Meet our Board of directors
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.
Gloria Clough
Gloria Clough of Concord is the chair of the Emerson Board of Directors and a recent chair of the Emerson Health Care Foundation board. She is a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist. She received her nursing degree from Roger Williams General Hospital School of Nursing, her bachelor's from St. Joseph’s College, a master’s in nursing from Boston College and a master’s of divinity from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. She established the first chaplaincy program at Emerson in 1991. She is currently chair of the Bridge Over Troubled Waters board and serves on the Orchard House board.
Paul Birch
Paul Birch is a private investor, advisor and business owner, and is the board's current vice chair and a past board chair. He was previously president, CEO and director of GEAC Computer Corporation. Prior to that, he was EVP, CFO and director of MRO Software Inc. Mr. Birch’s background was in public accounting with Coopers & Lybrand and Arthur Andersen & Co. He is currently a venture partner at Converge Venture Partners where he serves on its Advisory Committee, founder and managing partner of Acorn Capital Partners LLC, an early-stage consulting and investment company, and president of Wayside Athletic Club. Mr. Birch serves on a number of hospital committees.
John Boynton
John Boynton IV is a Concord-based entrepreneur and investor. He has co-founded several companies and runs Firehouse Capital, Inc., a privately-held investment company that focuses on health care services, real estate, technology, and other industries. He also serves as the chairman of Yandex, Russia’s largest internet company. In addition, he is committed to serving non-profit organizations. Mr. Boynton was honored as Concord’s Business Person of the Year and has a degree in American history from Harvard College.
Jeff Campbell
Jeff Campbell of Concord is a long-standing supporter of and advocate for Emerson Hospital. He has served since 2003 as a corporator and since 2012 on the Foundation Board, where he was a member of the Bethke Cancer Center Major Gifts Committee and later chaired the Center for Sports and Rehabilitative Therapies Fundraising Committee. Previously, Mr. Campbell’s professional career included positions in computer sales, product management and business operations at Digital Equipment Corp. and Compaq Commuter. An active community volunteer in Concord holding leadership roles for more than two decades, Mr. Campbell has served on the boards of Communities for Restorative Justice and the Emerson Umbrella Center for Arts, and is a past moderator at Trinitarian Congregational Church of Concord. He is currently chair of Concord’s Youth Services Advisory Board.
Richard Churchill, Jr.
Richard Churchill, Jr., treasurer of the board and chair of the Finance Committee, is a retired venture capitalist from Concord, 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 Emerson's Physician Hospital Organization 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.
Eileen M. Deignan, MD
Eileen Deignan, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist, a partner at Dermatology Associates of Concord, and a member of the Emerson Medical Staff since 1999. She is the chief of dermatology and the associated chair of the credentials committee and serves on the quality committee. Dr. Deignan holds leadership positions in the Massachusetts Academy of Dermatology and the New England Dermatological Society.
James DiGiovanni
James DiGiovanni is secretary of the board and chair of the compensation committee. He is a real estate developer and property manager with Period Property Management of Concord, a family business that owns and manages residential and commercial properties in the region. The Concord resident is also on the board of the Concord Business Partnership. He was a former member of the Concord Lions Club, a former board member of Open Table, and has served on a number of town committees. Mr. DiGiovanni is currently a member of the Rental Housing Association and is a corporator of the Middlesex Savings Bank.
Rose Ann Giordano
Rose Ann Giordano is president of Thomis Partners and an advisory board member of the New England Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Previously, she was a vice president of digital at Compaq Computer Corporations and the first woman vice president and corporate officer at Digital Equipment Corporation. Ms. Giordano served on the board of directors of Dataram Corporation, TimeTrade Inc., Geo Environmental Technologies, Inc., NACD, the MIT Enterprise Forum/NE, Common Angels, Elderhostel, and Trinity College of Vermont. She is a member of the Boston Club and Women Corporate Directors. Ms. Giordano serves on Emerson’s governance committee as vice-chair and is a member of the credentialing and the community benefits committees, and was formerly chair of the governance committee. She graduated from Marywood College and the executive program at Stanford University.
John R. Hickling
John Hickling of Concord is chair of Emerson's Audit Committee and sits on the hospital's finance committee and quality committee. A private investor, he is a former partner and founder of Liberty Square Asset Management. Prior to Liberty Square, Mr. Hickling worked for 16 years at Fidelity Investments, both in Boston and London, as a fund manager. He was elected as an Emerson corporator in 2004 and is a member of the Emerson Health Care Foundation board. Mr. Hickling formerly served on the board of 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. He currently teaches an equity analysis section as an Executive in Residence at Babson College. Mr. Hickling is on the Town of Concord's finance committee and also coaches soccer at Concord Academy.
Joshua nelson
Josh Nelson is managing director and head of healthcare at Thomas H. Lee Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. Previously, he worked at J.P. Morgan Partners, McKinsey & Company, and The Beacon Group, LLC. He is a director of healthcare and life sciences organizations, including Adare Pharma Solutions, Agiliti Health, Inc., Autism Home Care Holdings, CSafe Global, Hospice Care, and Smile Doctors. In addition to serving as a Board Member for Emerson Health, Mr. Nelson is involved with the Emerson Health Foundation, the United Way of Massachusetts, and the Boston Public Library Foundation. He holds an AB in politics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
David Lautz, MD, FACS
David Lautz, MD, FACS, is a highly-respected bariatric surgeon and medical director of the Emerson Center for Weight Loss. He earned his medical degree at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, and did his surgical residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He came on staff as an attending at Brigham and Women’s, where he remained for 15 years. As their director of bariatric surgery, he developed the largest bariatric program in the state. He became assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, where he won multiple awards for his teaching of residents and fellows and where his research was awarded an NIH-sponsored grant. Dr. Lautz has participated in a leadership role in numerous state and national quality initiatives in his field. He is one of the most experienced bariatric surgeons in New England, having performed well over 5,000 procedures, and is specifically known for his work in revisional bariatric surgery.
Anna Rasmussen
Anna Winter Rasmussen has been an advocate for Emerson since childhood; she has served as a corporator since 1996 and a member of the Foundation Board since 2013. The delivery of excellent, state-of-the-art and compassionate healthcare is her interest, and she serves on Emerson’s Quality Committee. In addition, Anna is devoted to supporting research to advance the understanding and treatment of autoimmune disease. Together with her husband, Neil, she founded the MIT Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she worked as an art director in print, video, and film production. Currently, she is the executive director of a non-profit historical and environmental preservation organization and serves on the boards of The Walden Woods Project, Orchard House, The Concord Museum, and the Science Visiting Council for PBS NOVA.
David I. Rose, MD
David I. Rose, MD of Sudbury is chair of radiology at Emerson Hospital and president of the North Bridge Imaging Group. He has been on the active medical staff since 1999. He was a hospital board member from 2006 until 2012, and he served as president of the medical staff from 2007 until 2009. He received his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, completed his residency in radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and did his fellowship in mammography at BWH and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Rose is board certified in radiology and is currently the chair of the Bylaws Committee of the Emerson medical staff.
William Ryan
William Ryan of Maynard is chair of the Governance Committee and is currently an active community volunteer, consultant and traveler. He spent his early years teaching and then moved on to administrative roles in the Acton-Boxborough School district, including as community education director and finance director before serving as superintendent for ten years. He currently serves on the boards for the Discovery Museums, Doli Atamian Campership Program, and Acton Lion’s Club, and is a corporator for Emerson Hospital and Middlesex Savings Bank. In addition, he has been an active volunteer with Acton Community Supper, Acton-Boxborough Arts Council, and Acton Youth Commission.
Christine Schuster, RN, MBA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Christine Schuster has led Emerson Health as president and CEO for 19 years. Prior to joining Emerson, she served as president and CEO of Quincy Medical Center and previously Athol Memorial Hospital. She also served as COO of the Tenet Saint Vincent Healthcare System, Extended Care Division. Ms. Schuster worked as a health care consultant with PriceWaterHouseCoopers early in her career.
Ms. Schuster serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association (MHA), the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, the Massachusetts Value Alliance, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Schuster is a member of the Clinical Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission and Advisory Boards for the Suffolk University MHA Program and Riverside Partners, a private equity firm, and serves on the MHA Finance, Governance, and Executive Committees. She is a Middlesex Bank Corporator and a member of the International Women's Forum.
In 2024, Ms. Schuster was honored with the Pinnacle Award from the Boston Chamber of Commerce. The previous year, she received the Massachusetts Health Council Champion of Health Award, the Community Leadership Award from the Foundation for Metrowest, and the American College of Healthcare Executives Distinguished Service Award. She was also a four-time recipient of both the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association's Most Valuable Player Award and the American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Awards. Ms. Schuster earned the Prescription for Excellence Award from the Mass Medical Health Law Report, and the Boston Globe and Women's Edge recognized her on the list of Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts from 2017 to 2023.
Her impact was underscored by her inclusion in Boston Magazine's 2023 and 2024 list of the 150 Most Influential Bostonians and her recognition in Becker's Healthcare "Women Hospital Presidents and CEOs to Know" and "Community Hospital CEOs to Know" lists. Ms. Schuster's educational background includes an honors MBA from the University of Chicago Booth Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Boston University.
Jill Stansky
Jill Stansky of Sudbury is chair of the Emerson board's quality committee and is active in regional philanthropy. She serves as trustee chair of the Sudbury Foundation, a private foundation working to transform lives in the metrowest area of Boston. She is a member of the executive council and visiting committee of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and on the steering committee for Women for UMass Amherst. She is a founder of HOPEsudbury, a grassroots organization which provides emergency financial assistance to Sudbury residents. She is a member of the Emerson Community Benefits Advisory Committee and serves on the Emerson Health Care Foundation board. She was elected to be an Emerson corporator in January 2004.
James A. Street, PhD, MD
James Street, PhD, MD, of Carlisle is the former chair of the department of anesthesia & perioperative medicine at Emerson Hospital, a clinical professor at Northeastern University, and medical advisor to the Steinberg Wellness Center for Mind & Body. He is also chair of the community benefit committee and a former president of the Emerson medical staff. Dr. Street is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine. He completed his medical internship at Mount Auburn Hospital and his anesthesia residency through the Harvard Medical School program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, American Society of Anesthesiologists, New England Society of Anesthesiologists, Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists, Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation. His interests include wellness, quality and patient safety, and medical group management.
Michael Zak
Michael Zak is a general partner emeritus at CRV, an early-stage technology venture capital firm with operations in Boston and Silicon Valley. He holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a trustee emeritus at Cornell and is also a member of the board of directors of the Center for a New American Security, a Washington, D.C. think tank.
