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center, training more than 25,000 health care professionals.

Legacy

In 1995, Berman was inducted into theChicago LGBT Hall of Fame.