MHA - Key Persons


Adam J. Delmolino

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Virtual Care and Clinical Affairs
Adam Delmolino leads MHA initiatives regarding telehealth, including convening tMED, the Massachusetts Telemedicine Coalition. Adam's responsibilities also involve post-acute care and care transitions, case management, rural healthcare, pharmaceutical innovations, climate change, and energy issues. Previously, he served as MHA's Director of State Government Advocacy where he worked on legislative and regulatory efforts on behalf of hospitals and patients with a particular emphasis on telehealth, healthcare payment reform, pharmacy practices, and nursing issues. Prior to MHA, Adam worked in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as Research Analyst for the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies and as staff director for the Assistant Vice-Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee. Adam received his BA in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross and is a graduate of the Harvard University Extension School, where he received a graduate Certificate in Management. He serves on the Arlington Library Board of Trustees and the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress Government Affairs Committee.

Aimee B. Brewer - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President

Alex Levie

Job Titles:
  • S Senior Manager of Regulatory Policy
  • Senior Manager, Regulatory Policy
As MHA's Senior Manager of Regulatory Policy, Alex Levie focuses on substance use, behavioral health, and other public health policy initiatives. Prior to joining the association, Alex was a Project Manager at Johns Hopkins Home Care Group and Brigham and Women's Quality and Safety teams. She was drawn to the field of public health after working as a Community Health Worker for three years in California and Boston. Alex holds an MPH with concentrations in Health Policy & Law and Healthcare Management from the Boston University School of Public Health. She attended University of Massachusetts Amherst Commonwealth Honors College where she earned a BS in Public Health, and studied and volunteered in Cape Town, South Africa for six months. Alex is passionate about ensuring equitable healthcare access and operationalizing policy initiatives in healthcare delivery settings.

Allie Cataldo

Job Titles:
  • Manager, State Government Affairs

Amy Smalarz

Job Titles:
  • Director of Healthcare Education & Professional Development

Anne Klibanski

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • SECRETARY
  • President and Chief Executive Officer of Mass General Brigham
Anne Klibanski, MD, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mass General Brigham, a Boston-based integrated healthcare system that includes internationally known Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, nationally recognized specialty hospitals, including Mass Eye and Ear, McLean, and Spaulding Rehabilitation, seven community hospitals, a health insurance company, physician networks, community health centers, home- based care, and long-term care services. Appointed to her role as President and CEO in 2019, Dr. Klibanski's vision for Mass General Brigham is to build the integrated academic health care system of the future with patients at the center, by transforming care, improving outcomes, and expanding impact locally, nationally, and globally. As the largest private employer in Massachusetts with 82,000 employees and annual revenue of $16 billion, the non-profit healthcare system is the nation's leading recipient of National Institutes of Health funding and is a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, establishing its position as a national leader in medical research and teaching. Dr. Klibanski has led clinical integration of services across Mass General Brigham and is responsible for the development of new digital platforms to achieve digital care, including virtual urgent care, to make it easier for patients to access the system's world-class care. She has overseen increased investment in leading-edge research that has the potential to revolutionize treatments, such as gene and cell therapy, leveraging the system's $2.3 billion in annual research funding. The system's innovation team has created more than 300 companies that are making broad impacts on human health, in various spaces - from therapeutics to diagnostics and research. Under Dr. Klibanski's leadership, Mass General Brigham has also committed significant resources to community health, with a particular investment in mental health programs. She has established "United Against Racism," a long-term multi-year commitment to address the impacts that racism has on Mass General Brigham patients, employees, and the broader community. Dr. Klibanski served as the healthcare system's Chief Academic Officer from 2012 to 2019 and as Chief of Neuroendocrine at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is recognized internationally for her high-impact research in neuroendocrine disorders and pituitary tumors. Dr. Klibanski received her B.A., magna cum laude in literature from Barnard College and her M.D. from New York University Medical Center. She is the Laurie Carrol Guthart Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Anu Puri - Chief Data Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Data Officer
  • Executive Director
Anu Puri oversees MHA's data and analytics projects in a range of financial, operational, clinical, policy, and advocacy issues in support of MHA member priorities. She assists MHA and its members in strategy development on health policy issues, including payment and delivery system reform; healthcare cost and performance trends; impact modeling of reimbursement policy, legislative proposals, and Medicare quality-based payment reform initiatives. She also serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium. Anu has more than 19 years of experience in the healthcare finance, data analysis and policy arena. She earned her M.D. from King George's Medical College in Lucknow, India, and her MPH from Harvard University.

Assaad J. Sayah

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • Chief Executive Officer / Cambridge Health Alliance

Caitlin Flynn

Job Titles:
  • PR & Communications Manager
  • S PR & Communications Manager
Caitlin Flynn, MHA's PR & Communications Manager, helps devise and execute the association's communications strategy. In her role, she promotes the work of MHA and its members, particularly in relation to education, advocacy, and public health. She helps oversee MHA's digital media presence and creative content creation. Caitlin comes to MHA from DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson company, where she coordinated a variety of social media and communications initiatives for the professional education division. In the past, she worked with organizations like the Betsy Lehman Center and the Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs. She holds a BA from Skidmore College, a graduate certificate from UMass Boston's McCormack School of Public Policy, and a MSc. in Health Communication from Tufts University School of Medicine.

Carolyn B. Jackson

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • Chief Executive Officer / Saint Vincent Hospital

Chioma Ezuma-Ngwu

Job Titles:
  • Health Equity Program Specialist

Christine C. Schuster - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Executive Committee
Christine Schuster has more than 25 years of health care experience. Prior to joining Emerson Health as President & CEO in 2005, she served as President and CEO of Quincy Medical Center and previously Athol Memorial Hospital. She also served as COO of the Tenet Saint Vincent Healthcare System, Extended Care Division, and Critical Care Director at New England Deaconess Hospital. She also worked as a healthcare consultant with Coopers & Lybrand. Ms. Schuster received her MBA, with honors, from the University of Chicago Booth Business School and a BS in Nursing from Boston University. She currently serves as Chairman of the MA Value Alliance, a leading supply purchasing consortium, Chairman of the MA Council of Community Hospitals, and a Board member of the MA Chapter of the ACHE and the MHA. Ms. Schuster serves on the Advisory Council of the Health Policy Commission and the Advisory Board of the Suffolk University MHA Program. She is also a Corporator for Middlesex Bank. She currently serves on the MHA Executive Committee and the Finance and Political Action Committees. Schuster received the 2008 Maynard Elks Distinguished Citizenship Award and the 2011 Concord Chamber of Commerce Businessperson of the Year Award. She received the Prescription for Excellence Award from the Mass Medical Health Law Report. She is a four-time recipient of the American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Award. Ms. Schuster was named to the Commonwealth Institute's 2017-2020 Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in MA List. Early in her career she was recognized by Modern Healthcare Magazine and Witt Kieffer Associates as one of their Up and Comer Award recipients.

Cooley Dickinson - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President
  • Health Care

Cynthia M. Page - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • Chief Executive Officer / Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Braintree

Daniel J. McHale

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Healthcare Finance & Policy

Darlene M. Rodowicz - CEO, Chairman, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President

David Sacco

Job Titles:
  • Finance
  • Staff Accountant

Debbie Ryan

Job Titles:
  • Project Coordinator
  • Senior Administrative Assistant

Deborah Bitsoli

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President / Mercy Medical Center

Emily Dulong

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Government Advocacy & Public Policy
Emily Dulong has been with MHA since January 2018 and oversees state and federal policy efforts that affect MHA's member hospitals and the health of the patients and communities they serve. Previously, Emily spent three years as the Director of Operations for the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals. Prior to her work in the healthcare non-profit sector, she was a legislative staffer with Representative Steve Walsh and the Massachusetts House of Representatives Committee on Health Care Financing. She served as Legislative Director during the passage of Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012, the healthcare payment reform law, and as Chief of Staff during the commonwealth's implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Emily is a native and resident of Lynn and a graduate of Bridgewater State College and the University of Massachusetts Boston McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies. She is a 2018 fellow of the Massachusetts Health Leadership College, a longtime middle school mentor with Girls Inc. of Lynn, and a member of the Alumni and Friends of Lynn Classical High School and the JFK Library New Frontier Network.

Eric W. Dickson - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President
Eric Dickson, MD, is President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health, the largest not-for-profit health care system in central Massachusetts with $3.3 billion in annual revenue, 1,700 physicians and more than 16,500 employees. The system includes three owned hospitals on eight campuses with more than 1,000 licensed beds; four affiliated hospitals; 70 office-based community practices; a behavioral health services agency and hospital; six urgent care centers; and an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). UMass Memorial trains 650 residents and fellows annually and performs world-class research in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Dickson also serves as a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Prior to being named President and CEO of the health care system, Dr. Dickson served as President of the UMass Memorial Medical Group and senior associate dean at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The UMass Memorial Medical Group is a subsidiary of UMass Memorial Health Care and is a 1,100-physician, 1,100-employee multidisciplinary medical group with revenues of over $535 million. He served as the head of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and interim chief operating officer for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Dickson completed his medical degree and residency training in emergency medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and has a master's degree in Health Care Management from Harvard University. Dr. Dickson has served as a member of the Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners, lectures nationally on the use of the Toyota Production System in health care and is an active faculty member for the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, where he works with health systems around the world to reduce health care costs while improving quality. Dr. Dickson is the incoming Board Chair for America's Essential Hospitals, which is the national association for safety net hospitals.

Gloria Clough - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board
  • Chairman of the Executive Committee

Isabelle (Izzy) Lopes

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Health Equity
Isabelle (Izzy) Lopes, MSW, MPH is MHA's Vice President of Health Equity. She leads the association's health equity agenda, cultivating meaningful collaborations with MHA members and partners. Izzy has 15 years of experience in the healthcare sector and has developed effective initiatives for municipal and state public health entities. She has worked for prominent hospital systems in Massachusetts to address health inequities and to improve patient experience of care. She has demonstrated experience in areas such as quality improvement, operational process improvement, and community mobilization and engagement. Izzy is unwavering in her commitment to the promotion of health equity and care access for communities of color. Izzy received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Connecticut and her MSW and MPH from Boston University. She currently sits on the board of directors for the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

James A. Vahey - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • S Chief Financial Officer
Jim Vahey is MHA's Chief Financial Officer, directing all internal financial matters of the association, including accounting practices, internal controls, budgeting, and monitoring of financial performance. He has more than 30 years in accounting and finance, including as a senior manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Previously he served as Controller at MHA. Jim is a certified public accountant. Jim has his BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Janine McWilliams

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Employee Benefits

John LoDico

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Communications
John LoDico is responsible for the association's written outreach to its memberships and the public. John strategizes on messaging, writes and/or edits MHA's regular and ad hoc publications and education materials, and contributes web content. He has written op-eds, speeches, correspondence, and articles for MHA leadership and its membership. John writes the association's Monday Report newsletter and is also responsible for contracting with outside graphic designers when needed. Before joining MHA, John was the senior development writer for Tufts University's $600 million capital campaign and wrote speeches for the university's president. He has served as press secretary in political campaigns, and was a reporter for newspapers on Cape Cod and for a trade magazine in Washington, D.C. He has a BA degree in English Literature from George Washington University.

John Papanastasiou

Job Titles:
  • Account Executive, Property & Casualty

Joseph R. Betancourt - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President / the Commonwealth Fund

Karen Granoff

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Managed Care Policy
Karen Granoff is responsible for policy development in the areas of managed care and insurance markets, developing and maintaining working relationships with key staff at the health plans and member hospitals and health systems, advocating for and educating MHA members, and leading initiatives between member hospitals and health plans toward administrative simplification. Her role also includes direct advocacy on behalf of hospitals with regulatory agencies such as the Division of Insurance, the Center for Information Analysis, and the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission on matters of insurance, health care reform, and managed care policy. Prior to joining MHA in 2007, Karen was the first director of the Office of Patient Protection at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. This role included regulating and monitoring the appeals and grievance processes of commercial health plans, administering the external appeal process, and working with consumers and providers to address coverage issues and denials of care by managed care organizations. Karen also has extensive experience working for health plans in the areas of healthcare policy, provider relations, member services, and member appeals. She has an MBA with a concentration in health care management from Boston University and a BA in economics from Brandeis University.

Kevin B. Churchwell

Job Titles:
  • IMMEDIATE past CHAIR
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • Member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, a Board
  • President and Chief Executive Officer of Boston Children 's Hospital
Kevin B. Churchwell, MD, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Boston Children's Hospital, providing leadership, vision, and oversight for a team that's dedicated to improving and advancing child health through their life-changing work in clinical care, research and innovation, medical education, and community engagement. Since joining Boston Children's as its Executive Vice President of Health Affairs Chief Operating Officer in 2013, Dr. Churchwell has been instrumental in leading the hospital's work to become a High Reliability Organization, one where zero avoidable harm impacts any patient, family member, or employee. He has brought to Boston the same passion for enhancing the patient family experience that defined his tenure as CEO of both Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, part of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. An advocate for equity, diversity and inclusivity, Dr. Churchwell is responsible for establishing three of the 11 Offices of Health Equity and Inclusion at hospitals across the U.S. and Canada, including the Office at Boston Children's, which he founded in 2016. With the publication of Boston Children's own Declaration for Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity in 2020, Dr. Churchwell has committed to the work required to make Boston Children's a community that's made stronger by our differences, and a leader in equity for all. A graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, Dr. Churchwell completed his pediatric residency and a clinical fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care at Boston Children's Hospital. He is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatric Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Dr. Churchwell is the Robert and Dana Smith Associate Professor of Anesthesia at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Churchwell is a member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, a board member of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, MIT Corporation, the Whitehead Institute, Advisory Board for The Boston University School of Public Health and the Boys and Girls Club of Boston.

Kevin Tabb

Job Titles:
  • Chairman - ELECT
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Lahey Health
Kevin Tabb, MD, serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Lahey Health and is an ex officio member of its Board of Trustees. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH), Dr. Tabb is responsible for leading a pioneering integrated health care system offering a full continuum of health care services, ranging from hospital to ambulatory to urgent to behavioral health care. Beth Israel Lahey Health was created as a transformational approach to health care delivery in the Commonwealth-its unique structure designed to advance meaningful collaboration across organizations, care settings, specialties and geographies to ensure patients receive the treatment they need in the communities where they live and work. Dr. Tabb was previously the Chief Executive Officer of the Beth Israel Deaconess system and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Before joining Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Tabb was Chief Medical Officer at Stanford Hospital & Clinics in Stanford, California. There, he had broad strategic and operational responsibilities, which included physician network strategy, clinical quality and patient safety initiatives, regulatory and medical staff affairs, and graduate and continuing medical education. He was previously Chief Quality and Medical Information Officer at Stanford. Prior to joining Stanford, Dr. Tabb led the Clinical Data Service Division of GE Healthcare IT. Raised in Berkeley, California, Dr. Tabb emigrated to Israel at the age of 18 and served in the Israel Defense Forces, the country's military service. He received his undergraduate degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his medical degree from the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School. Dr. Tabb completed his residency in internal medicine at Hadassah Hospital.

Kimberly Stevenson

Job Titles:
  • Director, Workforce and Clinical Affairs

Laurie H. Glimcher

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President & CEO / Dana - Farber Cancer Institute

Laurie Snelson

Job Titles:
  • Senior Manager, Events & Conference Center

Leanne Banks

Job Titles:
  • Project Coordinator
  • Senior Administrative Assistant

Leigh Simons

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director, Healthcare Policy / Communications

Linda Alexson

Job Titles:
  • Senior Administrative Assistant
Linda Alexson supports MHA's Government Advocacy, Healthcare Finance and Policy teams. Prior to joining MHA, Linda spent more than 20 years as a legal assistant in the corporate law department of a Boston law firm. Linda holds an Associate's Degree in Paralegal Studies from North Shore Community College. She is very active in her local community, serving on several municipal boards and committees, including as a member of the Select Board.

Lynnette M. Watkins - CEO, Chairman, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President

Martha McDonald

Job Titles:
  • Human Resources Manager
Martha McDonald oversees all aspects of the human resources function for MHA staff, including recruitment, employee benefits administration, employee relations, federal and state compliance, and HR administration. Prior to joining MHA in 2018, Martha had extensive experience in finance and HR in both large and small companies in the aerospace and manufacturing industries. Martha received her BS in Accounting from the University of Kentucky and her MBA from Northeastern University. She is also a Certified Compensation Professional and is Six Sigma Certified.

Mary K. Moscato

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President, HSL Healthcare Srvcs. & HRC / Hebrew Rehabilitation Center

Maybelle S. Chhav

Job Titles:
  • Senior Administrative Assistant

Michael J. Dandorph - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President

Michael K. Lauf - Treasurer

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • TREASURER
Michael K. Lauf, M.B.A., has served since December of 2010 as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cape Cod Healthcare, a regional health system with more than 450 physicians and 5,300 employees which is comprised of two-acute care hospitals, the largest home health services agency on the Cape (VNA), a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, an assisted living facility and numerous health programs. Lauf served as the Cape Cod Healthcare system's Chief Operating Officer from 2008-2010. He was promoted to President of Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital in 2010, before being appointed to his current position as President and CEO of the system. During his tenure, CCHC has made great strides in operational and financial performance, while also developing a strong strategy focused on quality, service, access, and process improvement. Prior to joining CCHC, Lauf served as Chief Operating Officer of Bristol Medical Center, a 348-bed hospital in Bristol, Tennessee, part of the Wellmont Healthcare System. At Bristol, Lauf developed a hospital performance scorecard and cultivated service improvement goals among employees that have resulted in dramatically higher patient and physician satisfaction scores. From 1999 to 2006, he held a variety of positions for Conemaugh Health System in Pennsylvania, including President and CEO of one of Conemaugh's hospitals, Miners Medical Center. From 1994 to 1999, he worked on the staff of U.S. Representative John P. Murtha, most recently as Rep. Murtha's Director of Community and Economic Development. Lauf earned his MBA from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania and his BA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Michael P. Rowan

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • EVP, Hospital & Ambulatory Services

Michael Sroczynski

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Senior Leadership Team
  • S Senior Vice President
  • Senior Vice President, Government Advocacy & General Counsel
Mike Sroczynski is MHA's Senior Vice President, Government Advocacy and General Counsel. He is responsible for the strategic direction and management of MHA's lobbying, policy development, and legal affairs. On behalf of the organization, he is an active participant in numerous business, healthcare, and advocacy coalitions. Mike has been a leading advocate for the hospital community for two decades. Prior to joining MHA, he served as legislative counsel in the Massachusetts State Senate. He serves on the board of directors for the Professional Liability Foundation, the Vision Coalition Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. He also serves on the advisory committee of the Massachusetts Health Council and is a past president of the organization. He is a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law and the Whitman School of Business at Syracuse University.

Nancy W. Gaden

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee

Nick DiGangi

Job Titles:
  • Operations & Office Services Associate, Event Producer

Patricia Cheever

Job Titles:
  • Account Specialist
Patti is a resourceful client advocate and brings 20+ years of administrative customer service expertise to our team. Patti's diverse background and broad skill set is the foundation of our growing organization. Patti's current role includes account management, complex plan administration workflow, technical support using in-house proprietary software and supporting our sales team with vendor management, proposal prep and various mission-critical responsibilities. Patti is a "go to" resource for our team. Patti provides superior customer service to our clients and continually fosters long-term business relationships with peers, colleagues and insurance carriers.

Patricia M. Noga

Patricia Noga provides strategic direction and leadership to MHA, its hospitals and health systems and key stakeholders for a variety of programs and activities related to clinical issues, healthcare quality, patient safety, the healthcare workforce, and emergency preparedness. She leads the evolution of the acclaimed quality and safety initiative, PatientCareLink, transforming the site into a dynamic and transparent resource tool for consumers, providers and others. She leads MHA's Healthcare Safety & Violence Prevention Workgroup as well as MHA's Caring for the Caregiver initiative, with the mission of acknowledging the valued contributions of hospital staff and supporting them with resources to enhance their wellbeing and the safety of their work environment. Pat served as the state lead in implementation of the national quality improvement collaborative Hospital Improvement Innovation Network. She currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UMass Boston and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Pat received her Associate in Liberal Arts degree from Elmira College and her BS in Nursing from Skidmore College. She received her MBA Suffolk University and her doctoral degree in health policy from the University of Massachusetts.

Peter J. Healy

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President / Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Pratt Norton Wiley

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President & CEO / the Partnership, Inc.

Rick Halligan

Job Titles:
  • Senior Manager, Office Services

Robert S.D. Higgins

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee

Sam Melnick - CCO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Communications Officer
  • Media Contact
Sam Melnick oversees the association's communications strategy, with the goal of raising the profile of the healthcare community, advocating on behalf of members, and advancing the work of MHA itself. He collaborates with members to promote their ongoing work and to help the healthcare system speak with a united voice. Sam manages day-to-day functions of the communications department and has led the transformation of MHA's digital media presence. He joined MHA in 2019 after serving as a Senior Communications Associate at Dewey Square Group, a Boston-based public affairs firm. At DSG, he built comprehensive communications strategies for clients spanning a range of industries and contributed to the firm's work on a number of local, state, and national political campaigns. Sam oversaw operations for the 2018 "No on 1" campaign. Sam holds a BA in Broadcast & Digital Journalism and Political Science from Syracuse University.

Sam Skura

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President, Baystate Medical Center / Senior Vice President, Hospital Operations, Baystate Health

Sara Ramon

Job Titles:
  • Education and Events Coordinator
  • Education and Events Specialist
Sara Ramon joined MHA's education department in June 2023. In her role, she assists in the creation and execution of programs presented to members and healthcare partners in MHA's network. Sara also contributes to the coordination of MHA's Conference Center events. Prior to joining MHA, Sara was part of the KS SFS organization, which provides assistance to incoming military families and works as a conduit of information and resources to active-duty members and their families. Her other previous experience includes patient advocacy, medical assisting, and pharmaceutical enteral nutrition. Sara also has experience in small business ownership, operating from Hanscom AFB and contracting her services to the Department of Defense. Sara graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a BS in Public Health and a minor in Psychology. She also holds an AA in Health Education from Gulf Coast State College. Sara is currently pursuing a master's degree in healthcare administration.

Sarah Perry - CEO

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Executive Assistant to the President
  • Senior Manager
Sarah Perry joined MHA in 2005. Her duties include assisting operations in the Executive Office, which involves working with members and staff to ensure timely and effective action is taken on member priorities. She has participated in a number of internal committees at MHA, and is currently a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff Council. Prior to joining MHA, Sarah was the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO and the Board of Directors of Jewish Memorial Hospital. Her administrative experience spans diverse fields, including healthcare, banking, telecommunications, and electronic game publishing. Sarah has been an active member of the Massachusetts Association of Healthcare Executive Assistants since 2004, chairing several of its committees and serving one term as president of the board; she currently serves on the Executive Committee as MHA liaison. Sarah was also a member of the national Association of Health Care Administrative Professionals (AHCAP) where she served on various committees and one term as president of the board of directors. Sarah attended Framingham State College, majoring in English Literature.

Shawn MacNeil

Job Titles:
  • Director, Information Technology
Shawn MacNeil oversees the day-to-day IT operations for MHA. These efforts include working with the association's e-mail systems to the core network infrastructure, as well as assisting staff on a wide range of technology-driven projects and solutions. Before joining MHA in 2000, Shawn worked at CMGi in Andover, Mass. in the Information Technology department, supporting internal and external staff working onsite and remotely.

Solin Chea

Job Titles:
  • Account Manager, Property & Casualty

Sonya Caimano

Job Titles:
  • Accounting Manager

Spiros Hatiras - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • President & CEO / Holyoke Medical Center

Steve Walsh - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • Member of the Senior Leadership Team
  • PRESIDENT

Thea L. James

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • V.P., Mission & Assoc. CMO / Boston Medical Center

Thomas Brennan

Job Titles:
  • Manager, Healthcare Finance & Data Analysis

Thomas H. Lee

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Executive Committee
  • Chief Medical Officer / Press Ganey Associates

Valerie Fleishman - SVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Innovation Officer
  • Member of the Senior Leadership Team
  • Senior Vice President

Walae Hayek

Job Titles:
  • Manager, Healthcare Policy