Leadership
Thundermist provides medical, behavioral health and dental care using highly skilled teams led by board certified physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, dental hygienists and behavioral health clinicians.
Our providers care for people of all ages – from newborns to our elderly neighbors. Our providers have many years of experience.
Thundermist Health Center is governed by a dedicated Board of Directors.
Jeanne LaChance, MBA, CPA
401-767-4100, x3015
In May 2017, Jeanne was appointed by the Thundermist Board of Directors to serve as President/Chief Executive Officer.
Jeanne previously served as Thundermist’s Chief Financial Officer, where she was responsible for all aspects of the agency’s financial, IT, human resource, compliance and facilities functions. Prior to joining Thundermist in 2013, Jeanne served as the Interim CEO of Westerly Hospital, where she assisted the Special Master with the development of a turnaround plan, bridge analysis and a court-supervised sale process and transition. She also served as the hospital’s Executive Vice President and COO, and Chief Financial Officer/Vice President of Operations between the years of 2004 and 2012. She previously served as the CFO at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, NY.
Jeanne has her BS in Accounting from Canisius College in NY and her M.B.A. from Salve Regina University. She serves as a Board Finance Committee Member of NHPRI, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the RI Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC).
David Bourassa, MD
401-767-4100, x3434
Dr. David Bourassa graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine with honors and completed his Pediatric Residency at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He began his career at Thundermist Health Center in 1997 as a full-time pediatrician. He was appointed Medical Director in 1998. As the agency expanded into additional communities in 2003, Dr. Bourassa was named Senior Vice President/Chief Medical Officer.
Dr.Bourassa has been the supervising physician and Medical Director for the Thundermist school-based health centers in Woonsocket since 1999. He has been a member of the Rhode Island Health Center Association Clinical Leadership Committee since 1999 and served as chairman from February 2002 until November 2003.
Dr. Bourassa is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a member of the RI Medical Society, and a member of the American Mensa Society. He is also very interested in international health care. In 1997 he volunteered his time and services to AmeriCares in Armenia where he worked with local physicians to implement well child initiatives. In 2005 and 2006 Dr. Bourassa spent two weeks in the rural and impoverished regions of Honduras through a partnership between Thundermist and Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc. Shoulder to Shoulder is a private, non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), providing health care services in developing countries.
Eric Prosseda, DMD
401-783-0523, x1173
Dr. Eric Prosseda graduated from University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and completed his Bachelor of Science-Biology at Pennsylvania State University. He began his career at Thundermist Health Center in 2002 as a full-time dentist. He was appointed Dental Director in 2004. In 2019, Dr. Prosseda was promoted to Chief Dental Officer at Thundermist. As Chief Dental Officer, Dr. Prosseda oversees all three dental facilities. He manages safety and hygiene of all dental procedures and effectively trains staff on new protocol when necessary. Dr. Prosseda has special skills and training in molar endodontics, pediatrics, dentures and extractions. He works at Thundermist Health Center of South County, located in Wakefield, RI. Dr. Prosseda is an advocate for pediatric dental care. He aims to help children get their first dental check-up by age one. Early dental visits also help children become more comfortable with visiting the dentist and improve overall health and development.
Matthew Roman, MBA, LICSW
401-615-2800, x2102
As the agency’s Chief Operating Officer, Matt is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Thundermist’s three medical and dental sites and services. Having previously served as the Heath Center Director at Tri-Town Community Action Agency, Matt brings a wealth of experience in practice transformation and innovation to THC. Prior to working at Tri-Town, Matt served in various capacities at Family Service of Rhode Island in Providence, first as the Director of Home Based Services, and most recently as their Vice President of Clinical Services.
Matt holds his undergraduate degree from Saint Lawrence and his Masters of Social Work from New York University. He also graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Masters in Business Administration.
Matt is a recipient of the Collaborative Leadership in Action Award and the First Annual New York University School of Social Work Excellence in Social Work Research Award.
Amanda Barney, Chief of Staff
401-767-4100, x3014
Amanda Barney brings extensive experience in health care, communications, advocacy, marketing, and event planning to her role as Chief of Staff. She is responsible for the health center’s communications, marketing, development, and government relations services.
She joined Thundermist from the Hospital Association of Rhode Island where she most recently served as senior vice president. At HARI, she oversaw the association’s communications, association management, and operations functions. Part of her role was serving as the administrator of the New England Society for Healthcare Communications and Rhode Island chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Prior to joining HARI, Amanda had positions in government and television. Salve Regina University awarded her a Master of Science in health care administration. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism from Emerson College.
Amanda is a member and past vice president of the New England Society for Healthcare Communications. She is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and previously served on the board of the Rhode Island chapter.
Karen Mazzola, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
401-767-4100 x4719
Karen Mazzola began her career as a registered nurse in 2002 at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. In 2005, she came to Thundermist Health Center as a staff nurse in the pediatric department. In 2010 she was promoted to pediatric nurse manager and director of nursing in 2012. Karen was responsible for overseeing the day to day clinical operations and departmental support for a more than 20 providers at Thundermist. Karen is deeply connected to our mission and has a passion for providing high-quality care to the patients we serve.
As the Chief of Clinical Operations, Karen leads the development and advancement of excellence in primary care nursing at Thundermist. Her responsibilities include recruiting, developing, and mentoring nurse leaders within Thundermist and supporting their work as they develop staff in clinical support roles. She also tasked to ensure appropriate training of nursing and medical assistant staff, working to establish pathways for growth of these roles, and further developing the role of nursing across Thundermist.
Karen brings significant experience in primary care and a vast knowledge of Thundermist and our communities to the position. She has more than six years of experience as a nursing leader in Woonsocket. She also has experience in the hospital and homecare settings.
Karen received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Rhode Island and received her Master of Science in Nursing degree, with a concentration in operational leadership, from Quinnipiac University. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Norfolk Special Education Parents Advisory Council, promoting improved education and success for students with disabilities. She also serves on the Rhode Island Department of Health Vaccine Advisory Committee.
Elizabeth Lynch, LICSW
401-767-4100, x3588
Elizabeth Lynch began her career as a legal assistant and case manager in California at St. Joseph Center. She provided welfare advocacy, immigration counseling, and crisis intervention. In 2010, she came to Thundermist as the Director of Behavioral Health and Social Services. Over the years, Elizabeth has been responsible for overseeing the daily clinical operations of the behavioral health and social services employees.
As the AVP of Behavioral Health and Social Services, Elizabeth will lead the integrated behavioral health and social services programs. She is responsible for the overall growth and development of the Integrated Behavioral Health Program at Thundermist and provides clinical supervision and program evaluation of employees.
Elizabeth brings nearly 40 years of experience and has a vast knowledge of the social and behavioral health services needed within the population we serve. Prior to Thundermist, Elizabeth worked as a clinician at AIDS Project Rhode Island, a division of Family Services of Rhode Island. She also worked at Tides Family Services as a Latino Outreach Project clinician.
Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the College of the Holy Cross and received her Master of Social Work from Rhode Island College. She was a workshop presenter at the National Institute of Mental Health in 2008, which featured working with families to treat mental health and prevention/adaption to HIV/Aids.
Crystal Fairchild
401-767-4100, x4227
Crystal Fairchild is the Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Human Resources Officer for Thundermist Health Center. In this role, Crystal is responsible for leading people strategies that leverage diversity, equity, inclusion and cross-cultural competency to advance the organization’s mission and business objectives. For over a decade she has worked across multiple sectors focusing on strategic initiatives and equity mechanisms to support the values of diversity, compassion, integrity, fairness and inclusion in systems. Crystal comes to Thundermist most recently from the State of Minnesota where she served as Deputy Chief Inclusion Officer. In that role, Crystal led the state efforts to advance equity and inclusion by eliminating disparities. While at the state she managed a portfolio of the 24 cabinet level Commissioners and over 8,000 employees to create strategic business and recruiting relationships. In addition, Crystal served as the Healthcare Equity Director at the state of Minnesota Human Services Department where she was as a senior member of the operations team with accountability for all aspects of employee relations, Medicaid and state health program participants, and community strategies for the agency. In 2016, she was the recipient of the State of Minnesota Governor’s Award for “Great Place to Work.” She also has over fifteen years of experience in improving human resource, business and social service functions acting as a leader, trainer, and practitioner in nonprofit sectors.
Crystal is a graduate from the University of Delaware with a master’s degree in Human Services Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration Human Resources Management from Metropolitan State University. She is currently pursing her doctorate to fulfill her career goal as a trauma informed, resilience practitioner.
Mice Chen, Chief Information Officer
401.298.1971
Mice’s enthusiasm and expertise in leveraging technology solutions has enabled improved efficiency and patient experience for the healthcare providers with whom he has worked. At Thundermist, he oversees areas including electronic medical record systems, information technology, and data analytics and is passionate about advancing the organization’s use of technology to meet its unique needs.
Before joining Thundermist, Mice served as chief information officer of Coastal Medical and was responsible for building and maintaining Coastal’s information technology infrastructure and electronic medical record system to support clinical operations, improve efficiency, and enhance data analytics capability. Prior to joining Coastal, Mice was the director of information technology at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Quincy, MA, and Newport Collaborative Architects in Newport, RI.
He holds several degrees, including a master’s in business administration and a master’s in information systems—both from Bryant University—and a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Johnson & Wales University.