Meet partners for Access (PFA)

Partners For ACCESS was founded by Dr. Janice Levine in 2009 who met Dr. Robert Kalyesubula at an International Peace Summit at The Dalai Lama Center in Vancouver, Canada, and was inspired by his efforts with ACCESS in Nakaseke, Uganda. PFA exists as an advisory board and fundraising entity for ACCESS. PFA is committed to ACCESS mission and community impact in Uganda and proudly partners with the ACCESS Team in Uganda.

 

Janice Levine, Founder and President
Janice Levine, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in couples, relationships and family development. She received her under graduate degree from Yale University and her graduate degrees from Harvard University, where she later joined the faculty in Psychology and then became Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She is co-author of two books, and is a frequent contributor to major broadcast and print media. For 20 years she has served on the Board of Directors of the Terezin Music Foundation, an organization dedicated to the mission of promoting tolerance and peace through the universal language of music. Dr. Levine has traveled on a number of medical missions to developing countries and participated as an invited leader of social change at the recent Vancouver Peace Summit with the Dalai Lama. A former concert violinist, Dr. Levine lives with her husband of 30 years and their two children in Lexington, Massachusetts. www.janicelevine.com

 

Erin Shaw, Executive Director
Erin Shaw is a Registered Nurse Care Manager at CareOregon in Portland, OR. She is currently involved in the development of a community based hospital transitions program. Previously, Erin conducted research concerning the human resources shortage in the healthcare system with Dr. Robert Kalyesubula in Uganda as part of her undergraduate degree. She returned to Uganda to work with ACCESS in 2012. While there, Erin lived at ACCESS compound in Nakaseke and worked toward developing the ACCESS Health Institute Comprehensive Nursing Program. She also volunteers with the Immigrant and Refugee Council in Portland, OR. Erin holds a BA in International Development and a BS in Nursing. Throughout her degree programs, Erin researched different aspects of health and development in Uganda and would like to continue to work on human resource development and access to healthcare throu
ghout her career.

 

Hanna B. Sherman, Advisor
Hanna B. Sherman, MD, is co-founder of Partners for ACCESS and current Program Co-Director of Health and Health Care forthe Center for Courage & Renewal.  Since 2008, she has co-led Courage to Lead®, a retreat series for leaders in health and healthcare.  Hanna writes and speaks nationally about professional formation, inner leadership, and relational trust in organizations.  Currently Hanna is one of the founding leaders of “100 Million Healthier Lives,” a collaboration of change agents dedicated to improving health, well-being, and equity across sectors.  A pediatrician by training, Hanna received her medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed her internship and residency at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  She is married to Daniel Sheff, MD, with whom she has founded a spiritual community in the Boston area. She and her husband are graced with three daughters, Rebecca, Jocelyn, and Naomi.

 

Jessica Bethoney, Advisor

Jessica Bethoney is Professor of Humanities at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, where she teaches American Culture and Cross-cultural Studies. She lectures extensively on subjects relating to cultural differences, has traveled extensively to developing countries and is active in many charities, including Partners For ACCESS, and Romanian Childrens Relief. She lives in Lexington with her husband and daughter Julianna.

 

 

Anne Lynch, Advisor

Anne E. Lynch, APRN-BC, FNP is currently a Nurse Practitioner in the Spine Center at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, MA where she previously worked in the out-patient Pain Management Department and Occupational Health Service. Anne graduated from Cornell University with degrees in Community Health Nutrition and Nursing which allowed her to work in a variety of settings as a nurse, health education coordinator/teacher, and now nurse practitioner. Months spent working with the Crow and Northern Cheyenne peoples in Montana and, more recently, the opportunity to spend a week at ACCESS-Nakaseke in Uganda have been transformative experiences in her life; both affirmed her belief that wellness begets brighter futures.

 

Cheryl Marks, Advisor

Cheryl Marks, RN-BC, FNP-BC is a nurse practitioner in the Pain and Palliative Care Service at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing and has over 30 years of experience working in hospitals and the community. She is board certified in pain management. Cheryl has always been interested in participating in a medical mission and was fortunate to travel to Uganda in December 2015 to work at ACCESS. She found the experience life changing and inspiring and looks forward to continued work with the organization. Cheryl is particularly interested in pain management, especially at the end of life.

 

 

 

In Memoriam:
Dr. Moe Zeidan, Past Executive Director

We would like to remember Moe’s life of service and dedication to ACCESS. He served as a volunteer at ACCESS, Executive Director of PFA, and Director at PFA for 5 years. At the time of his passing, Moe was in his fourth year of medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine. Prior to medical school, he spent 8 months in Nakaseke working with our medical team at ACCESS to train community health workers while working to extend their impact in the community. Upon returning, he joined the PFA board of directors to help transition the nursing school from a 1-year to a 3-year program. As a medical student, he was named a Paul Ambrose Scholar for his dedication to community service in the Boston community and was awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. Moe returned to Nakaseke during his time in school in an effort to build a long-term relationship with the Nakaseke community. He hoped to create medical partnerships for students and professionals from the United States to exchange knowledge and training with our staff in Nakaseke. Moe has a BA in Neuroscience from Amherst College.