Meet Our Chairs

Ally Vertigan (she/her) is the Association of Professional Chaplains board-certified chaplain on RUSH MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Supportive Oncology team, providing spiritual & emotional support to patients, families, and staff. She completed her Master of Divinity at Pacific School of Religion, followed by chaplaincy training with Alexian Brothers Housing & Health Alliance and Rush University Medical Center. Prior to joining Rush's Cancer Center, Ally served Rush Oak Park Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her work with patients, Ally accompanies people of all spiritual & religious traditions- and people who don’t call themselves religious- as they integrate their health experiences into their broader life story.  Ally brings this approach to the wellness-focused care she regularly provides for nursing and other clinical staff. She brings a research-informed approach to spiritual care, having completed Transforming Chaplaincy's Summer Research Institute in 2025. Ally is passionate about bereavement support for loved ones and oncology staff, successfully implementing routine grief support, bereavement programming, and staff education as part of Rush's holistic approach to cancer care. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. 

Veronica B. Decker, director of the Nurse Executive DNP program, has more than four decades of healthcare experience – three of them in appointed leadership, executive and research roles. Her research interests are in organizational management and patient care practices, including clinical, psychological and social, to improve outcomes and treatment for patients with cancer. Most recently, she is conducting research with community-dwelling older adults with depression, using an interprofessional collaborative approach inclusive of spirituality. In 2016, her DNP project, “An Automated and Tailored Intervention to Mitigate Distress in Cancer Patients,” was selected as one of the five best clinical interventions at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society. Decker has nearly 25 years of experience in cancer care and treatment. In 1984, she founded Cancer Counseling and over 15 years, advised more than 1,000 cancer patients using cognitive, behavioral and educational approaches. She is also the author of the inspirational book Coping with Cancer: A Patient Pocket Book of Thoughts, Advice and Inspiration for the Ill.