Ms. Montanaro has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Thundermist Health Center for the past 11 years.  With a staff of over 250 employees and an annual operating budget of 17 million dollars annually, Thundermist provides over 100,000 comprehensive primary health care visits a year, in medical, dental and behavioral health care through its five health center sites, which includes school-based health centers,  homeless shelters, a mobile dental clinic and large comprehensive primary care facilities in Woonsocket, West Warwick and Wakefield, Rhode Island.  Under her leadership, Thundermist has received state, regional and national recognition for excellence in promoting high quality primary care to the medically underserved and for its innovative leadership in community health.

Ms. Montanaro’s career in community health spans 19 years at the executive management level.  She holds an M.S.W. from the University of Illinois in health policy and a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts. She is involved in global health projects in Latin America, including Thundermist’s Shoulder to Shoulder project in Honduras and as an organizational consultant to the Global Health Education Consortium.

Ms. Montanaro is a dedicated health care advocate for poor, disenfranchised and vulnerable populations in the US and globally.  She is actively involved in health care policy and system reform, particularly as it relates to primary care.  She also advocates for breast cancer treatment and research.

Her current professional Board affiliations include:  Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (Vice President), Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council (Trustee), Electronic Health Records of RI (Secretary),  The Molar Express (Secretary),  Shoulder to Shoulder (Treasurer), RI Health Centers Association (Past Chair), Woman and Infants’ Hospital’s Breast Health Center Steering Committee, RI Quality Institute’s HIT Steering Committee and Policy/Legal Committee, National Association of Community Health Centers Health Policy Committee and Pay for Performance Subcommittee, Robert Graham Center (AAFP) Advisory Board and the RI State Task Force on Medicaid Reform.