Board Members
Our doctors practice world-class medicine. Our nurses deliver compassionate care. Our technicians and staff provide invaluable support. Our board members provide guidance and oversight to ensure that we are fulfilling our mission to the community. Learn all about them below
Paul Birch
Paul Birch, treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee, is a private investor, advisor and business owner. He was previously president, CEO and director of GEAC Computer Corporation and EVP, CFO and director of MRO Software Inc. Mr. Birch’s background was in public accounting with Coopers & Lybrand and Arthur Andersen & Co. He currently serves as a director of Double Take Software as well as chair of Nimbit Inc. and CommonAngels. Mr. Birch also serves on the Emerson Health Care Foundation Board.
Robert Cantu, MA, MD, FACS, FACSM
Robert Cantu, MA, MD, FACS, FACSM, of Lincoln, is chairman of the Department of Surgery, chief of neurosurgery and director of sports medicine at Emerson Hospital. He is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine, co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University Medical Center and co-founder and chairman of the medical advisory board for the Sports Legacy Institute. Dr. Cantu has a clinical interest in sports medicine, specifically in the area of concussions and head/spine injuries. He is the at-large representative of the medical staff on the Emerson Board of Directors.
Richard Churchill, Jr.
Richard Churchill, Jr., of Concord, is a retired venture capitalist, formerly a partner of TA Associates and co-founder of M/C Venture Partners. He and his wife own and operate The Cottage, a home furnishings and design business in Concord. Mr. Churchill is also a member of the Emerson Health Care Foundation Board. He is a former trustee of Concord Academy and Nashoba Brooks School. Mr. Churchill is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Business School.
Gloria Clough
Gloria Clough of Concord is vice chair of the Emerson Health Care Foundation Board. She is a clinical specialist in psychiatry and mental health with a private practice in Concord. She received her undergraduate degree from the Roger Williams General Hospital School of Nursing and her master’s in nursing from Boston College. She also holds a bachelor’s in psychology from St. Joseph’s College and a master’s of divinity from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. Ms. Clough established the first chaplaincy program at Emerson in 1991.
Paul D’Ambrosio, MD
Paul D’Ambrosio, MD, president-elect of the Emerson Hospital medical staff, is a lifelong resident of Concord and was born at Emerson. A graduate of Harvard College and Tufts Medical School, he co-founded Concord Internal Medicine Associates. Dr. D’Ambrosio has served on the board of Emerson’s Independent Practice Association and has chaired Emerson’s Physician-Hospital Organization board since its inception. He is currently a board member of Partners Community HealthCare Inc. and is on the board of the Emerson Health Care Foundation.
James DiGiovanni
James DiGiovanni of Concord is a real estate developer and property manager with Period Realty Trust of Concord, a family business that owns and manages residential and commercial properties in the region. Mr. DiGiovanni is on the board of the Concord Business Partnership and is co-chair of the Concord Economic Council. He has been active in the Concord Lions Club and has served on a number of town building committees. Mr. DiGiovanni is currently a member of the Rental Housing Association and is a corporator of the Middlesex Savings Bank.
Donald Driscoll, Jr., MD
Donald Driscoll, Jr., MD, of Concord, is president of the Emerson medical staff and is an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Concord and Westford. He is a member of the Emerson Health Care Foundation Board. Dr. Driscoll is a graduate of Harvard College and Tufts University Medical School. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery and completed his residencies at New England Deaconess Hospital and the New England Medical Center and his fellowship in total joint replacement at Massachusetts General Hospital. He supports a number of high school teams in the region.
Rose Ann Giordano
Rose Ann Giordano of Acton is chair of Emerson’s Governance Committee and is a high-tech consultant. She formerly served in sales and marketing for Compaq Computer’s Customer Services Division and was the first woman vice president and corporate officer at Digital Equipment Corporation. Ms. Giordano serves on the Board of Directors of TimeTrade Inc. and the MIT Enterprise Forum. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Eric Haartz
Eric Haartz, chair of the Board Quality Committee, is CEO of Haartz Corporation, an Acton-based manufacturer of engineered coated materials for automotive and marine industries throughout the world. A resident of Concord, Mr. Haartz is involved with the Middlesex West Chamber of Commerce School-Business Partnership Committee. He is also active in the Horseless Carriage Car Club of America and, along with his wife, Denise, has been an active supporter of the Emerson Hospital Auxiliary.
John Hickling
John Hickling of Concord is a private investor. He is a former partner and founder of Liberty Square Asset Management. Prior to Liberty Square, he was at Fidelity Investments, both in Boston and London as a fund manager. Mr. Hickling serves on the board of the Emerson Health Care Foundation and the Concord-Carlisle Community Chest. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Bowdoin College and received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts.
Winston Hindle, Jr.
Winston Hindle, Jr., secretary of the Emerson Hospital Board and chair of the Audit Committee, is a Concord resident and a retired senior vice president of Digital Equipment Corporation. He joined Digital in 1962 as assistant to the president and founder, Kenneth Olsen. A graduate of Amherst College, Mr. Hindle received his master’s degree from MIT Sloan School. He is a board member of two private companies, a trustee of the Concord Museum and former chair of the board of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.
Mary Johnson
Mary Johnson is a long-time resident and leader of the Concord community. She served as president/chair of a variety of Concord-area economic development and housing organizations including the Concord Chamber of Commerce, Belknap House and the Concord-Carlisle Community Chest. She currently chairs the Concord Housing Authority and serves on the town’s Economic Development Committee, the Concord Restorative Justice Program and the board of Carleton-Willard Village in Bedford.
Ronald Johnson
Ronald Johnson of Westford is vice chairman of the Emerson Hospital Board and chairman of the Emerson Health Care Foundation Board. He retired as founder and executive vice president of PhotoMetrics Inc. in Woburn. Mr. Johnson is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in aeronautical engineering and specialization in high-altitude physics, optical scanning and materials analysis. Long active in the civic affairs of Westford, he served as a member of the School Committee, Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals.
John Lowe III, PhD
John Lowe, III, PhD, of Concord, is chairman of the Emerson Hospital Board. He is an associate professor and chair of Health Care Administration at Simmons College. A graduate of Duke University, he earned his master’s in health services administration from Ohio State University, and his PhD in public policy analysis from the University of Illinois. Currently, he is chairman of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration and a member of the Trustee Advisory Council of the Massachusetts Hospital Association.
Amaresh Mahapatra, PhD
Amaresh Mahapatra, PhD, of Acton, is chair of the Community Benefit Advisory Group for Emerson and is president of Linden Photonics, a company he co-founded in 2002. Linden Photonics manufactures a range of optical fiber cable for use by agencies of the defense department and their contractors as well as by advanced technology firms. Dr. Mahapatra became a Corporator of Emerson Hospital in 2004.
David Rose, MD
David Rose, MD, of Sudbury, is past-president of the medical staff, chairman of radiology and director of breast imaging. He has been a member of the Emerson medical staff since 1999. He received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He also completed fellowship training in mammography at Brigham and Women’s and in onco-radiology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Christine Schuster, RN, MBA
Ms. Schuster has over 25 years of health care experience. Prior to joining Emerson in 2005, she served as president and CEO of Quincy Medical Center and previously Athol Memorial Hospital. She also served as chief operating officer of the Extended Care Division of Tenet Saint Vincent Healthcare System in Worcester and director of critical care at New England Deaconess Hospital. Early in her career, she was a healthcare consultant with Coopers & Lybrand. Ms. Schuster received her master’s in business administration, with honors, from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a bachelor of science in nursing from Boston University. In 2005, she was appointed by Governor Romney to serve on the Massachusetts Health Education and Financing Authority (HEFA) Board of Directors. She was later elected chairman of the Mass. HEFA Board. Ms. Schuster is a member of the American Hospital Association Metro Regional Council and the boards of the Voluntary Hospitals of America Northeast and the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals. She has served on the board of the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA), where she chaired the Clinical Issues Advisory Council and was a member of the Leadership Education Committee. At MHA, she continues to advocate for quality, cost-effective patient care as a member of the Committee on Finance. She is also engaged in civic affairs and has served on the board of the Concord Chamber of Commerce and the Concord Economic Council. Ms. Schuster recently received the 2010 American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Award for her work in advocating for quality patient care.
Michael Zak
Michael Zak of Concord is chair of the Compensation Committee. He is a general partner at Charles River Ventures, where he serves as the principal sponsor for investments in a number of information technology markets. In 2002, he was recognized as the Venture Capitalist of the Year by the Massachusetts Telecommunications Council. Mr. Zak has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has served as a board member of Cornell University’s Foundation.