Board of Directors

Sally became a member of the Stone Board in 2014 and was elected President in 2019. After graduating from UMass/Boston Sally began her career in healthcare administration at the New England Deaconess Hospital. After graduating from the BU School of Public Health, she began a 30-year career in administration and management at McLean Hospital, a member of Partners Healthcare. She has served on the Board of the Whittier Street Health Center and has been recently elected to the Board of Boston CASA (Court Assigned Special Advocates), an advocacy organization for children in foster and protective care.

Dennis C. Rieske, AIA, has been providing architectural services for-profit developers and non-profit organizations since 1978. He has been a longstanding member of the Board since 1996 and is the newly elected Vice-President. Dennis was the non-profit developer and architect for Stone’s skilled nursing facility from 1990 through completion of construction in 1995. Dennis is the president of Developmental Resources, Inc. and served as the architect on Newton’s Historical Commission and Upper Falls Historic District Commission for 10 years. He graduated with a BS of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati in 1970 and passed the architectural exam to become a MA Registered Architect in 1972.

Mark Fitzpatrick joined the Stone Board in 2005 and currently serves as Stone’s Treasurer. Mark has been in the Boston-area biopharmaceutical industry for nearly 30 years serving in senior executive positions including Chief Financial Officer, President and Chief Executive Officer. He is currently the President of Chiasma, Inc., a Needham-based biopharmaceutical company. Mark has more than 30 years of operational and financial management experience in both public and private companies. Mr. Fitzpatrick began his professional career at Arthur Andersen LLP. Mr. Fitzpatrick received his B.S. in Accounting from Boston College in 1984 and earned a Certified Public Accountant certificate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1987.

Michael Rossi joined the Stone Board in 2017 and currently serves as Stone’s Clerk. He is an attorney at the law firm of Conn, Kavanaugh, Rosenthal, Peisch & Ford in Boston and focuses his law practice in the area of civil litigation, with an emphasis on the resolution of employment, professional liability, and business disputes. He is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University (2001) and Suffolk University Law School (2006). Michael is a lifelong resident of Newton. He also serves as a member of the City of Newton Zoning Board of Appeals.

Michael Alexander, Board member since 2018, is a graduate of Stanford Medical School. He has had a long career in clinical care, rehabilitation and clinical research in cognitive disorders after stroke or brain injury as well as a parallel career of clinical care of dementia. He developed neurorehabilitation programs at the Boston VAMC, Braintree and Spaulding/Cambridge hospitals. He received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association/C. Miller Fisher award in 2010 for his work in stroke rehabilitation. He was a founding board member of the National Head Injury Foundation (now the Brain Injury Association) and the Chair of the Research Advisor board for the Defense Veterans Head Injury Commission for 2 years. He recently retired from Beth Israel Deaconess and is an Emeritus Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Jean Thurston joined the Stone Board in 1994 and is a past president for over twenty years. When her mother lived at Stone for the last two years of her life, Jean learned what a remarkable place it is. Her background is in science and after graduation from Smith College spent ten years working in medical research labs. She then volunteered in her town and served on the Finance Committee, as a Selectman and on several town committees. In 2019 she stepped down as President of the Stone Board but remains an active member.

Joyce became a member of the Stone Board in June 2017. Joyce has been employed at Boston Children’s Hospital since 1987 as a staff nurse on a surgical unit for several years and also served at Longwood Pediatrics as a Nurse Practitioner while working in Staff Development (SD) after completing her clinical practicum as an NP student. Currently she has been working as a Professional Development Specialist in Clinical Education and Informatics (formerly SD) for over 20 years and provides education to clinicians and to newly hired nursing staff and assistive personnel throughout the hospital. Joyce serves and leads on several committees and special projects throughout the hospital, collaborating with other clinicians and staff.

Kathy has been a social worker for over 50 years. She has worked in healthcare settings as well as with families, seniors and homeless elders in the community. For 13 years she worked with the City of Newton Department of Senior Services. Kathy is currently the director of the Horace Cousens Industrial Fund serving Newton residents who are experiencing a financial emergency. She is also the chair of the Newton Fair Housing Committee and active in local politics. Kathy received her BA from Boston University College of Liberal Arts and her Masters in Social Work from Boston University School of Social Work.

Mary Castro Summers joined the Stone Board in 2015. She is a dedicated family advocate with a strong interest in Public Health who supports parents of children with special healthcare needs in seeking services and programs to care for their families. Mary researches available resources through the programs of the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services and vast networks of nonprofit organizations, for the benefit of children and adults with disabilities. She is currently employed as Patient and Family Resource Specialist at Franciscan Children’s, a rehabilitation hospital for children and young adults.

Phil LaCasse joined the Stone Board in 2018, although his association with Stone spans more than twenty years. Prior to his retirement, Phil spent forty years managing and developing a wide range of senior housing and healthcare services in eastern Massachusetts. His clients included both proprietary and not-for-profit organizations. Phil is a graduate of Boston College and holds an MBA from Harvard University.

Jean Thurston joined the Stone Board in 1994 and is a past president for over twenty years. When her mother lived at Stone for the last two years of her life, Jean learned what a remarkable place it is. Her background is in science and after graduation from Smith College spent ten years working in medical research labs. She then volunteered in her town and served on the Finance Committee, as a Selectman and on several town committees. In 2019 she stepped down as President of the Stone Board but remains an active member.

Zelia de Souza, PT, DPT became a member of the Stone Board in 2018. She is currently a Director of Rehabilitation at Healthpro-Heritage LLC. Zelia has been in clinical practice as a physical therapist for 25 years. The last decade of her career has been focused in senior care and the promotion of evidence-based, multidisciplinary, rehabilitative therapy approaches and its delivery in outpatient and senior living settings. She has served as an instructor in the physical therapy graduate program at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and a center coordinator for clinical education at Boston University Medical Center and at Hebrew Senior Life. She has been certified as a specialist in ergonomics evaluations in the health care industry. Zelia received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and Bachelor of Science degrees in Physical Therapy from the University of Western Ontario and Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo Ontario, Canada.