Crain's Names David Gomel, '94, a Notable Leader in Healthcare
By Lia Kizilbash Gillet

David Gomel, 94, CEO of Rosecrance Behavioral Health, was recently named a Crain's Chicago Business noteable leader in healthcare. (Photo credit: Dave Gomel)

David Gomel, ’94, has spent more than three decades building a career in behavioral healthcare, rising to CEO of Rosecrance Behavioral Health and earning recognition this year as a Crain’s Chicago Business notable leader in healthcare.
 

Under his leadership, the organization expanded by 50% while maintaining an exceptional satisfaction score of 93%. 

“I work hard for our team members and clients, so it was meaningful to have that work recognized,” Gomel said. “But the people who truly deserve recognition are those who relentlessly serve our clients and communities every day.”

The recognition marks a milestone in a journey that nearly took a very different turn.
 

While Gomel was at Evanston Township High School, colleges regularly set up recruiting tables in the hallways. Students who stopped to talk to a recruiter could receive a pass to excuse a late arrival to class. Running behind one day, Gomel, who had already secured an apprenticeship as a mechanic, stopped at the NIU table hoping to secure a tardy pass. 

Instead, it changed the course of his life.

At the time, college felt far beyond reach. Raised by a single mother in a financially struggling household, Gomel began working at the age of 15 just to get by. By his senior year, he was working at the Evanston YMCA while also working at a service station, changing oil, pumping gas and doing minor mechanical work. He loved working on cars and had begun mapping out a future in the automotive industry.

Gomel's father, who lived with a serious mental illness, was not part of his life. The impact of mental illness, however, would later shape his personal journey and professional calling. 

When Gomel explained that he probably wasn’t college-bound, the recruiter listened and encouraged him to explore NIU’s CHANCE Program, which provides personalized academic, financial, social and organizational support to students admitted through NIU’s holistic admissions process. The recruiter explained that financial aid could make college possible.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” Gomel said. “I filled out the NIU application and even walked into a local bank to ask for help with student loans.”

That conversation earned him more than a tardy pass. It led him an opportunity. He was accepted into NIU and the CHANCE Program, where he found far more than financial assistance.

“The CHANCE Program taught me how to be a college student through tutoring, weekly check-ins and help with foundational courses such as algebra, biology and mathematics,” Gomel said. “The first few semesters were difficult, but once I learned how to learn, I began to do very well academically.”

Gomel ultimately chose psychology as his major. 

“It connected my lived experience, my interest in people and my growing desire to help others,” he said.

Along the way, he found mentors who further shaped his path, including Gary Coover, Ph.D., then chair of NIU’s Psychology Department.

“He took me under his wing,” Gomel said of Coover. “Dr. David Ballantine in the chemistry department was also an important mentor, and Ken Mundy, who led NIU’s payroll, became like family. Until the day he passed away, my children called him ‘Papa Ken.’”

Without NIU, Gomel believes he would now be turning wrenches instead of leading a top behavioral health organization in the Midwest. 

“The CHANCE Program and the mentors invested in me,” he said. “NIU gave me an opportunity and a community that believed I could succeed before I fully believed it myself.” 

NIU also introduced Gomel to another life-changing opportunity: his wife, Jennifer, ’94, whom he met while attending NIU.

“I proposed to her on the bridge by the East Lagoon. Thirty-one years and three adult children later, asking her to marry me remains the best decision of my life,” he said. “Today, we still attend Huskie football games and support NIU through donations to the NIU Foundation.”

Before his senior year at NIU, Gomel accepted an entry-level position at Rosecrance in Rockford. It paid $8 an hour and included health insurance. He quickly fell in love with the Rosecrance mission and worked there full-time while finishing his bachelor’s degree. 

Over the next three decades, he served in nearly every level of the organization, including as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, before being named Chief Executive Officer in 2021. While building his career, he continued his education, earning an M.S. in health services administration from the University of St. Francis and a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Walden University.

Gomel’s connection to behavioral health is deeply personal. At 55, he continues to live with mental illness himself, an experience he says has made him a more compassionate leader.

“I received access to care that helped save my life,” he said. “Others deserve that same opportunity, and the necessary resources must be available when they reach out for help."

Rosecrance has more than 70 locations in four states, and Gomel is proud to work alongside its 1,600 passionate team members who serve approximately 77,000 people each year.

“I am not being modest when I say this success is the work of an exceptional team,” he said. “No single leader could accomplish it. My role is to create an environment where talented people can do their best work, remove barriers when I can, and help tell their story. Our high satisfaction scores among clients, referral partners, and team members reflect the compassion and excellence our staff delivers every day.”

While deeply committed to his work, Gomel is careful not to let it define him.

“I am also a devoted husband and father, a coach, a community leader, a philanthropist and a volunteer,” he said.

The teenager who once envisioned his future under the hood of a car could not have predicted that a conversation with an NIU recruiter would change the course of his life.

“Never let your starting point determine your destination,” Gomel said. “Sometimes all it takes is one person who believes in you, an open door and the willingness to keep moving forward.”

At NIU, the journey is more than academic, it's transformational. Learn more at NIUForward.com.