Executive & Medical Leadership

Assaad Sayah, MD, was named CHA's president & chief executive officer in January 2020 after serving as the interim CEO since June 2019 and chief medical officer since 2013.

Dr. Sayah's leadership has been a critical component of CHA's growth and success over the past decade. Under his direction, the organization completed a successful strategic plan which has resulted in improvements in patient satisfaction, quality and safety, access to care, financial performance, and employee engagement.

Dr. Sayah has also had a significant impact on efforts to expand healthcare access across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He served as co-chair of the Health Equity Task Force created in 2020 by the Mass. Legislature to study and make recommendations to address health disparities facing diverse and low-income communities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He currently is part of the statewide Health Equity Compact, which seeks to address disparities and inequities in Massachusetts' healthcare system.

Before being named CHA's president & CEO, he served as the chief of emergency medicine and senior vice president of primary care. In the Emergency Department, Dr. Sayah led tremendous advancements at all three CHA hospitals, resulting in enhanced efficiency, quality, volume and patient satisfaction. He spearheaded primary care growth by more than 50 percent, expanding CHA's access in underserved communities and integrating primary care and behavioral health services and systems to address social determinants of health. He also plays a key role in CHA's commitment to the communities it serves, including his work as the Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Cambridge.

Additionally, Dr. Sayah served as chairman of CHA's Chiefs Council and president of the CHA Medical Staff, and he continues to serve as an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. His research and publications focus on operational efficiency, improving the clinical environment, and patient experience of care.

Prior to joining CHA, Dr. Sayah held leadership roles at several area hospitals, including director of EMS for Brigham and Women's Hospital, associate chief for the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center. He received his medical doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and completed his residency in emergency medicine at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan.

Hashem Ayyad, MD, MBA, assumed the role of chief of pathology in July, 2025. Dr. Ayyad served as chairman and medical director of the Department of Pathology at Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in Providence, R.I., where he led a multidisciplinary team supporting a high-volume oncology service, advanced hematopathology diagnostics, and quality-focused laboratory operations. 

Board-certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology as well as Hematopathology, Dr. Ayyad completed his residency at Henry Ford Hospital and fellowship training at Columbia University Medical Center. He holds an MBA from Northern Arizona University and has held leadership roles including vice president and managing Partner at Pathology Associates Limited in Phoenix, Arizona, and medical director at Dignity Health Cancer Institute. A dedicated educator, he has held academic appointments at Creighton University School of Medicine and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, and regularly presents at tumor boards and clinical conferences.

Renée Kessler joined CHA in 2014 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, bringing a 25-year record of operations leadership experience. During her career, Renée has been a leader, mentor, and team player, achieving success in a range of large and complex hospital environments that care for vulnerable populations.

From 2007-2014, Renée served as Chief Operating Officer of Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital, a 683-bed urban teaching hospital in Nashville, TN. In this role she was responsible for all patient care operations, including quality and safety, staff and physician satisfaction, and overall budget, productivity, and cost performance. During her tenure, the hospital's operating margins grew from 5% to 8.6%. She also directed a four-year effort to achieve Voluntary Protection Program status through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration focused on employee safety, which was secured in 2012, making Saint Thomas Midtown the first Tennessee hospital and 14th in the United States to achieve this distinction.

Prior to her work in Nashville, Renée served as the Chief Operating Officer/Administrator at Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, NJ, a 350-bed community teaching hospital. She led a significant financial turnaround spurred by revenue enhancement and program growth that saw the hospital achieve break-even cash flow two years ahead of schedule. She also developed a strategic plan that resulted in program and volume growth and the recruitment of new physicians in various service lines.

Kessler earned her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in health care administration from Ohio State University.

Maren Batalden, MD, MPH, is the chief quality officer at CHA. Maren has played a key role at CHA for many years, previously serving as associate chief quality officer before assuming interim CQO responsibilities in November 2019.

She has provided leadership for improvement projects focused on inpatient care, care transitions and cross-continuum population health for patients with chronic disease. She created and continues to direct the CHA-Gold Innovation Fellowship Program, which provides a platform for CHA clinicians and leaders to grow their skills in improvement science and change management.

As part of the Incident Command team that guided CHA's COVID-19 response, Dr. Batalden provided compassionate and critical leadership to help build CHA’s inpatient capacity, apply evidence-based and data-driven solutions, develop modeling to forecast resource needs, and establish policies and protocols to ensure CHA delivered the very best care to our patients and communities. Dr. Batalden is clinically active as a hospitalist and has represented the CHA medical staff as a member of CHA’s Board of Trustees. She is a national authority on using the lens of co-production to create effective partnerships between patients and care teams.

Dr. Batalden completed her undergraduate education at St. Olaf College in Minnesota and earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed an internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Batalden is an assistant professor of medicine at HMS, where she teaches quality, safety and systems improvement.

Jill Batty joined CHA as Chief Financial Officer in 2014. With more than 20 years of experience as a strategist, financial executive, and health care consultant, Jill has worked with a wide variety of providers, hospitals, and physician practices, including those in safety net and integrated health systems.

Prior to joining CHA, Jill served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Keene, N.H. Her work there helped the organization transition from fee-for-service care to population health management, effectively adapting to state and federal reimbursement shifts while generating significant operating margin improvements.

Jill's mission-driven values extend beyond the workplace. She serves as a volunteer for several organizations including Monadnock Family Services and New Hampshire Voices for Health. She holds a bachelor's from the University of Illinois and a master's from the University of Iowa. She has been a certified public accountant since 1989 and is a fellow in the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Jeannette Currie serves as the chief information officer for CHA, where she leads the strategic direction, implementation, and optimization of clinical and enterprise technologies across the organization. With deep experience in digital transformation, cybersecurity, data governance, and patient-centered innovation, she ensures that technology reliably supports exceptional care delivery and operational excellence.

A recognized leader in healthcare IT, Jeannette was named the New England HIMSS Healthcare IT Leader of the Year in 2024 and currently serves as president-elect for the organization and as chair of the CIO Advisory Council. She is an advisor for the University of New Haven's Women in Leadership with AI Driven Engagement program.

Passionate about leadership development, Jeannette formally mentors multiple professionals and informally supports many more. Her commitment to cultivating future healthcare technology leaders reflects her belief that culture, teamwork, and shared purpose drive meaningful innovation.

Jeannette is dedicated to advancing safe, secure, and equitable digital health while ensuring that technology empowers people—patients, families, and caregivers alike. Prior to joining CHA in 2023, she was at Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) where she served in several different positions over eight years, including the CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton. In her most recent role as the CIO/VP of EHR services, she oversaw all aspects of information systems at four BILH community hospitals and led a multi-year implementation of its electronic health record. In addition, Jeannette has held IT leadership positions at South Shore and Mount Auburn Hospitals.

Since 2012, Joy has served as chief human resources officer at CHA, which employs 5000 staff and providers. She is responsible for HR operations, labor and employee relations, organizational development and learning, wellness, diversity, equity and inclusion and multicultural affairs, including interpreter services, transporter and front desk staff. 

Prior to joining CHA, Joy was president and founding principal of the consulting firm Innovative Solutions HR, LLC. Relying on her extensive background as a human resources executive, Joy worked directly with client organizations in analyzing their needs, developing credible and successful leaders and managers, designing effective human resources infrastructure, leading human resources departments on an interim basis, coaching executives to realize their greatest potential, coaching clients and solving business problems. Clients included Partners Health Care System (now MGB), Harvard University, Bryn Mawr College, New England Sports Network (NESN), Winchester Hospital and Ropes & Gray.

From 2005 until 2009, Joy served as the Chief People Officer at the international law firm, Ropes & Gray LLP where she founded "the People Organization." In 2009, the firm was voted the best firm to work for in the Vault Survey.

Prior to founding Innovative Solutions, Ms. Curtis was vice president, human resources at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn. and at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Mass.

Ms. Curtis earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University and her MBA in the healthcare management sector, with high honors, from Boston University.

Joy has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell in the health informatics and management graduate program. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Care Dimensions, a leading provider of hospice and palliative care, and is the co-chair of the Mass. Health & Hospital Association's CHRO Forum. She also is a mentor for participants in Conexion's mid-level professional program and for Questrom School of Business Healthcare Management Sector MBA students.

In her spare time, she follows her passion for animals by working with animal rescue groups and is a founder and a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Union for Siberian Huskies, Inc. (MUSH).

Dr. Fulwiler is the chair and chief of psychiatry and an associate professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He provides leadership and oversight for all academic and clinical components of the department, and is responsible department faculty for appointments and promotions at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fulwiler’s career in public sector psychiatry has focused on improving behavioral health outcomes for underserved populations by integrating novel clinical, population health, research, and training approaches.

Dr. Fulwiler received his MD from Washington University and his PhD in neuroscience from Harvard where he also completed a residency in psychiatry at McLean Hospital. He has held a variety of leadership roles in training, clinical services, and research before joining CHA. Prior to joining CHA in 2020, he was a professor of psychiatry and medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He has conducted federally-funded research on health services for underserved populations, neuroimaging, and mindfulness-based interventions in healthcare. He is an internationally recognized expert in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and conducts professional teacher training in MBCT through the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at CHA and Harvard Medical School.

Andrew Fuqua has served as CHA’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel since 2013. Andrew's responsibilities include advising the Board of Trustees and all levels of management and staff on a broad range of health law and general corporate issues, including governance, regulatory compliance, contract, labor and employment, pension, tax, licensure, real estate, accreditation, insurance, patient care, and professional staff matters. Andrew began his legal career as an associate at Choate, Hall & Stewart before joining CHA as Associate General Counsel in 2006. Before law school, he taught high school history. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the Boston University School of Law.

Hannah Galvin, MD, who serves as CHA's chief health medical information officer, was named interim chief of pediatrics in March 2025. She has extensive experience as both a primary care pediatrician and a pediatric hospitalist, including in special care and newborn nurseries, as well as treating at-risk and homeless adolescents on a mobile medical van. Additionally, she served as chief of pediatrics for Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Mass.

Since arriving at CHA in 2020, Dr. Galvin has led numerous organizational initiatives that have resulted in exceptional clinical and business outcomes. She has rapidly become an internationally recognized creative and strategic digital health leader. As a GAO-appointed member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy Health IT Advisory Committee, she helps guide the federal government in coordination of nationwide efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and electronic exchange of health information. Dual board-certified in Clinical informatics and Pediatrics, Dr. Galvin completed her residency with the Boston Children’s Hospital/Boston Medical Center Combined Residency in Pediatrics. She serves on the faculty of both Harvard Medical School and Tufts University School of Medicine.

Elizabeth Gaufberg, MD, MPH is the Chief Academic Officer at Cambridge Health Alliance and an Associate Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS). She came to CHA in 1989, completing residencies in Internal Medicine and then Psychiatry, followed by a rich career in patient care, education and administration. Liz was part of the original design team of the Harvard Medical School Cambridge Integrated Clerkship and has led the CHA-HMS Developing Physician Course since the CIC's inception. She served as the Director of the CHA Center for Professional and Academic Development (now transitioning to the CHA Office for Academic Affairs) for over 15 years. Her areas of professional interest and scholarship include developing innovative models of medical education, including longitudinal integrated clerkships and humanities and arts-based pedagogy. Liz is committed to fostering open inquiry and civil discourse in medical education, and serves on the HMS Dean's Open Inquiry Working Group which was created in 2025.

On a national level, Liz serves as a Senior Consultant to the Association of American Medical Colleges FRAHME (Fundamental Role of the Arts and Humanities in Medical Education) Initiative and is a Co-Director of the Harvard Macy Institute Art Museum-based Health Professions Education Fellowship. From 2012-2018, Liz served as the Jean and Harvey Picker Founding Director of the CHA-housed Arnold P. Gold Foundation Research Institute during which time she developed a community of practice of researchers, educators and advocates dedicated to advancing humanism in healthcare. The CHA Gold Innovation Fellowship and CEO CLER program are fruits of CHA's partnership with the Gold Foundation.

Liz has received numerous awards including the Clifford Barger Mentoring Award at Harvard Medical School and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Humanism in Healthcare Award.

She is dedicated to supporting CHA faculty to forge pathways to professional flourishing in their roles as innovators, educators and researchers.

Mark Haas became chief administrative officer for the Cambridge Health Alliance Physicians Organization (CHAPO) in January 2023. Before coming to CHA, Mark was the vice president of operations of the Tufts Medical Center Physicians Organization in Boston beginning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, assuming administrative and financial oversight for more than 625 physicians across more than 20 clinical departments and divisions. Additionally, Mark served as the executive director of the Department of Medicine for six years at Tufts.

In previous leadership positions in health information management at both Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., Mark assisted with EPIC conversions while overseeing key areas in revenue cycle operations. He received the Massachusetts Health Information Management Association's Professional Achievement Award in 2012.

Mark has served as an assistant adjunct professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine for more than 20 years, teaching courses in healthcare business and informatics. He received the medical school's Lifetime Achievement Award for sustained excellence in teaching in 2013. Mark earned an undergraduate degree in applied physiology and a master's in business administration at Boston University.

Since 2001, Dr. Carol Hulka has been Chief of the Department of Radiology at CHA, and Associate Clinical Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Hulka received her bachelor's from Brown University and her medical doctorate from Duke University. She completed her medical internship at Beth Israel Hospital and trained as a resident in Radiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Hulka was an Imaging Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital. She remained on staff at Massachusetts General Hospital for several years where she published in the field of women's imaging. She initiated and developed the Breast MRI program at MGH for which she was awarded state and federal grant funding.

During her staff appointment at BIDMC, she completed her Master of Business Administration at Boston University, where she was selected for membership in the Beta Gamma Sigma Society for academic achievement. Dr. Hulka had the opportunity to use this education when offered the position of Chief of Radiology at CHA. Since that time, she has expanded the professional practice from the CHA Cambridge Hospital site to include CHA Somerville Campus and CHA Everett Hospital. Dr. Hulka has overseen transformation of the department to a state-of-the-art facility that is 100% digital (PACS) and paperless, using voice recognition for instant report turnaround. It was one of the first facilities in the area to have digital mammography at all sites and in 2009 was named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

Dr. Hulka remains active in many Radiologic Societies with roles as Past President of several imaging societies and as a reviewer of scientific presentations and journals. She continues to support radiology education programs with the Harvard Medical School students and rotating residents.

Michael L. James was named Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO) in 2021. As CDEIO, he is responsible for overseeing system-wide diversity, equity and inclusion, multicultural affairs, and patient & volunteer services.

Prior to joining CHA, Michael was Senior Vice President of Human Resources for the Old Colony YMCA, where he was responsible for directing the development and implementation of association-wide policies and programs for 2,200 employees focused on performance management, leadership development, employee relations, training, talent acquisition and diversity, equity & inclusion in collaboration with the executive management team. He also served as Association Director of Human Resources for the YMCA of Greater Boston; CDO and Director of Inclusion, Mobility and Corporate Diversity at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; and principal of his own management consulting firm specializing in diversity, community relations and organizational change. Michael's prior roles include Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Community Relations at the Boston Architectural College (BAC); Chief of Equal Opportunity and Diversity at MBCR; leading human resources for a division of BAE Systems; and working in the financial industry for several years at BankBoston.

Michael's volunteer positions include serving as a strategic advisor and facilitator for the Northeast Human Resources Association and City-Wide Dialogues on Ethnic & Racial Diversity.

He holds an MBA from Suffolk University and a BA in psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He grew up in Boston and he is the proud husband to Charlotte and father to their three wonderful children.

Since joining CHA in 2000, Kim has been a major contributor to the organization’s growth. She established CHA’s Strategic Planning, Marketing & Communications Department and oversees strategic planning, business planning and development, branding, marketing and corporate communications.

For the past 15 years, Kim has led strategic planning efforts, including the development of CHA's current strategic plan titled "Equity & Excellence for Everyone, Every Time." She helped cultivate the organization’s "One CHA" strategy to align the values, goals, branding, and culture of its hospitals and care centers into a cohesive culture of excellence, safety, and high reliability. She also led a rebranding effort titled "Care to the People" celebrating CHA's mission and longstanding commitment to underserved patients and communities.

During her tenure, CHA expanded from a small community hospital system serving Cambridge and Somerville to an integrated health care system serving Boston’s metro-north communities. Previous strategic plans guided CHA’s focus on value-based care models, including creation of its accountable care organization, development of its strategic partnership with Beth Israel Lahey Health, and growth of its primary care and behavioral health service lines. 

Prior to CHA, she worked in marketing, planning, and network development at Tufts Medical Center in Boston where she focused on growing the hospital’s Centers of Excellence in Cardiovascular Services, Oncology, Transplants, and Pediatrics and expanding its perinatal and pediatric affiliations. She also worked in advertising and media planning at Arnold Worldwide for 10 years. 

Kim earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Boston College and a master’s in business administration from the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. She served as an examiner for the National Baldrige Award program and co-led CHA's Baldridge efforts, and she is a  member of the Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development.

Doug Kress was named chief community officer in April 2022. As chief community officer, Doug cultivates relationships and builds partnerships with community-based nonprofit groups, local governments, and state and regional agencies to advance CHA's clinical, research, and policy initiatives. He oversees the Department of Community Health Improvement, which leads efforts to improve access and health status outcomes in the communities we serve.

From 2015-2022, Doug was the director of health and human services for the City of Somerville (Mass.), during which time he successfully reorganized and expanded the Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing areas including public and school health, prevention, emergency preparedness, the Council on Aging, and veterans' services. Prior to that position, Doug held several public administrator roles in Minnesota, including director of development services for the City of Minneapolis and senior policy aide for a Minneapolis City Council member. He holds a master's degree in education from the University of Minnesota and a master's in public policy from Tufts University.

Benjamin Milligan, MD, FACEP is chief of emergency medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). CHA's Department of Emergency Medicine serves nearly 100,000 patients annually at the Cambridge and Everett Emergency Departments as well as the Urgent Care located at the CHA Somerville campus.

Dr. Milligan is also an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining CHA, Dr. Milligan was a clinical instructor in Emergency Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and an attending emergency medicine physician at the Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.

He received his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College (Cornell University) and completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at New York University/Bellevue Hospital Center.

Richard Pels, MD, was appointed to the position of Chief of Medicine at CHA in 2017. Dr. Pels has been with CHA since 1983, serving in numerous leadership roles including associate chief of medicine, president of the medical staff, director of the Internal Medicine Residency program, director of graduate medical education and most recently, interim Chief of Medicine.

Dr. Pels graduated summa cum laude from Duke University and received his medical doctorate from the University of Florida. He completed primary care internal medicine residency training at CHA and fellowship training in general medicine and medical education at Harvard Medical School. His special interest areas are refugee health, chronic pain and medical education. Dr. Pels is the recipient of many prizes and awards including the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award at HMS, CHA’s Medical Staff Lifetime Achievement Award and the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Tara Singh, MD, is CHA's chief of obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Singh joined CHA's OB/GYN department in 2009 and has since played a key role in medical education, serving as associate director of the Harvard Medical School-Cambridge Integrated Clerkship as well as the site director for OB/GYN, co-founder and director of the longitudinal PA program, and rotation director for both Harvard and Tufts OB/GYN residents.

In 2018, Dr. Singh began a novel physician assistant training program—the first known model of longitudinal integrated PA training—and has expanded this program to include interprofessional learning for PA and medical students.

Dr. Singh received her MD from Dalhousie University and is currently completing a master's degree in health care delivery science at Dartmouth College.

Gerald Steinberg, MD, is Senior Vice President of Network Development, working to develop new partnerships that benefit CHA's patients and communities. Dr. Steinberg previously served as CHA's Chief Medical Officer and Chief Medical Quality Officer. Before coming to CHA in 2005, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer of UMass Memorial Health Care. He also served as interim Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he was the school's Feigenbaum Distinguished Professor of Quality, and as Chief Medical Officer of UMass Memorial Health Care.

Dr. Steinberg is an AOA graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and received his bachelor’s, cum laude, from Rutgers University where he was a Henry Rutgers Scholar. He received his orthopedic training in the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Program after completing a Research Fellowship at Harvard.

Laura Sullivan, MD, was named CHA’s chief of family medicine in 2017. Dr. Sullivan joined CHA in 2006 as the medical director of the East Somerville Health Center. She then became the medical director at the Malden Family Medicine Center in 2008 and later served as interim chief of family medicine. Dr. Sullivan was a staff physician at both sites and has held many leadership positions including president and secretary/treasurer of the CHA medical staff. She has played a key role in CHA’s transition to an accountable care organization and the implementation of the patient-centered-medical-home model of care.

As chief of family medicine, Dr. Sullivan is responsible for helping the department grow, improving its systems and access and supporting the training for the next generation of physicians as part of the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency program in Malden.

Dr. Sullivan is an assistant clinical professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. She received her medical doctorate from Chicago Medical School and completed the University of Massachusetts Worcester Family Medicine Residency. Prior to joining CHA, Dr. Sullivan worked with various vulnerable populations as a locum tenens physician, in rural Washington state, the Massachusetts state prison system and Plumley Village Health Services, part of UMass Memorial Health Care.

Julie Sun comes to CHA from the University of Washington, where she served as chief advancement officer for the School of Social Work. She led all fundraising initiatives and alumni engagement for the School, surpassing a $6 billion campaign goal. In collaboration with the Dean, faculty, and campus partners, Julie secured $24.7 million to fund 415 full scholarships to increase the behavioral health workforce in Washington state. this was a cross-sector collaboration with private funders, the state legislature, and statewide higher education institutions. Prior to this role, she was the director for international development at Cornell University, where she was responsible for major donors in Asia, West Coast, and New York.

In her role as chief development officer and senior leader at CHA, Julie works closely with CEO Assaad Sayah, MD, the CHA Foundation Board, clinical leadership, and other stakeholders to meet development goals. She  oversees our development team and develops fundraising strategies to support CHA’s strategic plan and vision of Equity and Excellence for Everyone, Every Time. Priority areas include population health and reduction of health disparities, facilities and infrastructure investments, workforce development, and academics.

With a strong commitment to advancing DEI in the philanthropy and advancement sector, Julie has an impressive track record of successful fundraising to advance social justice, health equities, racial equities, and child and youth welfare. Her skills and knowledge are ideally suited to serve our patients and communities.

Caleb Tam, DDS, was named chief of dental services in January 2023 after spending three years as an attending faculty member and practicing dentist at CHA and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM).

He serves as a lecturer on oral health policy and epidemiology as well as the interim director of the general practice residency program at HSDM. His primary academic/research interests include dental biomaterials, dental regenerative therapies, and the “Oral Physician” training model. In addition to mentoring future generations of dental professionals, he is deeply involved in outreach and education to improve oral health in our communities. Dr. Tam graduated from dental school at the University of California, San Francisco before completing his general practice residency through the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) and CHA.

Hans P. Van Lancker, MD, FRCSC, FAAOS, an accomplished surgeon, leader, teacher, and researcher with extensive experience in complex high-acuity orthopaedic trauma, revision and reconstructive surgery, joined CHA in October 2022.

Dr. Van Lancker comes from St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston where he served as the vice chair of orthopaedic surgery, vice president of trauma services, and the chief of orthopaedic trauma. He oversaw the evaluation and management of all fractures and orthopaedic trauma across Massachusetts while developing St. Elizabeth’s as a tertiary orthopedic trauma referral center for both the Steward network and its neighboring communities. He recruited a number of providers across the region, considerably expanding the capacity of orthopedic care within the Steward Network. He established protocolized care for hip fractures across the department in addition to a 24/7 med/surg co-management service, leading to St. Elizabeth’s becoming the only Healthgrades 5-star hip fracture hospital in eastern Massachusetts.

A graduate of the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Dr. Van Lancker performed his residency training at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal and then completed the Harvard Orthopaedic Trauma fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He has received several awards for patient experience and outcomes, including being repeatedly recognized among Boston’s Top Doctors. He has authored multiple book chapters and research articles and frequently gives national and international presentations. He is also an instructor in orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School and active in medical student, resident, and fellow education and research. He is board certified by both the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and Royal College of Surgeons of Canada.

Siva Vithiananthan, MD, FACS, FASMBS, FICS, joined CHA as chief of surgery in 2021. Prior to CHA, Dr. Vithiananthan led a clinical practice in minimally invasive and robotic approaches to gastrointestinal diseases, complex hernias and bariatric (weight loss and metabolic) surgery at Brown Physicians Inc. and Brown Surgical Associates in Providence, R.I., and was the chief of bariatric and minimally invasive surgery at The Miriam Hospital and medical director of the Center for Bariatric Surgery at The Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals. Dr. Vithiananthan was also a professor of surgery, clinician educator at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the site-director of the Brown Surgical Residency and Medical Student Programs at The Miriam Hospital. His main research focus is on social determinants of healthcare and the metabolic and physiological effects of weight loss surgery.

Having served in leadership capacities in many national and international surgical societies, Dr. Vithiananthan has been invited around the world to offer his expertise in training surgeons. He was nominated by the International College of Surgery to serve as the inaugural surgical ambassador in minimally invasive surgery to Nanjing Medical University in Nanjing, China. He has trained hundreds of surgeons in China, Sri Lanka, and Hungary in the techniques of minimally invasive surgery over the last decade.

Dr. Vithiananthan is board certified in general surgery and surgical critical care and fellowship trained in advanced laparoscopic surgery and surgical critical care. He received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He completed his residency at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., and fellowships at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine/Hartford Hospital.

Lanie Ward, MBA, BSN, RN, was appointed chief nursing officer at CHA in October 2020 after serving as interim chief nursing officer. Lanie, who has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare administration, has served in senior nursing roles in organizations across the country.

Prior to joining CHA, Lanie was the system senior vice president of patient care services/CNO at Summa Health System in Ohio. Summa serves more than one million patients in Ohio through comprehensive acute, critical, emergency, outpatient and long-term/home-care settings and has more than 1,300 licensed beds. At Summa, she brought nursing together system-wide to standardize care, practice and shared governance. Additionally, under her leadership, Summa Akron City & St Thomas Hospitals achieved Magnet designation and redesignation.

Before her time at Summa, Lanie was the chief nursing officer at Broward Health Medical Center in Florida. Broward is a nonprofit community health system that encompasses more than 30 healthcare facilities with four hospitals. At Broward Health, Lanie played a key role in the design and execution of a $165 million hospital expansion.

She received her master’s degree in business administration from Florida Atlantic University and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Kentucky.