To contact faculty or residents at The Lawrence Family Medicine Residency Program please email residency@glfhc.org
Each of the core faculty physicians has a medical school faculty appointment. We believe that to remain effective teachers, our faculty must maintain active outpatient and inpatient practices. All of our faculty are committed to providing care to the underserved and educating residents in both the science and art of medicine. In addition to the core faculty, community- and medical school-based physicians and other professionals teach residents both at the bedside and in didactic and seminar settings.
Joseph Gravel, M.D.
Residency Director
Joe is a native of Norwich, Connecticut. He graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and earned his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1986. He completed his residency training at Virginia Commonwealth University/ Fairfax Family Practice Center Residency in Fairfax, VA, where he served as chief resident. After residency he entered a busy private practice in Vienna, VA and was also a faculty member of the VCU/Fairfax FP Center Residency. He returned to the Boston area in 1994. Before coming to the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency he served as Residency Program Director of the Tufts University FMR for fourteen years and also as Medical Director of the Sharewood Project, a free clinic in Malden. He has completed fellowships in Faculty Development at Duke University Medical Center and at the National Institute of Program Director Development / Association of Family Practice Residency Directors in Kansas City, MO.
Joe has significant national, regional, and statewide leadership experience in family medicine. He was nationally elected by his program director peers in June 2009 to serve as President of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors after serving 4 years on its Board of Directors and is currently AFMRD’s Immediate Past President. He also serves on the Council of Academic Family Medicine and Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors as the Immediate Past President of the Family Medicine Education Consortium which includes over 100 family medicine residencies and family medicine departments in the Northeast U.S. and is President-Elect of the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians. Joe has been a contributing author in numerous family medicine textbooks and journals and frequently speaks at national and regional family medicine meetings on a variety of topics. His professional interests include care of the underserved, faculty development, behavioral medicine, health policy, and organizational medicine. He loves following the Boston sports teams, keeping up on current events, and travel. Most of all, he values time with his wife Barbara, daughter Elizabeth (age 14), son Teddy (age 11), daughter Caroline (age 10), friends, and family.
Wendy Barr, MD, MPH, MSCE
Associate Residency Director
She is a LFMR graduate (2002) and prior to residency received her BS in Communication Sciences from Northwestern University and her MD and Master’s of Public Health degrees from Tufts School of Medicine. After residency, she completed a research and faculty development fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania where she also received a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology. After spending six years in NYC, she has returned as co-Associate Residency Director. She is an editorial leader for the IMPLICIT research network and is involved with the Society of Teacher’s of Family Medicine (STFM) and the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG). She has published several papers and book chapters in maternal and child health and women’s health and serves as an ALSO Advisory faculty and has taught at the AAFP Family Centered Maternity Care Course. Wendy is a Pittsburgh native, and lives with her husband, mother, and three year old son.
Mary K. Nordling, M.D.
Associate Residency Director
Director of Computers in Medicine
She received both her undergraduate and medical education at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. She completed her residency in family medicine at UPMC St. Margaret’s in Pittsburgh, where she also served as chief resident. She came to GLFHC to complete her National Health Service Corps obligation and stayed because she enjoys teaching both medical students and residents. She is the director of the Computers in Medicine curriculum and is in charge of training the residents in their use of handheld computers. In her spare time, she plays basketball, likes to hike, snowboard, and travel, and is an avid reader.
Carolyn Augart, M.D.
Co-cordinator of ICU Rotation
Carolyn graduated from UMass Amherst in 1994 and then UMass Medical in 1999. She came to Lawrence for residency and threw herself into learning Spanish. Here she served as chief resident, and then did our faculty development fellowship. Now she coordinates the Internal Medicine and ICU rotations with Tony Valdini. In addition, she teaches colposcopy and is a core preceptor. A New England native, she enjoys hiking tall mountains and skiing down them.
Phil Bolduc, M.D.
Phil was born in Worcester, MA. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Brown University in ’91 and was a photovoltaic engineer for five years before entering medicine. He earned his MD degree from UMASS Medical School in ’00, completed family medicine residency here in Lawrence in ’03, and was a fellow in HIV Medicine at UCSD in ’04. He enjoys his roles as clinician, longitudinal preceptor, and medical director of the HIV and Hepatitis C programs at GLFHC. He speaks Spanish, signs ASL, and enjoys many outdoor activities.
Stephen Buttenweiser, M.D.
Stephen was born in Boston, MA. He received a BA in History from Harvard College in ’89 and worked in the social service field for five years before returning to school. He earned his MPH in Health Policy from Columbia University in ’97, and his MD from Harvard Medical School in ’01, completed family medicine residency here in Lawrence in ’04, and was a Fellow in Faculty Development here in Lawrence in ’05. As LFPR faculty he practices and teaches all aspects of family medicine, and is a member of the core group of longitudinal preceptors. He has a particular interest in quality improvement, and is currently involved in implementing and studying a GLFHC anti-coagulation clinic. In his free time he enjoys following the Red Sox and spending with his family, especially his baby daughter.
Marcelo Campos, M.D.
Coordinator of Geriatrics Curriculum
In addition to being a Longitudinal Preceptor, is also the coordinator for the Geriatrics curriculum and precepts the residents for their Nursing Home patient visits. He is earned his Family Medicine degree from Baylor College of Medicine, where he was also chief resident during his last year. He is originally from Brazil and is, therefore, bi-lingual and bi-cultural in Spanish.
Carlos F. Cappas-Ortiz, Psy.D.
Behavioral Science Faculty
A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Carlos earned his Clinical Psychology Doctoral degree from Ponce School of Medicine in 2008 and completed his pre-doctoral internship at the Damas Hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico. In 2010, he completed a two-year Fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology with the Family Medicine Residency program at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine in Worcester, MA. He there trained in the Primary Care Behavioral Health model while serving an immigrant and underserved population. Carlos continues to be passionate about teaching Family Medicine Residents as well as medical students about the integrated care model while addressing the behavioral health needs of the Greater Lawrence community.
Dean Cleghorn, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
Director of Quality Management & Research
Principle Investigator, REACH 2010 Latino Health Research Project
Dean began his career in 1977 at the Center for the Health Sciences, University of Tennessee, Memphis where his work emphasized medical education outcomes. Ten years later as an Associate Dean in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, he developed his interest in clinical outcomes and community health. Since 1996 his work at the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency has emphasized faculty development, community-based research, and quality improvement. His current title is Director of Quality Management and Research for the Health Center. Dr. Cleghorn’s primary research interest is seeking new ways to integrate clinical and medical education outcomes. Most of his time is devoted to action research to stimulate interest and build skills among faculty in population-based care for Latino patients in Lawrence and to create new ways to empower patients in the community setting. He is Principle Investigator for a CDC-funded grant, Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) 2010, an eight-year research project to improve health status among Latinos with diabetes or at risk for diabetes.
Sara Diaz, M.D.
Assistant Site Director – Haverhill St. Clinic
A graduate of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Sara came to Lawrence for residency (’06), where she was elected chief resident in her third year. After residency Sara completed our Faculty Development Fellowship (’07), and stayed on as faculty with our residency program. Sara now serves as the Assistant Site Director of the GLFHC’s Haverhill Street site, as well as the Medical Director for the school-based clinics. Sara is also a junior researcher with interests in health literacy, diabetes and health disparities. Sara enjoys discovering new restaurants and spending time with her husband, three-year-old son, and pet corgi!
Eloise Edgings-Pryce, M.D.
Coordinator of Obstetrics Rotation
Eloise is originally from the West Indies. Following medical school, she completed a family medicine residency at the University of Illinois and a three-year obstetrics fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center. She then returned to the West Indies for three years where she practiced family medicine and was medical superintendent of a hospital. She joined the residency faculty in the spring of 1994, and is committed to caring for the underserved. She was the first family physician at Lawrence General Hospital to perform cesarean sections. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and gardening.
Paul Esielionis, M.D.
Site Director, West Site
Paul met his wife, Anna Cappucci, MD, here at the health center. The month after their marriage, they went to Kenya to work at a hospital outside of Nairobi. They returned to the health center in September of 1996. Paul studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, studied African traditional culture in Nairobi and completed a fellowship in OB/GYN at UMass/Lowell General Hospital. He completed his family medicine residency at St. Vincent Health Center. He has devoted the last six years to teaching OB in the residency and was awarded the Faculty Excellence Award in 1998. Now he is Medical Director at our innovative West site. He and his wife live in New Hampshire with their two beautiful children.
Jeffrey Geller, M.D.
Director of Integrative Medicine and Group Therapies
A native of Framingham, MA, Jeff attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Tufts University School of Medicine. His practice includes research, acupuncture, hypnosis, Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation, loneliness as a subspecialty, happiness, ultimate Frisbee and family. His alternative medicine clinic in an underserved community has won awards and financial support. An alumnae of the residency, Jeff received the AAFP Resident Research of the Year Award for his article “Loneliness as a Predictor of Emergency Room Utilization”, and has published several other articles on loneliness and depression.
Julie Johnston, M.D.
Coordinator of Gynecology Rotation
Julie is originally from Michigan, attended the University of Michigan for her bachelor’s degree, and graduated from Brown Medical School. She is a graduate of our family medicine residency (’07). Learning about the inequalities in women’s health care initially piqued Julie’s interest in medicine. The daughter of educational missionaries, she was encouraged to pursue community service from an early age. Her interests include reproductive and women’s health and legislative advocacy. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her son Liam, travel, crafting, and gardening.
Will Kaufman
Community Medicine Curriculum Co-Coordinator
Will, a native New Mexican, graduated from our Lawrence Family Medicine Residency in 2009 after completing medical school at the University of New Mexico. He is passionate about understanding the underlying social and structural root causes of poor health. He believes such understanding is integral to truly improving health for his patients. He is currently completing his MPH at the Harvard School of Public Health and hopes to use what he learns to find ways to integrate population health approaches into the practice of family medicine. Will’s real joy comes from spending time with his wife and daughter. In his free time he loves playing and watching soccer.
Zandra Kelley (Wells), M.D.
Medical Site Director – Haverhill St. Clinic
Co-Rotation Coordinator of Surgery Rotation
Zandra is a graduate of our Residency where she was elected as one of the Chief Residents by her fellow residents. Upon completion, she stayed on to do a fellowship in intensive medicine and has now taken responsibility as Co-Rotation Coordinator for the new Surgery Rotation. She was born in Oakpark, IL, and attended the University of Chicago for her Bachelor’s degree as well as her Medical degree. Zandra sees teaching patients about their health is an important step in improving their health and quality of life. Her experiences teaching English in China taught her the importance of effective communication. Zandra has spent time volunteering in a community clinic for the underserved and at a shelter for abused women and children. She also taught an adolescent substance abuse prevention program. Zandra is interested in the holistic approach to medicine. Her leisure activities include both water and snow skiing, ultimate Frisbee, playing piano and singing.
Robert Luby, M.D.
Outpatient Medicine Curriculum Coordinator
After working in Guatemala during medical school and residency, Dr. Luby has spent his entire career in urban and migrant Latino community health centers. Board certified in both Family Practice and Holistic Medicine, he is the director of the outpatient medicine curriculum, co-director of the integrative medicine fellowship, and director of the resident elective in integrative medicine. His passion is to push the edges of creativity in teaching.
Ellen Lynch, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Ellen graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed her Pediatric Residency at Georgetown University Medical Center and finished an additional year as chief resident with a concentration in Ambulatory Pediatrics in a faculty position. As a resident, she received an award for medical student teaching and was “Resident of the Year”. Following residency she spent two years in a private pediatric group practice and was on clinical faculty at Georgetown. Prior to joining our faculty in 1993, she practiced at a community health center in rural Maryland for four years. She works 1:1 with the residents during specially scheduled Pediatric Acute Clinics and participates in teaching rounds at the hospital on Pediatrics.
Kiame Mahaniah, M.D.
Assistant Medical Director
Co-Coordinator of Practice Management Curriculum
He joined GLFHC in 2003, having completed his National Health Service Corps obligation in Pittsburgh, PA. He grew up in the Congo (ex-Zaire), and always knew that he would end work addressing disparities, either in the US or in Africa. His professional interests include systems, patient-entered care/cultural competency and the economics of health care. Reading (anything!) rests at the core of his life. He is a graduate of Haverford College (’93), Jefferson Medical College (’97) and UPMC-St Margaret Memorial Family Practice Residency (’00).
Cara Marshall, M.D.
Coordinator for the Ophthalmology, Urology, Dermatology and ENT rotations
She also sees patient at local domestic violence shelters. Cara is originally from central Florida, and attended the University of Florida College of Medicine. She completed her family medicine residency training at Montefiore Residency Program in Social Medicine in the Bronx. Her interests include health literacy, domestic violence issues, and the impact of socioeconomic status on health. In her spare time, she enjoys books, foreign films, gardening and camping and most of all, spending time with her daughter Annakiya.
Pat McElhiney
Spanish Instructor
Pat has a BA in Spanish from Regis College, a Masters in Education and Secondary counseling from Salem State College, and an ALM from Harvard University in Spanish. Pat wrote a research paper on the influence of the Mayans and Aztecs in the works of Miguel Angel Asturias and Juan Rulfo. She has a certificate degree from the University of Madrid, Spain. She also received a Rockefeller Foundation Grant to study in The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant to study the Popul Vuh (the Sacred Book of the Mayans) and travel to the Yucatan Penisula. She taught 16 years at Salem High School in Salem, MA and was the Assistant Director of Languages for the City of Salem for 2 1/2 years. She was appointed Vice Principal of the Horace Mann School but left to teach Spanish at Brookline High School in Brookline, MA. She has also taught at North Shore Community College for 4 years, and developed an Immersion Program. She currently teaches various workshops for Spanish Teachers to help them develop curriculum around Spanish films. She also teach Spanish in the Nursing Program at Regis College. She works out every day at Latitudes in Methuen and enjoy swimming, golfing and traveling. She has worked at the Greater Lawrence Family Health clinic for the past 16 years.
Robert McKersie, M.D.
Dr. Robert McKersie is a family physician who has worked on the South and West Side of Chicago for the better part of a decade. He travels regularly to Nepal where he sees patients and teaches physical diagnostic skills to Nepalese healthcare providers. He practices the full gamut of family medicine and specializes in obstetrics in inner city communities as well as internationally. He attended Rush Medical College in Chicago, did his Family Medicine Residency training and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, IL. He recently moved to the Boxford, Massachusetts area where he lives with his wife Michele and two children, Robbie and Mia
James Meyers, M.D., B.S.E.E.
James had a first career in computer engineering before he found his calling in medicine, and graduated from our family medicine residency program (’06). After graduation he teamed with GLFHC to create the new position of “Physician EMR Liaison”, and now spends half his time caring for patients, and the other half improving our Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and the many processes connected with it. He facilitates clinically-oriented EMR training for staff, and works with various grants and quality improvement measures. Born in Milwaukee, WI he received his engineering degree from Colorado State University, and his MD from UMass. James enjoys reading, writing, singing, guitar, hiking, travel and software development.
Keith Nokes, M.D.
Coordinator for Pediatrics Rotation
Keith was born in Vermont and raised in Connecticut. He went to UConn for his MD and MPH, followed by family medicine residency at the University of Rochester. He joined the health center in 2001, completing a four year service commitment with the National Health Service Corps. He currently serves as a longitudinal preceptor and as coordinator of the pediatrics curriculum. In his free time he enjoys travel, cooking, reading, and getting outdoors with his family.
Christine Rooney M.D.
South Site Medical Director
Christine joined GLFHC in 2001. She received her 11 years of post high school education in Worcester, MA between undergraduate education at the College of the Holy Cross (1989), and medical school (1995) and Family Medicine Residency (1998) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has had international medical experience in Ecuador and Peru. She also works with her husband as the Executive Producer for the television show, “Jonathan Bird’s Blue World” which airs on public television stations nationally. In her free time she enjoys her family, cooking, traveling and scuba diving.
Katherine Rosenfield, M.D.
Katherine attended the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed her family medicine residency at the University of Massachusetts. Prior to medical school she worked as an engineer and science teacher. She has interests in swimming and vegetarian cooking.
Laurel Ruzicka, M.D.
Laurel graduated from the University of Massachusetts Medical school. She then completed her residency here in Lawrence, graduating in 1998. Before medical school, she had earned a B.A. in zoology, also from UMass. For the two years between undergraduate and medical school, she worked as a research technician in the Department of Pathology at Tufts School of Medicine and published several papers on neurochemistry. Laurel is one of a team of faculty members working on the Outpatient Medicine curriculum. When not at work, Laurel enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, gardening and kayaking.
Shiva Saboori, M.D.
Shiva attended Tufts University School of Medicine and did her family medicine residency at the University of California San Francisco. She is an HIV specialist and is involved in research on the vertical transmission of HIV with the University of Massachusetts. She enjoys winding down by swimming laps and having long conversations with friends over a cup of tea.
Andrew Smith, M.D.
Director of OB Fellowship
Andy believes we must “translate our love and our beliefs into daily actions and work”, a sentiment he learned while volunteering to serve the poor with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. His experiences there had a profound effect on his life, revealing his strong inclination to work with those in need. Andy is a graduate of the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency and OB Fellowship programs. He feels that practicing full spectrum family medicine in Lawrence is the most professionally and spiritually fulfilling job on the planet. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, biking, playing hockey, running the Boston Marathon and rooting for the Red Sox. After completing residency, Andy stayed on for an OB Fellowship. Andy is now the Assistant Director of the OB Fellowship.
Jennifer Sparks, M.D.
Inpatient Medicine Coordinator
Jennifer is a native Floridian, completed medical school at the University of South Florida and her residency in Family Medicine at University of New Mexico Family Medicine. Her teaching interests include curriculum design, application of education theory, and teaching chronic pain management. Her clinical interests include international medicine, provision of care to immigrants in a culturally based context, maternity care, and community outreach. When not teaching, studying, or practicing, Jen pursues international travel and service, the arts, symphony, and community volunteering.
Robyn Stewart, D.O.
Robyn Stewart graduated from Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Worth, TX in 2002 and completed her family medicine residency in Waco, TX in 2005. She then moved to Lawrence for the OB Fellowship here at GLFHC. After graduation, Robyn joined the fellowship faculty and continue to practice full scope family medicine including high risk obstetrics. She now lives in Derry, NH with her husband and beautiful baby girl!
Evan Teplow, M.D.
Co-Rotation Coordinator of Surgery Rotation
Coordinator of Sports Medicine/Orthopedics Rotations
Evan attended the Providence/Sea Mar Family Medicine Residency after receiving his M.D. from Dartmouth Medical School. He has worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is fluent in Spanish. He enjoys parenting, family life, running, hiking, skiing, and the great outdoors.
Anthony Valdini, M.D., M.S.
Director of Research
Director of the Faculty Development Fellowship
Director of Faculty Development
Dr. Anthony Valdini, MD, MS, FACP, FAAFP attended S.U.N.Y. Syracuse Medical School, is residency trained and board certified in both family medicine and internal medicine. He has a master’s degree in clinical nutrition. He holds an appointment of associate professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at UMass and Tufts Medical schools. He was residency director and vice-chair of the Department of Family Medicine at S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook between 1984 and 1989. Before coming to Lawrence he was medical director of the Navajo Nation Health Foundation. Tony is an editorial reviewer for several family practice journals. His research interests include abnormal pap smears, Hepatitis C virus, and clinical nutrition. He is married to Dr Carolyn Augart and has three grown sons.