The Boston Foundation announces four new Directors
Dr. Charles Anderson, Petrina Martin Cherry, Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, and Rob Waldron added to Board; Dwight Poler named Vice Chair
June 29, 2023
Boston – The Boston Foundation today announced the appointment of four new members to the TBF Board of Directors, including Dimock Center CEO Dr. Charles Anderson, Boston Medical Center Vice President of Community Engagement and External Affairs Petrina Martin Cherry, MassBio CEO and President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, and Curriculum Associates CEO Rob Waldron.
Board Chair Linda Mason welcomed the new Directors for terms beginning July 1, 2023, while acknowledging and thanking longtime Directors Paul W. Lee and Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, both of whom are leaving the Board after ten years because of term limits.
“As the Boston Foundation enters a new era for the organization, driven by our renewed focus on equity, the Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome our quartet of new directors,” Mason said. “Charles, Trina, Kendalle, and Rob each bring remarkable skills, strengths, and perspectives to the Board as leaders in health care, life sciences, and business, and as active members of Boston’s philanthropic and nonprofit communities. At a time when TBF will be focused on strengthening our partnerships throughout the communities we serve, their expertise will play a critical part in the Board’s guidance for the organization.”
Mason also announced that Dwight Poler, Director at TBF since 2018, has been chosen as the Board’s Vice Chair and recognized the departure of Paul Lee and Myechia Minter-Jordan.
“Paul and Myechia have both been active, thoughtful, and impactful members of the Board for the past decade, providing valuable guidance and insight through a decade of growth that included both the Foundation’s Centennial and the transition from Paul Grogan to Lee Pelton as CEO. They will both be missed on the Board, but we look forward to their continued involvement with the Foundation and our collective work.”
The full Board approved all four new directors in a vote at the June 22nd meeting. Their biographies are below, and photos are available upon request.
Dr. Charles Anderson
Charles L. Anderson, MD, MPH, MBA is currently President and CEO of the Dimock Center, where he and his team are redefining the model of a healthy community by providing equitable access to comprehensive health care, mental health services, and early education. Under his leadership, The Dimock Center is expanding access to substance use disorder treatment by adding capacity and improving recovery rates by embedding evidence-based strategies such as music therapy in partnership with the Berklee College of Music.
Before joining the Dimock Center, Charles co-founded Exaltare Capital Partners to lead private equity investments in mission-oriented health and wellness companies – building on his experience as VP, Corporate and Business Development for the Caritas Christi Healthcare System, where he led mergers and acquisitions, and time spent as a manager in the healthcare consulting practice at Deloitte, where he worked with large health care systems, biopharma, and insurance company clients.
Charles is currently on the Board of Cambridge College, the Board of Trustees for the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Board of Overseers. Charles also serves on the Massachusetts Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council and is a member of the Health Equity Compact.
Charles received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, an MBA from the Boston University Questrom School of Business, and an Honorary Degree from The Urban College of Boston.
Petrina Martin Cherry
Petrina Martin Cherry is the Vice President of Community Engagement and External Affairs at Boston Medical Center Health System, where she leads community program development, particularly around the hospital’s efforts to increase health care equity, economic mobility, workforce development in the life sciences, diversity and inclusion and address social determinants of health. She has done significant advocacy work creating community-based programs to bring awareness to Sickle Cell Disease, BMC’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, promote mental health and wellness in communities, to reduce recidivism and influence successful reentry and to build equity instead of charity in previously red-lined communities.
Petrina’s work has successfully elevated the health equity work of BMC with our State and local government officials, corporate partners, and community leaders. She was appointed by Mayor Walsh in 2020 to the City of Boston’s COVID-19 Health Inequities Task Force and was recently appointed to Governor Maura Healey’s Council on Black Empowerment. Petrina serves as the Co-Chair of the Women’s Forum for the National Association of Healthcare Executives (NAHSE) and sits on the board of trustees for The Urban League of Eastern MA (Emeritus), The Boys and Girls Club of Boston, the Boston Arts Academy (BAA), ArtsEmerson at Emerson College, and the Advisory Board of the American Hospital Association. She has earned a B.A. from the University of South Carolina and an M.B.A. from Georgia State, J. Mack Robinson School of Business.
Kendalle Burlin O’Connell
As CEO and President, Kendalle leads the strategic direction for the organization and drives policy advocacy for the industry to ensure that Massachusetts life sciences companies have the best environment possible to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize breakthrough therapies and cures for people around the world. Pursuing innovation and delivering for members are the hallmarks of Kendalle’s more than 15 years at MassBio, including the launch of several multi-year initiatives focused on realizing a diverse and equitable life sciences industry, supporting the continued growth and sustainability of the industry throughout Massachusetts, and providing resources and solutions to companies across the industry value chain. Kendalle has played a critical role in MassBio’s growth into the largest life sciences trade association in the world with over 1,600 members, has earned wide acclaim for her leadership, and is active in mentoring and professional organizations. Kendalle received her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society for Eastern New England.
Rob Waldron
Rob Waldron serves as CEO of Curriculum Associates, a Boston-area edtech company supporting learning gains for 12 million students and their educators nationwide. He runs the company with a long-term focus, upholding the founding mission to improve classrooms everywhere. Under his leadership, revenues have increased more than twenty-five-fold, making Curriculum Associates one of the nation’s fastest-growing K–12 edtech companies. With over 2,000 employees and a strong culture that promotes belonging, Curriculum Associates has been honored as a “Top Place to Work” by The Boston Globe nine years in a row.
Prior to joining Curriculum Associates in 2008, Rob served as CEO of Jumpstart, and as CEO of the K-12 tutoring division of Kaplan Education. Rob also served as an operating executive at private equity firm Berkshire Partners. He previously served as an Aspen Institute/Pahara Fellow and as a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School. Rob received a B.A. from Northwestern and an M.B.A. from Harvard.