Board of Directors and Committees

Susan West Levine

CEO, Lowell Community Health Center

As the CEO of the 500+ employee Lowell Community Health Center (Lowell CHC), Susan West Levine has led the organization through several transformative milestones, including the expansion into 100,000-square-feet of renovated mill space, which allowed for the launch of dental and vision services, as well as increased primary care capacity. Under her leadership, Lowell CHC became a participant in the Commonwealth’s Accountable Care program and charted the path for the organization’s five-year strategic plan, Cultivating Health. Throughout the pandemic she helped ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for the entire community, with a particular focus on reaching the most vulnerable populations. Ms. Levine has also ensured that diversity, equity, and social justice are central to the organization's mission, leading the Lowell CHC Board to unanimously declare racism a public health crisis. Her efforts have contributed to Lowell CHC being named a Top 100 Women-Led Business by the Boston Globe Magazine and The Commonwealth Institute for five consecutive years.

Beyond her day-to-day leadership, Ms. Levine is spearheading the development of the Health Justice Learning Institute, an initiative aimed at reimagining the community health workforce through education and engagement. She is also leading efforts to establish a Family Medicine Residency Program, which will be one of only two programs in Massachusetts to be housed within a community health center, marking a significant milestone.

Previously a top advisor and chief of staff to the Johns Hopkins University Provost, Ms. Levine brings a wealth of leadership experience in health care, public health, and higher education. Before joining Johns Hopkins in 2014, she served as Chief Executive of UHealthSolutions, a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has also held executive roles at UMass Medical School’s consulting division, Commonwealth Medicine, and worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for nearly a decade. Ms. Levine, who earned her master’s in public health with a focus on health services, attributes her passion for health care leadership to her early experiences working in clinical, administrative, and ambulatory care programs at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

Cynthia Sierra

CEO, Manet Community Health Center

Cynthia Sierra brings a wealth of experience in health care, mental health,
neuropsychology, and social services administration to her role as Chief Executive Officer at Manet Community Health Center. She assumed this position in January of 2016. Cynthia has been an integral member of Manet's senior leadership team since 2008, serving in a number of key roles, including Senior Director of Public Policy, Public Affairs and Program Development, and Interim and Acting Chief Executive Officer.

Throughout her tenure at Manet, she has contributed to the health center’s strategic
growth and expansion in facilities, service area, coalitions, affiliations and service lines. As CEO, she has overseen the opening of four new primary care sites and a community outreach office; the addition of vision, pharmacy and radiology services; and double-digit increases in patients and visits – all with the goal of ensuring unfettered access to quality health care to patients of all ages.

Cynthia serves as a member of the Boston Medical Center Hospital Board of
Trustees; President for the Boston Accountable Care Organization Board of
Directors; member of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers
Board; member of the Health and Medical Advisory Board for the Old Colony YMCA; member of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and member of the Sturdy Memorial Foundation Board. In 2021, Cynthia was named among the Commonwealth Heroine Class of 2021 by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, and in June of 2023, she was honored with Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers’ Community Health Center CEO of the Year Award.

Prior to joining Manet, Cynthia served as the Executive Director at the Dianne DeVanna Center in Braintree. Cynthia attended the University of Massachusetts and graduated with dual majors and distinction in English and Psychology. She went on to receive her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology at Lesley University in Cambridge. Cynthia is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Community Health Leadership fellowship and an active volunteer in her community.

Guy Fish, MD, MBA

CEO, Codman Square Health Center

Guy Fish, MD, MBA, joined Codman in August 2024 as its new chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandra Cotterell, who had been the CEO since 2011. Dr. Fish has extensive health care leadership experience, and was most recently the CEO of Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC), also a federally qualified health center in Massachusetts. Dr. Fish is excited to lead Codman and said he was attracted to its deep roots in the community as well as its extensive partnerships that provide community members with wellness resources beyond medical visits.

Before joining GLFHC in July 2021, Guy was acting CEO of Next Stage Therapeutics, a Spanish company. Prior to that, he was CEO of Cellanyx Diagnostics, which uses artificial intelligence to predict which cancers are aggressive and which are not.

Karen Gardner

CEO, Community Health Center of Cape Cod

Karen L. Gardner is the Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Center of Cape Cod, Inc., a Federally Qualified Community Health Center (FQHC) with a principle location in Mashpee, MA and satellite locations in Falmouth, North Falmouth, Sandwich, Centerville and Bourne, MA. In her position, she is responsible for the overall strategic, operational and development plans and programs of the organization. Under her guidance, the Health Center has grown from a licensed free clinic to a large multispecialty practice serving over 25,000 residents of the Cape Cod community. She has been with Community Health Center of Cape Cod for 21 years. Previous positions held include Senior VP, Finance and Operations for Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem, New Hampshire; and, Asst. Chief Financial Officer of Merced Community Medical Center in California. Ms. Gardner currently serves as Board Chair for the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Board Chair of Cape Cod 5 Cents Savings Bank, Treasurer of Community Care Cooperative (C3), one of the largest Accountable Care Organizations in Massachusetts, and is active on various human services committees. Karen Gardner is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and concluded her final assignment in June 2019 as the Reserve Forces Advisor to the Air Force Surgeon General. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Services Administration from Ithaca College and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

Michelle Nadow

President & CEO, DotHouse Health

In 2005, Michelle Nadow began her work at DotHouse Health as the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy. In 2015, Michelle was appointed the President and CEO of DotHouse, a federally qualified health center located in the Fields Corner neighborhood of Dorchester, Massachusetts. DotHouse provides services to 22,000 patients through the work of a dedicated staff of 280 employees.

Before coming to DotHouse, Michelle worked at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health where she coordinated school health programs in collaboration with the Department of Education through a grant funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Earlier in her career, Michelle was a senior aide to State Representative Christopher J. Hodgkins in the Massachusetts House of Representatives working on issues pertaining to health care, public health and human services, among others.

Michelle received a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs from the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Rutgers University.

Michelle is a member of the Board of Trustees for Boston Medical Center, Board of Directors for the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers (The League) and is the co-chair of the League’s Boston Conference Committee of Community Health Centers.

Maria Coppenrath

CFO, Caring Health Center

Maria is a certified public accountant with over 29 years of experience in federally qualified community health centers and not-for-profit accounting and finance. She has extensive experience with financial reporting, budgeting, cash flow projections, federal and state grants and contracts management, accountable care organizations, payroll, accounts payable, purchasing, and third-party billing requirements, including the full revenue cycle and 340b pharmacy programs. She also has expertise in internal controls and compliance with federal (including HRSA, CMS, and OMB circular A-133/uniform guidance) and state regulations (including DPH, Medicaid, and OSD). Prior to becoming the CFO of Greater Lawrence Family Health Center in March of 2020, she was the CFO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center for almost ten years and prior to that was the Corporate Director of Finance for Harbor Health Services, Inc. (including Geiger Gibson Health Center, Neponset Health Center and Mid Upper Cape Health Center) for six years. She also worked in public accounting for a number of years, working with many of the FQHC’s in the Massachusetts and New England area performing audits and consulting engagements. She is a member of the Massachusetts Society of CPAs (MSCPA), the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), Subcommittee of Health Center Financing of the National Association of Community Health Centers, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers Finance Committee, and Commonwealth Group Purchasing Advisory Board.

Sue Joss

CEO, Brockton Neighborhood Health Center

Sue Joss has been the CEO of Brockton Neighborhood Health Center since its inception in 1994. She has led BNHC through phenomenal growth as it grew to serving more than 39,000 diverse, low-income patients annually, providing more than 200,000 annual visits. She has built a work force of more than 700 staff who reflect the diversity of the patients they serve.

Sue has led BNHC toward innovations, including a primary care site attached to a family-owned Cape Verdean grocery store in a federally-designated food desert, a substance use treatment program, integration of primary care and behavioral health, and development of a hepatitis program in response to patient and community needs. She served on a state task force that worked with the Governor’s office and Medicaid to redesign primary care and behavioral health throughout the state.

Sue is past Board Chair of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and serves as Secretary/Treasurer the Board of Capital Link, a national non-profit organization that helps community health centers access capital. She serves on the Executive Board of Community Care Cooperative (C3), the state’s health-center led Medicaid ACO and as Vice Chair of the Board of North Easton Savings Bank. She serves on Board of the National Association of Community Health Centers as a representative for Region 1. She served as Board Chair and remains on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, where she was second female Chair in the Chamber’s 100+-year history as well as the second chair ever from a non-profit organization.

Stephen Kerrigan

President & CEO, Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center

Steve Kerrigan has dedicated his life to public service, from local government to the State House, the halls of Congress and the White House. Steve now serves as President and CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Health Center, which has four medical facilities, three dental sites and six school-based clinics serving more than 34,000 patients in Central and MetroWest Massachusetts and was elected Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party in April of 2023.

Steve’s career in government and service stretches nearly three decades, from serving as an elected member of the Finance Committee and Select Board in Lancaster, on which he now sits as Chair, to working as a senior aide to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Steve served as Chief Executive Officer for the Democratic National Committee Convention in 2012; as chief of staff for President Barack Obama’s Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009; and as CEO of President Obama’s Presidential Inaugural Committee in 2013; chief of staff to Boston 2004, Inc., Boston’s Host Committee for the 2004 Democratic National Convention; and chief of staff to Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly. In 2014, Steve was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.

Throughout this life, Steve has been committed to helping change the future for the better and to improve people’s lives through principled leadership. In 2009, Steve was a driving force, through his work for Senator Kennedy and local 9/11 families, in the establishment of the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund to support the families of fallen service members. The fund has raised more than $2.5 million in support of over 300 Massachusetts military families and provides a stirring reminder of the sacrifices these men and women have made in defense of our freedoms through the annual Memorial Day flag garden on Boston Common and the September 11th Service Program.

Steve also currently serves as the treasurer of the national board for Reproductive Freedom for All and as a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Steve and his husband, Jacob, live in Lancaster.

Maggie Brennan 

President & CEO, North Shore Community Health

Margaret A. Brennan, MPH, brings over 30 years of experience and a deep and abiding passion for social justice and community health to her position as President and CEO at North Shore Community Health (NSCH). Recognized as a Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home, NSCH serves over 14,000 patients on the North Shore and Cape Ann through three full-time sites, two school-based health centers, and five behavioral health clinicians in the Salem middle school and some of the elementary schools. Over the last 13 years, the health center has tripled its budget, increased the number of patients seen, added and/or expanded critical services, and increased the number of employees. Before this role, she held leadership positions in city, state, and national health organizations in New York City. She is a founding board member of Community Care Cooperative, the largest and best performing primary care-based Accountable Care Organization in Massachusetts. She is a graduate of the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program and received her master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jagdeep ‘Jay’ Trivedi

CEO, Upham’s Corner Health Center

Jagdeep Trivedi is the Chief Executive Officer at Upham’s Community Care (UCC) which is comprised of a Federally Qualified Health Center, Certified Home Health Care, and PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly). Jay has nearly twenty-five years of administrative leadership experience in medical device startups, managed care, and alternative payment strategies. He leads the organization in providing high quality, low cost, culturally sensitive, community-based health and social services. Jay began at UCC in 2004 as the Operations Director of PACE and since January 2016 has been serving as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer.

Jay has been serving as Adjunct Faculty at his alma mater, Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences since 2011.

Education: Boston University 1996, Bachelor of Science in Human Physiology. Suffolk University 2001, Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Health Administration.

Professional Affiliations: Board Member of The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; Board Member of Boston HealthNet Corporation; Board Member of Community Care Cooperative; Board Member of Center for Community Health Education, Research and Service (CCHERS); Member of: OCHIN Epic CEO Steering Committee.

Allison van der Velden

CEO, Community Health Center of Franklin County

Dr. Allison van der Velden, DMD served as Chief Executive Officer since August 2020. She has worked at the Community Health Center of Franklin County as a dentist since 2015, becoming the Oral Health Director in 2018. Dr. Van der Velden completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Hampshire College, where she focused in Microbiology. She earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from Midwestern University, in Glendale AZ in 2013, and earned a Masters of Public Administration from Suffolk University in 2021.

She is passionate about the Community Health Center Movement and holds a certificate in Community Health and Community Health Center Management from Suffolk University and also completed the Geiger Gibson Health Policy Fellowship Program at George Washington University. Her interest and commitment to improving lives in her community is a driving force outside the Community Health Center as well. Dr. Van der Velden sits on the Board of Director’s for the Amherst Survival Center, a local non-profit dedicated to addressing hunger and the stigmatization food insecurity, and she serves on the Finance Committee for the Town of Deerfield.

Dr. Van der Velden is a dedicated healthcare administrator who uses her perspective as a healthcare provider, her education in leadership and management, and her values of respect and excellence to lead the Community Health Center of Franklin County.

Monica Vohra

CMO, DotHouse Health

Monica Vohra, MD, MPH, is the Chief Medical Officer at DotHouse Health Center. As the CMO of DotHouse, Monica is responsible for leading the delivery and quality of primary care, oral health, eye care, behavioral health, and enabling services. Monica has over 12 years of experience providing primary care services at federally qualified health centers.

A committed advocate for health equity, Monica chairs BACO’s Health Equity Committee, is a member of Boston’s Live Long and Well Advisory Council and the 2026-2027 Health Policy Commission’s Advisory Committee, served on the Massachusetts Governor’s Carney Hospital Task Force, and is a member of the Health Equity Compact.

In addition to her clinical work, Monica has a background in health policy. She served as Medical Director at MassHealth for 3 years, where she focused on expanding Medicaid services to justice involved and gender diverse individuals and helped shape telehealth policy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Monica is a board-certified internist, holds a Master of Public Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a Doctor of Medicine from Morehouse School of Medicine.