Senior Advisors

We thank the members of the Senior Advisor Group for their committment to making this a truely cross-sector event with a focus on innovation. The Senior Advisors come from a variety of areas across industry, academia, government and human services.

State Agency Leadership

Executive Office of Health & Human Services (EOHHS)

JudyAnn Bigby, MD, Secretary

Stacey Monahan, Chief of Staff

Christine Griffin, Assistant Secretary, Disability Policies & Programs

Rosalie Edes, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Disability Policies & Programs

Ann Hartstein, Secretary, Executive Office of Elder Affairs

Kristen Thorne, Deputy Medical Director, Office of Medicaid

John Auerbach, Commissioner, Department of Public Health

Charles Carr, Commissioner, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission

Elin Howe, Commissioner, Department of Developmental Services

Janet LaBreck, Commissioner, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind

Barbara Leadholm, Commissioner, Department of Mental Health

Heidi Reed, Commissioner, Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Coleman Nee, Commissioner of Veteran’s Services

Paul Barabani, Superintendent, Holyoke Soldiers Home

Betty Ann Ritcey, Chief Operating Officer, Chelsea Soldier’s Home

Kathy Chmiel, CEO, Massachusetts Hospital School

Karen Langley, AT & Community Support Programs Director

Georgia Simpson-May, Director Office of Health Equity, Department of Public Health

Executive Office of Housing and Community Development (EOHCD)

Gregory Bialecki, Secretary

Eric Nakajima, Senior Innovation Advisor, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development

Executive Office of Education (EOE)

Paul Reville, Secretary                                                  

Susan Hargrave, Office of Educational Technology, Department of Elementary & Secondary Education                  

David Cedrone, Associate Commissioner for Economic & Workforce Development, Department of Higher Education

Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Patrick Larkin, Director

Carlos Martinez-Vela, Ph.D., Director of Innovation Policy, John Adams Innovation Institute

Senior Advisors

Cheri Blauwet, MD, Chief Resident of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehab Hospital

James Brett, President & CEO, New England Council

Judy Brewer, Director of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Wayne Burton, President, North Shore Community College

Gururaj Deshpande, Chairman, Sparta Group

James Doyle, Manager Strategic Relations Group, Apple

Dr. Ted Fay, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sport Management at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland

James Gips, Ph.D., John R. and Pamela Egan Chair in Computer Science Chairperson - Information Systems Department, Carroll School of Management, Boston College

Larry Goldberg, Director, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family, National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM)

Gary Goldberger, President, Fablevision

Eugene Goldfield, Ph.D., Wyss Institute

Matthew S. Goodwin, Ph.D., Director of Clinical Research/Co-Director, Autism & Communication Technology / MIT Media Laboratory

Corinne Grousbeck, Venture Capitalist

John Hathorne, Founder & CEO, MassChallenge

Neil Heffernan, PhD, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Nigel Jacob, Senior Advisor for Emerging Technologies, Co-Chair, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, Boston City Hall

Vincent Manno, Provost & Dean of Faculty, Olin College

Martin Meehan, Chancellor, UMASS Lowell

David Rose, Ed.D, Founder & Chief Education Officer, CAST

Steven M. Rothstein, President, Perkins School for the Blind

Nina Saberi, Managing General Partner, Castile Venture

Yvonne Spicer, Ed.D. , Vice-President, National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL), Museum of Science

Charles West, Ph.D., Principal and Managing Director, Cultural Integration Consulting

Gianfranco Zaccai, Co-Founder, President, Chief Design Officer, Continuum

Legislative Leadership

Sen. Fred Berry (D) Peabody, Senate Majority Leader; Chair, Ethics & Rules

Sen. Thomas Kennedy (D) Brockton, Joint Committee on Ways & Means; Chair, Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure; Elections Laws; Public Service

Sen. Richard J. Ross (R) Wrentham, Joint Committee on Economic Development & Emerging Technologies; Joint Committee on Education; Joint Committee on Higher Education, Ethics & Rules; Judiciary; Mental Health & Substance Abuse; Municipalities & Regional Government; Public Safety; Ways & Means

Sen. Karen Spilka (D) Ashland, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; Joint Committee on Ways & Means; Vice Chair, Ethics & Rules; Global Warmimg & Climate Change; Redistricting

Sen. Michael Moore (D) Shrewsbury, Senate Chair; Joint Committee on Higher Education; Joint Committee on Ways & Means; Vice Chair, Public Safety & Homeland Security; Post Audit & Oversight; Ways & Means

Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D) Somerville, Senate Vice Chair; Joint Committee on Elder Affairs; Joint Committee on Health Care Financing; Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities; Vice Chair, Education; Housing; Health Care Financing; Judiciary; Ways & Means

Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (D) Boston, Chair, Joint Committee on Education; Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities; Vice-Chair, Redistricting; Municipalities  & Regional Government; Tourism; Arts & Cultural Development; Bonding, Capital Expenditures & State Assets

Rep. Tom Sannicandro (D) Ashland, House Chair, Joint Committee on Higher Education

Rep. James O’Day (D) West Boylston, Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities; Vice Chair, Bills in the Third Reading; Mental Health & Substance Abuse

Rep. Kimberly Ferguson (R) Holden, Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities; Joint Committee on Education; Joint Committee on Elder Affairs

Rep. Alice Peisch (D) Wellesley, Chair, Joint Committee on Education

Rep. Joseph Wagner (D) Chicopee, House Chairman on the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies