Talent

Mark Masselli is president, CEO, and founder of Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC), Connecticut’s largest provider of medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare for the underserved. He is also is founder, president and CEO of the Moses/Weitzman Health System, the nation’s first primary care health system, working with organizations in all 50 states and globally. A Middletown, Conn. native, Masselli founded CHC in 1972 with a group of Wesleyan University students and local community activists on the premise that “Health care is a right and not a privilege.” CHC provides comprehensive, team-based primary care services to more than 150,000 people at 200+ sites across Connecticut, and is an innovator in the delivery of primary care for special populations. Masselli serves as board chair of the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement and of the national specialty e-Consult provider ConferMED, is a member of the Goodspeed Opera House Board of Trustees, and is Board Chair of the national School-Based Health Alliance. He is a member of Connecticut’s Council on Medical Assistant Program Oversight, appointed by the State Senate President Pro Tempore. Masselli received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wesleyan University in 2009.

Margaret Flinter is Senior Vice President and Clinical Director of the Community Health Center, Inc. and is a family nurse practitioner by profession. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Connecticut, her master’s degree from Yale University, and her doctoral degree at the University of Connecticut. She was the recipient of a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellowship from 2002-2005. Following her graduate training at Yale University, Margaret joined the Community Health Center in 1980 as a National Health Service Corps Scholar and CHC’s first nurse practitioner. Since 1987 she has held both clinical and administrative leadership roles in the organization and established the Weitzman Center for Innovation in Community Health and Primary Care as the “research and development” arm of CHC, and now serves as the Director Emeritus of the Weitzman Institute. Margaret is also the founder of America’s first nurse practitioner residency program that operates out of the Community Health Center, a national model for nurse practitioner preparation for service in primary care environments. Margaret was honored with a Yale-Jefferson Award in 2021 for her steadfast dedication to providing healthcare services for those in need. In addition, she is the Chair of the Board for the National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Training Consortium. She also serves as a Trustee of the ABIM Foundation, created by the American Board of Internal Medicine to advance the core values of medical professionalism to improve the quality of health care.

Adam Shapiro is an accomplished public relations professional who brings a unique combination of experience to the table. His initial work involved serving as a broadcast journalist whose award-winning stories have appeared on CNN, CNN International, CNBC, Headline News, and NBC television stations. His reporting can be found in the Investigative Reporters & Editors archives. Shapiro’s other specialties involved education, public policy and politics. His coverage of the Michigan Air National Guard’s role in Operation Deny Flight over Bosnia received the Edward R. Murrow award from the Radio-TV News Directors Association. His work has been recognized for excellence by the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators, National School Public Relations Association, Communicator Awards, Bulldog PR, North Carolina Associated Press and the Michigan Associated Press. Shapiro is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He is a regular lecturer at The George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University and American University on the role of modern communications in achieving organizational goals. Shapiro is a member of the NBC Community Advisory Board, National Press Club, Education Writers Association, DC Chamber of Commerce, National Digital Roundtable board of advisors and Public Relations Society of America, and an active supporter of the Capital Area Food Bank, Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington, Future Civic Leaders, LearnServe International, The Trevor Project and many other nonprofits.

Leslie Gianelli is Vice President of Communications at the Moses/Weitzman Health System. Leslie’s deep experience in health care spanning more than 20 years and several continents makes her an asset to the Conversations on Healthcare team. She served as Communications Director at AmeriCares, overseeing media and PR in the U.S. and globally, promoting the work of AmeriCares Free Clinics in Southern Connecticut and emergency response activities in the U.S., Japan, Haiti, India and several other countries. While based in Washington, DC with Jhpiego/Johns Hopkins University and the Global Health Council, she advocated for programs addressing maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer, and malaria in Africa and South Asia. Leslie holds a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and is a member of the Connecticut Bar. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College cum laude and received the Alumnae Association’s Medal of Honor.

Celso “CJ” Jimenez is a Multimedia Project Manager at Moses/Weitzman Health System, leading end-to-end production of video, photography, and digital content system-wide. He oversees the studio and takes each eposide of Conversations on Healthcare to completion.

An experienced journalist, CJ serves as an international news correspondent and collaborator for Lachchara.org. He graduated from the Universidad Autonoma del Caribe and holds a Digital Marketing Certification from Yale School of Management and FAA-certified drone operator.