The People of LCHC

Inspired by a childhood divided between a war-affected third world country (the Congo) and a high performing first world one (Switzerland), as well as parents intimately involved in rural development NGOs, Dr. Kiame Mahaniah brings a deep passion for social justice and the fight against inequities to his work as CEO at the Lynn Community Health Center in Lynn, Massachusetts. He attended medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia as a National Health Service Corps scholar and has been working in federally qualified community health centers ever since. He was the 2012-2013 Massachusetts Academy of Family Medicine Physician of the Year and holds an appointment at the Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Mahaniah’s clinical interests lie in teaching and integrating opioid addiction treatment into primary care and behavioral health. His leadership journey is anchored in lean improvement and deep respect for the employees’ dignity.

Ryan Sullivan holds more than 20 years of experience in healthcare. Previously Ryan held positions within Massachusetts General Hospital that included planning and opening new buildings, director-level financial management, and, most recently, as the Administrative Director for their Center for Genomic Medicine, requiring comprehensive responsibilities encompassing strategic and financial management, human resources, compliance, safety, facilities, and operational leadership. He is also a Family Nurse Practitioner who continues his clinical practice at Lynn Community Health Center. Ryan earned his BS in Biochemistry from Merrimack College, an MBA from Suffolk University, MS in Nursing from Boston College, and an MS in Clinical Operations from Harvard Medical School.

Kimberly Eng is the Chief Operating Officer of Lynn Community Health Center. She is proud to serve an organization that is recognized as a leader in developing new initiatives that result in high-impact, low cost healthcare. Kimberly is a trained industrial engineer and has worked in a number of industries including healthcare, manufacturing and construction design. She participated as an early pioneer of lean in healthcare for a large complex healthcare organization, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a major teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Over the last ten years, Kimberly has led numerous continuous improvement initiatives in order to improve patient access, quality, and cost. As part of the spread of lean philosophy, Kimberly has co-facilitated the development and delivery of lean training for senior leaders and provided coaching support and technical expertise post-training in the U.S., Australia, and Egypt.

Dr. Geoffrey Pechinsky has been the Chief Medical Officer at LCHC since July 2018. He was born and raised in the North Shore and grew up just a few miles from LCHC. Volunteering for a college summer at a health clinic that took care of uninsured patients and migrant workers inspired Dr. Pechinsky to pursue a medical career to serve populations lacking equitable access to healthcare. He trained at the first community health center-sponsored residency in the United States, in family medicine, so he could take care of patients at times of need throughout their lives. Dr. Pechinsky practiced full spectrum family medicine for 18 years and taught residents as a faculty member at two residency programs before taking the role of CMO. His current practice mainly serves patients with complex medical and psychiatric needs, and he loves seeing patients at LCHC. Dr. Pechinsky’s leadership journey started in the US Navy, when he served in various leadership roles both stateside and overseas, including a deployment during Operation Enduring Freedom. He has a passion for servant leadership and mentoring new leaders. Dr. Pechinsky received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his MD from Boston University School of Medicine. Away from work, he can be found at any number of rinks or fields cheering on his three children.

Carlos Cappas is the Chief Behavioral Health Officer at Lynn Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in the Greater Boston region. Dr. Cappas has implemented behavioral health integration programs at FQHCs and has led initiatives focused on integrated care and population health both in adult and pediatric primary care settings. He continues his work by further developing LCHC’s Behavioral Health services through clinical and operational integration, expansion of telewellness services and workforce development. Carlos received his doctoral degree from Ponce Health Sciences University in Ponce, Puerto Rico and is a graduate of UMass Medical School’s Fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology in Primary Care. He also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from UMass Boston.

Kathy Duggan is the Chief Human Resources Officer. Kathy joined Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) in February 2020, right before the COVID pandemic began. She is responsible for Staffing, Compensation and Benefits, Employee and Union Relations, Performance Management, Organization Design and Employee Development. As part of the Staffing function, Kathy and the HR team implement the Credentialing and Privileging Policy at LCHC in conjunction with Executive Management in the Medical and Behavioral Health functions.
Before joining LCHC, Kathy worked for Insight Performance, consulting on HR issues for small to medium sized companies. It was in this role that she was exposed to the community health field and was attracted to continuing her career serving those that are most in need of our services.
Prior to Insight Performance, Kathy worked for General Electric. She started in the Aviation Business Segment and held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility as a Recruiter, HR Business Partner, HR Manager and as the HR Compliance Leader for Aviation. She supported engineering, manufacturing, sales, support, finance, IT and marketing functions. In 2011 she was promoted to the corporate level as the Fair Employment Practices Leader. In this role she oversaw the development and support of over 300 Affirmative Action Plans, supported compensation with equity analyses, published a weekly HR Risk Bytes column and was responsible for ensuring that the HR team complied with global privacy laws. In addition, she ran the HR Risk Management program for HR and promoted Diversity and Inclusion events throughout GE’s businesses.
Kathy is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Dr. Elena L. Freydin has been working at Lynn Community Health Center in several clinical, administrative and leadership positions since 2004. Elena was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to the United States when she was 13 years old. Trained as an adult nurse practitioner, Elena received a Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University, and Masters of Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees from MGH Institute of Health Professions. In addition to her leadership and clinical responsibilities, Elena is an adjunct faculty at Salem State University Graduate School of Nursing. She is passionate about improving healthcare access in underserved communities, and providing care with dignity and respect.

Kim MacLeod joined the health center in 1985 as an Accounting Supervisor, and has been CFO since September 1998. She leads, manages and directs all financial activities for the health center and building financing corporations. In her roles as CFO and as the staff lead for the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors, Kim aligns LCHC’s mission with its operating budget. Her diligent oversight of billable visits, federal funding and grant opportunities allows LCHC to truly provide quality care regardless of ability to pay.

Meaghen Hamill is the Senior Director of External Relations and Strategic Communication for Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) since March of 2022. She is responsible for supporting the Chief Executive Officer with managing and building external relationships including liaising between LCHC and community and government partners; assisting with streamlining and alignment of internal communications; and elevating LCHC’s mission, vision, values and goals both internally and within the greater Lynn community. Meaghen’s role as a member of the Senior Leadership team also includes LCHC Board of Directors relations; overseeing the Marketing and Communications, Development, and Grants Departments; and coordinating a significant and always varying set of large and small interdependent initiatives.
Prior to joining Lynn Community Health Center, Meaghen’s career focused on policy and community relations in the public sector. She held a variety of strategic leadership positions representing the City of Lynn and the 3rd Essex District in the State Legislature and Mayor’s Office, including as a Senior Advisor to Mayor Jared Nicholson and his team during their transition into office at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022. Her comprehensive knowledge of the office’s extensive responsibilities and of the City of Lynn (diverse population of 100,000 people) were honed during her time as the prior administration’s Chief of Staff, serving directly as a trusted advisor of Mayor Emeritus Tom McGee.
As former Mayor McGee’s Chief of Staff, Meaghen worked closely with LCHC during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically as LCHC’s operational partner within the City of Lynn to launch and maintain a Mass Vaccination Site during 2021. That partnership revealed to her LCHC’s foundation as a social justice institution that strives to ensure equitable care in the City of Lynn, and upon completion of her prior role, Meaghen sought an opportunity to join LCHC in furthering this mission.
Meaghen is a lifelong Lynn resident and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, with a minor in Communications from Boston University.

Clare Hayes is the Director of Development at Lynn Community Health Center. A graduate of Regis College, Clare initially pursued a career in secondary education. While raising her family she had the opportunity to sit on a variety of boards, both large and small.
Clare joined the staff of LCHC in 2008 when the health center was expanding its Development Office in preparation for a Capital Campaign. It became clear to Clare that LCHC was a well-kept secret in the Lynn Community. It has been a core goal of hers to raise LCHC’s profile in the community. She has worked to let people know of its mission, the depth, breadth, expertise of its staff, and its growth as an anchor institution in downtown Lynn
When the successful Campaign concluded Clare remained on staff expanding her role. She accepted her present position in 2015. Today she is excited to be part of the 50+1 Anniversary Celebration of this venerable institution.
An avid boater, Clare can be found in season on the waters off the coast of Massachusetts.