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Co-Chair
Karen Charles has been an Advisory Board member since 2017. She is Commissioner of the Department of Telecommunications and Cable, where she serves as the principle communications regulator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In addition to her duties at the Department, Commissioner Charles is an active board member of the North American Numbering Council, and a member of the Telecommunications Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Commissioner Charles is also involved in broadband policy development, and is a member of both the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. Prior to her appointment as Commissioner in 2014, Karen joined the Department as its Chief of Staff in 2012. Karen brings to the Department years of leadership experience in both city and state government, having served as Chief of Staff for the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Executive Office of Transportation, and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. Before joining government, Karen was a producer for the award-winning news program, Greater Boston with Emily Rooney on WGBH. A graduate of Suffolk University and the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Karen remains active and involved in the local Boston community.
Karen Charles became the Advisory Board Chair in April 2023.
Karen SweetCo-Chair
Karen Meyerhoff Sweet was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from Park School, Harvard College, and the Shady Hill School Teacher Training Course. Karen lived and worked in Europe for 11 years as a dealer in contemporary art. From 1977 to 1983 she owned and directed her own gallery in Athens, Greece. Karen resettled in the US in 1983 and married Robert W. Sweet, Jr. They have 2 adult children.
During the mid-80’s, Karen headed a grass-roots lobbying committee for the organization, Resolve, and she was instrumental in the passage of state health care legislation that requires insurers to cover the cost of infertility treatments, just as they do other pregnancy-related procedures. In about 1985, Karen began a long relationship with the Grow Clinic, starting as a fund-raising volunteer and remaining a member of the committee for “Food for Thought.”
In 2001, Karen earned her Massachusetts educator licensure and began teaching French and Spanish at both the primary and secondary level. She currently teaches both languages in special education programs in the Newton high schools.
Karen joined the advisory board of Children’s Health Watch in summer of 2015. She became the Advancement Chair in 2018.
Dr. Chatterjee is an internal-medicine and pediatrics-trained physician at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program who also teaches social medicine at Harvard Medical School. He grew up in North Carolina, attended Harvard College, and then taught high school chemistry for two years in Newark, NJ. After attending medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he did residency at Yale and then a fellowship in general internal medicine at Harvard. His clinical and research interests include family homelessness, food insecurity in vulnerable populations, and the opioid epidemic and how it impacts those experiencing homelessness. He is dedicated to developing innovative programs to improve the health of vulnerable children and families, particularly those experiencing homelessness, and to encouraging students and trainees to pursue caring for underserved populations.
Marjorie ClapproodMarjorie comes to the table with a life-long history of political involvement in public service. As a volunteer for the early campaigns of Michael Dukakis, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry before she ran successfully for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, she served for three terms before running for Lt. Governor of Massachusetts. After a narrow loss, Marjorie found a home in radio and television, hosting “Clapprood & Whitley” on WRKO radio, “The Marjorie Clapprood Show” on New England Cable News (named best public service programming in New England) and “Clapprood Live!” on Lifetime Television. She subsequently consulted for AOL Time Warner’s Teen Action Campaign, Jane Doe Inc (the Mass Assn Against Domestic Violence), Codman Square Health Center, Sportsmen’s Tennis Club and many other leading organizations in Greater Boston before forming Clapprood Associates that later became Clappazzola Partners, after Chris Spinazzola, partner in life and all things professional and political, joined in the effort, and Clappazzola was born. Marjorie joined the Children’s HealthWatch Advisory Board in 2017.
Charlotte Golar RichieCharlotte Golar Richie is a former state legislator and administrator with a background in public service and political activism, and a deeply held commitment to civil rights, fairness and equality. Currently, she is a public service fellow at the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, UMass Boston. Her past positions include roles as Commissioner for the MA Commission Against Discrimination, where she successfully handled hundreds of discrimination complaints; Senior Vice President for Public Policy, Advocacy & Government Relations for YouthBuild USA, where she oversaw its national campaign to protect federal funding for over 250 programs that connect young people to jobs and education; and Housing Chief & Director of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development, where she spearheaded a citywide effort to build and preserve thousands of affordable homes and apartments.
Charlotte made history in Boston in 2013, as the city’s first African-American woman to run for mayor, garnering enough votes in a 12-person field to land a third-place primary election finish. She has continued her community activism through her board service with Boston’s Higher Ground, the MA Women’s Political Caucus, Tufts Health Plan and Tufts Health Plan Foundation, YouthBuild USA – and most recently, as a member of the Advisory Board for the Children’s Health Watch. A former Peace Corps Volunteer, Charlotte holds degrees from Rutgers University (B.A.), Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism (M.S.) and an M.B.A. from Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Management. Charlotte and her husband Winston Richie are the proud parents of two adult daughters, who are engaged in efforts to effect positive change in their own communities.
Morgan Hanger is the Executive Director of the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative’s (CTTI), a public private partnership between the FDA and Duke University focused on improving the quality and efficiency of clinical trials. Ms. Hanger has deep experience convening organizations to solve complex problems related to evidence generation and is passionate about data ethics and transparency. Prior to CTTI, she worked at health technology companies focused on patients. Notably, she served as vice president of the online patient research network PatientsLikeMe (PLM), where she led partnerships to utilize patient-generated health data in life sciences and regulatory settings. Prior to PLM, Ms. Hanger worked in advisory services for Avalere Health, where she helped biotech, pharma, and professional societies create more effective research strategies. She has also held positions within the Health Outcomes Group at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and at the Congressional Budget Office. Ms. Hanger graduated summa cum laude from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chris SpinazzolaLike his wife and fellow board member, Marjorie Clapprood, Chris was also a student of public service, but one that started with a stint in VISTA, then the District Attorney in Boston, before landing in the State House working for the Committee on Ways and Means Chairman, Rep Richard Voke. The son of Anthony Spinazzola, much loved food and wine critic for the Boston Globe, Chris found himself taking on his father’s love of food and wine when Anthony died all too young in his 50’s, and Chris formed the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation with his family. Chris went on to run the Spinazzola Festival of Food & Wine for 22 years, attracting 5,000+ guests, 130 VIP celebrity chefs and 130 vintners from around the Globe each year, raising $1M in one night affectionately called the “Prom for Grown-ups,” funds that went to hunger relief and homelessness programs throughout New England. Spinazzola’s in Framingham was one of several restaurants Chris ran before joining Marjorie in her consulting business, thereby bringing the “zola” half to Clappazzola Partners. Chris joined the Children’s HealthWatch Advisory Board in 2017.
Terry Yoffie works as a volunteer on education issues in public and private schools and with secular and Jewish organizations advising on financing, fund development, strategy, internal controls and risk management. She also manages or supports projects in civic engagement and community organizing at Newton North High School, the League of Women Voters, and in Jewish social justice organizations. She participates on City of Newton task forces, committees, and boards. Terry has more than 30 years’ experience in development, membership, outreach, financial management, reporting and planning. She is a C.P.A. and a Wexner Fellow.
Kate O’NeillKate O’Neill is the Chief Research Engagement Officer at the National Down Syndrome Society. She has worked in the nonprofit field for more than 25 years at the national, regional, and local levels. Her expertise lies at the crowded intersection of community engagement, health communications, advocacy, and research participation, making her a trusted collaborator across the nonprofit, healthcare, policy, and research sectors.
Prior to her work with the Down syndrome community, Kate held leadership roles at the International Institute of New England, Autism Speaks, the Massachusetts Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, and The Bridge of Central Massachusetts. At these organizations, she drove fundraising, community relations, advocacy, volunteer engagement, and field development efforts that expanded services, changed policies, and strengthened support networks for individuals and families.
Kate began her career in higher education, as administrative staff at Framingham State University and the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.
Throughout her career, Kate has worked in partnership with stakeholders to secure public and private funding, develop strategic partnerships, drive high-performing teams, and champion policy initiatives with the goal of creating meaningful change in communities that need and deserve more attention.
Rosemarie DayRosemarie Day is a health reform pioneer who has a passion for improving access to health care in the US and making health care more patient-centered and equitable. Rosemarie has bridged gaps between the public, private, and non-profit sectors throughout her career to develop new possibilities. She works collaboratively with diverse groups to achieve groundbreaking results. As a founding leader of the Health Connector in Massachusetts, Rosemarie played a significant role in launching the award-winning organization that established the first state-run health insurance exchange in the United States and brought the uninsured rate down to 2%, the lowest in the country. During her tenure, the Health Connector became a model for national health reform.
She recently served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Lawrence General Hospital where she led the acquisition of two local hospitals to form Merrimack Health, a new regional healthcare system. As the Founder & CEO of Day Health Strategies, she has served numerous organizations that want to transform their approach to offering or delivering health care. A nationally recognized expert in health reform and an accomplished leader, Rosemarie is now advising CEOs on how to lead change. She is the author of Marching Toward Coverage: How Women Can Lead the Fight for Universal Healthcare (Beacon Press, 2020) as well as several articles on health reform and leading strategic change.
Rosemarie holds an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School and an AB from Stanford University. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, a diverse urban community where she and her husband raised their four children.
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