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Board of Directors
The OCHS Board of Directors is truly representative of the communities we serve on the Lower and Outer Cape. All of our directors live in our service region, and the majority are OCHS patients, knowing that those who use our services can best know the needs of our patients and the community.
With their impressive and varied skills and backgrounds, we are so grateful to them for their volunteer dedication and commitment in our shared mission.
Officers
Larry Ballantine, MBA, PhD
President
Dr. Larry Ballantine resides in Harwich where he serves as the Chair of the Harwich Affordable Housing Trust. Previously, he served as a Harwich Town Selectman and liaison to the town’s finance committee. Before “retiring,” he served as Vice President of Global Agrochemical and Environmental Services for Covance, an international contract research corporation. Dr. Ballantine holds a doctorate in Soil Chemistry/Analytical Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an Executive MBA degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison. He has had a long volunteer history on town boards and community organizations, including service on the Harwich Conservation Commission, the Pleasant Bay Alliance Steering Committee, the Cape Cod Water Protection Committee, and the Harwich Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Patti A. Stoll, MBA
First Vice President
Ms. Stoll has spent her career creating new initiatives in both nonprofit and corporate sectors. Recently retired from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Ms. Stoll is now consulting at the Brigham to help establish a “Brigham Brain Donation Hub.” Previously at the Brigham, Ms. Stoll was Director, Special Projects: Davis Alzheimer Prevention Program and Director, Women’s Brain Initiative. Prior to the Brigham, Ms. Stoll served various roles at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School’s NeuroDiscovery Center; she also spent 25 years in finance, most recently as Managing Director, Alternative Investments — Bank of America. Ms. Stoll is currently co-chair of the Silent Spring Institute board of directors.
Barry McLaughlin
Treasurer
Mr. McLaughlin is the General Manager of the Chequessett Club in Wellfleet. Prior to moving to Cape Cod, he served as General Manager of the Mosholu Golf Course in the Bronx and as Executive Director of The First Tee of the Metropolitan New York chapter, providing educational programs that instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf, with a focus of serving minority and underprivileged youth. Under Mr. McLaughlin’s leadership, The First Tee of Metropolitan New York thrived to be one of the top chapters in the country. With a lifelong commitment to youth mentoring, Mr. McLaughlin has served on the NYU and Nyack College Scholarship Committees and has been recognized with distinguished service awards by Special Olympics, VISIONS, Inc., and the World Golf Foundation.
Michael Peterson
Clerk
Michael Peterson is a sales executive and consultant with extensive background in the telecommunications software/technology field. He has held management positions with Digital Equipment Corp. and Siemens. He began his career with a decade of service in the US Navy, and is currently an associate with William Raveis Real Estate in East Orleans, specializing in the Outer Cape market. Prior to joining the OCHS Board of Directors, Mr. Peterson volunteered as a member of the organization’s Quality and Program Committee. He has lived in Eastham for 20 years with his wife Donna. The couple has four grown children.
Marta “Dikke” Hansen, MSW, LICSW
Quality Officer
Dikke Hansen has nearly four decades of experience in clinical social work and social service administration. Most recently, Dikke served as Director of Behavioral Health at Outer Cape Health Services from 2014 until 2021 when she retired from the role. An avid traveler, Dikke is also co-founder of Growing Edge Adventures, a company specializing in transformative and healing travel and retreat experiences. She holds a Certificate of Mastery on Global Mental Health/Trauma and Recovery from Harvard University and an MSW from Michigan State University. A native of Norway, Dikke resides in Wellfleet where she maintains a private therapy practice.
Board Members
Angelina Raneo Chilaka
Ms. Raneo Chilaka is a retired health education and general science teacher. She taught, coached, and inspired thousands of middle and high school students over four decades in New York City and in Harwich, Massachusetts where she retired in 2017. During her tenure, she also chaired the Wellness Department for the Monomoy Regional School District and Harwich Public Schools. A resident of Harwich, Ms. Chilaka currently serves on the board of directors of the Harwich Council on Aging and is a past secretary of the Cape Verdean Multicultural Auxiliary. She holds an undergraduate degree in health and education from Northeastern University and a Master’s degree in health and physical education from Columbia University. In 2022, Ms. Chilaka was named the Mercy Otis Warren Cape Cod Woman of the Year.
Alton Chun
Alton Chun is Chief Operating Officer at Upland Capital. Previously, he served as Regional Managing Director of EOS Hospitality which included the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club and the Red Jacket Resort Collection on Cape Cod. Prior to moving to Cape Cod, he worked in New York where he managed and opened Five Star and Five Diamond hotels from the Mandarin Oriental to the flagship Park Hyatt. In addition to OCHS, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Harwich Chamber of Commerce and Cape Cod Young Professionals; he is also a member of the Forbes Travel Guide’s Standards Advisory committee. Mr. Chun lives with his wife and four children in Yarmouth Port and holds a degree in computer science from the University of Delaware.
Peter J. Epstein
Mr. Epstein is a retired Boston attorney who specialized in cable and telecommunications law, primarily representing municipalities and nonprofit organizations. He was also involved, first as its legal counsel, then as President, in the establishment of a Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. He is a graduate of George Washington University and Suffolk University Law School.
Now a Provincetown resident, he is currently a member of the Equality Fund Advisory Committee at the Boston Foundation. Mr. Epstein has a long history in nonprofit board service, previously serving on the Board of Regents of the Point Foundation, the largest scholarship-granting nonprofit for LGBTQ students. He also served on the Board of Directors of GLAD: Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders in Boston as Development Committee Chair and Clerk of the Board; on the Board of Visitors of Fenway Community Health Center in Boston; and as former longtime Chairman of the Brookline Public Library Board of Trustees, leading efforts to renovate the historic main library building in Brookline Village.
Kathleen “Kass” Goodwin
Kass Goodwin holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona. Kass spent her 32-year engineering career primarily in the medical device industry with a global leader in medical technology, services, and solutions. Kass’ expertise is in firmware product development for implantable devices such as pacemakers, cardiac monitors, and defibrillators. She also has experience in cardiac device complaint analysis and FDA adverse event reporting, essential to Quality and Compliance for medical devices. Kass lives in Provincetown with her wife and is a member of the town’s Finance Committee.
Patti Hartsfield, RN, BSN, MN
Patti Hartsfield completed her BSN at the Medical College of Georgia and received her Master’s in Nursing Administration from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her work experience spanned much of the healthcare continuum. Following several years in critical care nursing, Ms. Hartsfield spent 20 years in nursing management and hospital administration, progressing from Assistant Director of Nursing to Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Operating Officer in community hospital settings. During her career, she achieved certifications in Nursing Administration, Ambulatory Surgery Center Administration, Practice Management, and Healthcare Risk Management. Most recently, she had the pleasure of working with Outer Cape Health Services as Chief Quality Officer and as the Director of Nursing and Health Center Site Director for its Harwich location. She is now retired and lives in Yarmouth Port.
Virginia Palazzo, MD
Dr. Virginia “Ginny” Palazzo worked as a primary care physician in metro Boston for more than three decades at Belmont Medical Associates and Mount Auburn Professional Services. During her tenure at Mount Auburn Hospital, she was appointed to many leadership roles, including the hospital’s Medical Staff Executive Committee, Quality and Safety Board, Medical Policy Committee, various search committees, and the board of the Independent Practice Association. Dr. Palazzo supervised Mount Auburn Hospital’s Nurse Practitioners and taught medical students as a clinical instructor in Medicine at Harvard; she received her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Now retired in Wellfleet, Dr. Palazzo volunteers with Mass Audubon, the Wellfleet Historical Society, and the American Red Cross.
Barbara Penn, MD
Dr. Barbara Penn is a retired internal medicine physician with more than three decades of experience working in health centers. She is a full-time resident of Wellfleet and ended her career as a primary care physician with Outer Cape Health Services from 2012 to 2015. Prior to moving to Wellfleet in 2012, she was employed at Massachusetts General Hospital Charlestown HealthCare Center for three decades. As Associate Unit Chief of the Internal Medicine Unit, Dr. Penn oversaw operations and the Quality Control Committee, in addition to maintaining a busy adult patient practice at the Charlestown center. At OCHS, Dr. Penn worked on quality improvement pilots at the Wellfleet health center and saw adult patients in Wellfleet and Provincetown. She received her medical degree from the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences—SUNY.
James Robertson, MPH, MBA
James served as CEO of India HIV/AIDS Alliance in New Delhi from 2010-2016. Currently, he provides insights on strategy, management, and fundraising to clients working to advance health equity. He has also been a leader for diversity and equality in the workplace, co-founding Reaching Out, an annual national conference for LGBTQ+ MBA students and alumni.
In addition to an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, James has an MBA from Yale School of Management and an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. Since 2020, he has been a full-time resident of Provincetown with his husband Rick, and in his spare time, he enjoys running, swimming, and dog parenting.
Michael A. Simons, CPA
Mike Simons is the retired CFO of Blauer Manufacturing Company. He received his MBA from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. In his long and successful career, he was a CPA with PWC and worked for a number of public and private companies until joining Blauer in 1995. Mike shared his wisdom and acumen as a former adjunct professor at Suffolk University Sawyer School of Business, teaching career management.
Mike served as President of both The Treasurers’ Club of Boston, and the Boston Chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI). He also served as Vice Chairman and Trustee of the Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) and on the boards of New England School of Acupuncture and Community Work Services. Mike lives in Wellfleet with his wife, Peggy, and volunteers as a naturalist with Mass Audubon.
Cyndi Williams
Cyndi Williams has served as the Executive Director of the Harwich Chamber of Commerce since 2017. Previously, she was the chamber’s director of membership. Prior to joining the Harwich Chamber, she worked in the hospitality industry as a sales, marketing, and event planning executive at some of the leading properties on Cape Cod, including the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club, Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club, and the Lighthouse Inn. Cyndi’s three decades of hospitality and tourism experience and relationship building were recognized in serving two terms on the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce board of directors. A resident of East Harwich, Williams is a grateful patient of Outer Cape Health Services. She holds a degree in Retail Marketing from Dean College.
Emeritus
Pamela French, MD, MPH, DTMH
Director Emeritus
Dr. Pamela French is a specialist in Infectious Diseases and an antibiotic development consultant. Her career has included academics, public health and clinical research. Locally, Dr. French has served as an officer of the Board of Directors of Helping Our Women and is an active volunteer at the International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies. Dr. French joined the OCHS Board in April 2008 and last served as President of the Board of Directors. Dr. French is also recognized as an acclaimed photographer of whales.