ABOUT
THE CONSORTIUM
| STEERING COMMITTEE
Mission & Policy Statements Core Values National 2010 Goals for CSHCN
Steering Committee
The Massachusetts Consortium for CSHCN has established a Steering Committee
to provide oversight for its work and to ensure that all activities are
consistent with the mission.
Members of the Steering Committee reflect the diversity of Consortium
membership.
(PA) Parent of CSHCN
(CL) Physician/Clinician
(RE) Researcher/Educator
(HP) Health Plan Administrator
(SA) State Agency Representative
(RE) Deborah Allen, ScD
Co-Chair, Care Coordination Work Group
Boston University School of Public Health, Health & Disability Working Group
A founding member of the Consortium's Steering Committee and Chair of its Community-Based Systems of Care Work Group, Deborah Allen served as interim Executive Director from 2006 to 2008. Dr. Allen is an associate professor in the Maternal and Child Health Department of the Boston University School of Public Health. She teaches, conducts research and consults on disability and health, and is co-principal investigator of the Catalyst Center , a national center to improve financing of care for children and youth with special health care needs. A particular focus of her work at present is medical debt and financial hardship among families of children and youth with special health care needs. Dr. Allen has an MS in Health Policy and Management and MS and ScD degrees in Maternal and Child Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
(PA) Dalene Basden
Co-Chair, Family Participation Work Group
Parent-Professional Advocacy League (PAL)
Lynn Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP)
Dalene is the PAL Parent System Specialist with the Lynn Child and Adolescent Service System Program, a wraparound project of MSPCC funded by the Department of Mental Health. She lives in Lynn with her husband and two sons, both of whom have special health care needs. Dalene is active in a number of community projects representing minority families and raising awareness of children with special health care needs. She is a member of the Governer's Commission on Children's Mental Health, and a founding member and Minority Outreach Coordinator for the American Association for Klinefelter Syndrome Information and Support (AAKSIS).
(SA) Ron Benham, MEd
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Ron grew up in Arkansas but currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife, Elaine and daughters, Lilly and Tess. He received his BS from University of the Ozarks and M. Div and M. Ed. graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and the University of Massachusetts respectively. Ron's professional experience includes Executive Director positions on Cape Cod and, for the past eighteen years, state leadership positions in the Massachusetts Early Intervention system. Currently, Ron is the Director of Perinatal, Early Childhood & Special Health Needs at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
(PA, RE) Meg Comeau, MHA
Chair, Consortium Steering Committee
Member, Medical Home Work Group
The Catalyst Center: Improving Financing of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Children's Hospital, Boston Program to Enhance Relational & Communication Skills (PERCS)
Massachusetts Family Voices
Meg is the Project Director for the Catalyst Center: Improving Financing of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs. Based at the Health and Disability Working Group at the Boston University School of Public Health, the Catalyst Center aims to expand health coverage for children and youth with special health care needs and spread innovative financing strategies at local, state and national levels. Prior to joining the Catalyst Center, Meg coordinated the Family Initiatives program at the Center for Families within Children's Hospital, Boston. She incorporated family input into hospital policy and programming design, with particular focus on pediatric palliative care, health care quality and improving parent/professional communication. Meg has a master's degree in Healthcare Administration from Simmons College, where she earned numerous honors. She lives in Burlington with her husband, daughter and a menagerie of pets.
Susan G. Epstein, MSW
Senior Policy Advisor
Executive Director, New England SERVE
Susan provides overall leadership and vision as Director of New England SERVE, while overseeing the administration and operation of all projects and contracts. She brings 25 years of experience in statewide planning, program evaluation, needs assessment, and community-based advocacy to our work on behalf of children and families. Susan also chairs New England SERVE's Senior Policy Council.
Christina F. Fluet, MPH, CI, CT
Executive Director
Massachusetts Consortium for Children with Special Health Care Needs
Chris has over 20 years of experience working with adults and children
with special health care needs, and brings a range of experience in
research and practice to the work of the Consortium. Most recently, she served as Project Director at the Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she worked extensively with large employers to improve workplace supports for families of children with special needs. Additional research areas included the use of pediatric specialized therapies, the impact of a child's condition on the family, clinical experiences of parents of deaf children, and effects of cultural and linguistic competencies on pediatric outcomes for underserved populations. Chris also has extensive experience working with Title VII/Part B Independent Living Centers and state agencies serving people with disabilities. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is fluent in American Sign Language, holding dual national certification in ASL transliteration and interpretation from the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
(SA) Marion Freedman-Gurspan, MSW, LICSW
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, Division of Child and Adolescent Services
Marion is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Social Work. For nearly 20 years, she has worked in the Division of Child-Adolescent Services of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. Her focus is on statewide policy, program planning, and training to promote comprehensive, integrated, culturally competent systems of care for children with mental health needs and their families. She plays a key role in developing interagency protocols and initiatives. Marion works closely with the Parent Professional Advocacy League (PAL), and with other advocacy organizations for children and adults. Through her participation on departmental committees addressing data collection, eligibility criteria, and assessment and service planning tools, she has helped develop a family systems and advocacy orientation within the mental health system.
(PA, CL) Joanne L. Mitchell, MD
Member, Care Coordination Work Group
Member, Medical Coverage Decision-Making Work Group
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
Joanne is the Medical Coordinator of the Developmental Consultation Service of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. A board certified pediatrician who is also certified in neurodevelopmental disabilities, she is a graduate of the Brown University Program in Medicine, completed her pediatric residency at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, and a fellowhip in the Developmental Evaluation Center at Children's Hospital in Boston. Her professional experience has included work as a staff physician in the Coordinated Care Service at Children's Hospital and at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton. Joanne's interest in coordinated and comprehensive services for CSHCN is supported by her professional as well as personal/family experience.
(PA) Richard Robison
Federation for Children with Special Needs
Rich is the Executive Director of the Federation for Children with Special Needs, which provides information, support, and assistance to parents of children with disabilities. He has over 20 years experience with the management of nonprofit organizations and six years experience in state government, as a senior policy analyst to the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation. The parent of three children, two of whom have Down syndrome, he is a member of the National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) board of directors; serves on the Sudbury, Massachusetts, School Board; is on the Council on Consumer Affairs of the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD); and is a former member of the State Advisory Council for special education.
(PA) Kathy Ryan
Co-Chair, Care Coordination Work Group
Member, Family Participation Work Group
Home First Program, Harvard Mann Educational Associates
Kathy is the parent of three children. Her oldest son Owen has multiple physical and cognitive disabilities. She has been advocating for children with special health care needs for nearly two decades, first as a parent leader within the Boston Public School arena and then as the Family Support Coordinator for the Home First Program of HMEA, Inc. This program serves children who have multiple medical needs, often technology dependent and receiving home nursing services. Kathy is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Advocates for Children as well as the Greater Boston ARC.
(HP) Barry Zallen, MD
Member, Medical Coverage Decision-Making Work Group
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
As Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), Dr. Zallen works with physicians across the state, sharing in the development of policies, programs, and quality measurements, and collaborating with physician and hospital leaders in innovative efforts to improve health care. He earned his M.D. at Northwestern University Medical School, did his residency training in pediatrics at Boston Floating Hospital (New England Medical Center) and at Children's Hospital in Boston, and completed a fellowship in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Children's Hospital. Following a few years on the faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Barry joined Harvard Community Health Plan (now Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates), as a pediatrician. He was a medical director, leading several practice sites at Harvard Vanguard, for 10 years before joining BCBSMA. His clinical interests include developmental and behavioral pediatrics, and genomics.