Chapter Staff and Board of Directors

Chapter Staff and Board of Directors

Emma Kenney

Fundraising Events Manager
Email Emma
617-634-2497

Bill Patjane

Regional Director
Email Bill


Medical Director

Marie Saint Hilaire, MD, FRCPC

Board of Directors

The Chapter Board is comprised of approximately twenty volunteers with diverse backgrounds who meet monthly to direct the operation of the APDA Massachusetts Chapter. Board members are not paid for their services and are committed to the mission of helping find a cure through funding research, and to helping people in their day-to-day activities. Board members work extremely hard in planning and organizing information sessions, the Annual “Optimism Walk” and numerous fundraising events.

Working closely with the APDA Information and Referral Center and Massachusetts’s two APDA Centers for Advanced Research, the APDA Massachusetts strives to provide service to the approximately 20,000 people living with Parkinson’s in the state,* as well as their family members and care partners. The Chapter fulfills this mission by giving grants to organizations providing Parkinson’s programming,  supplying guidance and education to support groups across the state, and supporting educational programming in collaboration with the APDA Information and Referral Center, among other activities.

*Based on the 2020 Census.

All are welcome to sit in on Board meetings, and those interested in doing more can apply to become Board members, subject to Chapter Bylaws.

Executive Board

President: Kristin Stapleton
Vice President: Jay Zavala

Treasurer: Alex Yen, PhD
Secretary: Melissa Diggin, NP

Memebers at Large

Gail Achin
Chris Dandrea, MBA
Alexandra Deal, JD
Debra R. Ellis, MSPT, NCS
Meryl Fink
Melissa Fire

Thomas Garaventi
Meg McAuliffe
Laurie Jo Tullis
Robert Tullis
Denyse Turpin, MPH, RN
Cathy Wesalowski

Advisors

Tami DeAngelis, PT, DPT
Terry Ellis, PhD, PT, NCS
Donna McLaughlin, MSW, LICSW
Marie Saint-Hilaire, MD, FRCPC

David Sommer, MD, MPH
 Lisa Sommers, MA, CCC-SLP
Cathi Thomas, MS, RN
Linda Tickle-Degnen, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA