Principled Advocacy For Families And Individuals With Disabilities And The Professionals Who Serve Them
Biography
Ms. Berk worked for over 28 years for the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office. Ms. Berk started her career with the Public Guardian in 1994, serving as attorney and guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children in the Juvenile Division. Ms. Berk transferred to the Adult Guardianship Division in 1999, initially as a staff attorney and then as supervising attorney and director of training, and finally as assistant director of intake. Ms. Berk has been a tireless and zealous advocate for both child clients and adults under guardianship and served as a teacher and mentor for dozens of attorneys at the Public Guardian’s Office. Ms. Berk has handled hundreds of guardianship petitions, litigated dozens of contested hearings, and has managed the estates of hundreds of adults with disabilities.
Ms. Berk has coordinated over one hundred training courses for the Public Guardian’s Adult Guardianship Division, including CLE and non-CLE, and has provided numerous trainings and presentations on advance directives, powers of attorney, and duties of estate guardians.
Ms. Berk served as a delegate to the Chicago Social Service Exchange in Shanghai, China, in October of 2019, on behalf of the Public Guardian.
Ms. Berk attended Northwestern University, where she majored in Hispanic Studies and spent her junior year studying at the University of Sevilla in Spain. After taking a one-year hiatus to return to Sevilla and teach English, Ms. Berk received her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, where she graduated in the top 15% of her class and honed her skills for public interest work.