Dr. James W. Squires is the founding President of the Endowment for Health and has served in this capacity since 2001.  He is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organization as well as serving as a subject matter expert, policy advisor and leader on statewide health care reform. 

A New Hampshire native, Dr. Squires was the founder of the Matthew Thornton Health Plan, New Hampshire's first HMO. While serving in a variety of administrative roles at Matthew Thornton, Dr. Squires also practiced general and vascular surgery.

In 1994 Dr. Squires received the "Physician of the Year Award" from the New Hampshire Hospital Association. In 1996, following his retirement, he was elected to the New Hampshire Senate. After re-election in 1998, Dr. Squires was appointed chair of the Public Institutions, Health, and Human Services Committee. He has been recognized for his efforts to ensure that tobacco settlement funds be used for health-related causes. In 2000, Dr. Squires sought the Republican nomination for Governor.

Dr. Squires graduated from McGill Medical School.  He also served in the United States Air Force as a flight medical officer, having received his surgical training at Grace New Haven Hospital and New England Medical Center.  Dr. Squires also taught surgery at the Boston Veterans Administration Hospital.

In her current position as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Endowment for Health, Mary Kaplan is responsible for the overall design and implementation of its program which includes grantmaking and communication. In addition, Mary oversees the day-to-day operations of the Endowment and manages strategic development and performance assessment functions of the Endowment.  She also provides foundation leadership to build the capacity of NH’s nonprofit community as well as the NH public health system.

Mary has more than 25 years of professional expertise in public and community health issues in New Hampshire. She has served as a board member of many community and statewide organizations and as a consultant to several nonprofit health organizations.  Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, board development, community collaboration, population-based health statistics, community health centers, hospice and, most recently, philanthropy.

Mary is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan, School of Public Health.

Karen Ager is Director of Communications for the Endowment for Health.  In that capacity, she oversees strategic message development for both internal and external stakeholders, including key opinion leaders and the media.

Karen has held positions in strategic communication in New Hampshire and with national corporations over the past 23 years.  Prior to joining the Endowment, she served as manager of corporate communications for Fisher Scientific International, a global provider of health care, research and scientific technology.  Other past communications positions include executive support at Staples, BankBoston, and Boston Edison.  Karen also served as a principal partner in Public Image Corporation, a public relations firm based in Massachusetts.  She is a former president of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC Yankee Chapter) and a member of the Public Relations Society of America.

Karen holds a Bachelor of Science in mass communications from Emerson College, Boston.  

Cheryl Dempsey is Administrative Manager for the Endowment. In that role, Cheryl is responsible for all office operations, enhancing the foundation’s use of technology and liaising with our Board of Directors. Cheryl brings a rich background in technology and operational support. Before joining the Endowment, she served as location manager and technology support specialist for Ernst & Young in Manchester. Additionally, Cheryl served in a variety of responsible roles for various regional and local companies where she oversaw HR, technology and operational support. Cheryl received her education at Salem State College, Franklin Pierce College and Marian Court College, with combined studies in executive administration, business management and accounting.

Kim Firth is a Program Director at the Endowment for Health, where she manages a portfolio of grants, projects, and policy initiatives addressing children’s mental health and geographic barriers to health. 

Before joining the Endowment, Kim served as a Planning and Policy Analyst for the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Health Planning and Medicaid.  She also served as the Grant Manager for the Health Care Fund, Community Grant Program, a public endowment created by the Legislature.  Prior to working at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Kim served as the Project Director for the Strafford County Domestic Violence Project, a federally funded initiative to create a multi-disciplinary prosecution team for domestic violence criminal cases in the county.  Kim also served as the Director and Program Coordinator for the AmeriCorps Victim Assistance Program, which used AmeriCorps members as advocates for survivors of domestic and sexual violence in District Courts and police departments. 

Ms. Firth received her Bachelor of Arts from New England College.

Sue Fulton is responsible for grants and financial management for the Endowment for Health.  In this role, she oversees the grant application process, grant budgets, and grantee progress reporting.  She works closely with applicants and grantees to ensure that inquiries and projects are handled appropriately. Sue is also responsible for managing the financial services and accounting activities for the organization including contracts and grant payment schedules.

Prior to her position at the Endowment, Sue worked as a data analyst for the Vermont Program for Quality in Health, an organization dedicated to developing and implementing a system of quality design and measurement for physicians, and other health care professionals, hospitals, and health care facilities, supporting users and purchasers to continuously improve the use of health care  resources.

Sue holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from Granite State College and an associate degree in accounting from Community College of Vermont. 

Kelly Laflamme is a Program Director at the Endowment for Health where she manages a portfolio of grants, projects and policy initiatives addressing social and cultural barriers to health. 

Kelly came to the Endowment for Health from the Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire, where she served as the Coordinator for the New Hampshire Child Advocacy Network (NH CAN).  As NH CAN Coordinator, Kelly facilitated the development of an annual set of policy and action priorities for the nearly 200 organizations participating in NH CAN.  Prior to that, she worked with the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a Program Assistant on the Civic Investments Team, focused on the Foundation's investments in Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC.  While at Casey, Kelly launched a neighborhood grants program for a set of low-income, minority neighborhoods in East Baltimore and worked to strengthen collaboration among neighborhood leaders. 

Kelly holds a Master of Public Administration at the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Communication from La Salle University in Philadelphia.  

Peg LePage is the first line of contact with the Endowment for Health.  As Administrative Assistant, Peg supports incoming grant applications and helps lead the event planning function for the foundation.

Prior to joining the Endowment, Peg spent 25 years in long-term care in various positions including CNA; Director of Housekeeping/Laundry and Office Manager.  She also co-authored a training manual for housekeeping personnel and served as a classroom trainer for staff.

Peg holds a Bachelor of Science in management from Franklin Pierce University.

Jeanne C. Ryer is a Program Director at the Endowment for Health where she manages a portfolio of grants, projects, and policy initiatives addressing economic and geographic barriers to health. 

Before joining the Endowment, Jeanne served as Senior Program Officer for the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, managing the grants programs of two of its regional divisions and covering health issues statewide for the Foundation.  She also served as senior staff for the Lakes Region Charitable Foundation, a regional division of NHCF. Prior to working for the NHCF, Ms. Ryer founded a consulting firm specializing in community health and human services planning and primary health care access focusing on the needs of the underserved in rural areas.

She is author and co-author of several books, including one of the early guides to the Internet and others on accessing medical information online. Jeanne received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Hampshire and her Master of Science in health policy from the Center for Clinical Evaluative Sciences at the Dartmouth Medical School.

Tom Bunnell is director of the Institute for Health, Law & Ethics (IHLE) at New Hampshire’s law school, the Franklin Pierce Law Center. The IHLE is a non-partisan policy center focused on the interplay between health, public policy making, and the law. Tom’s experience and expertise include teaching the models for effective navigation of the so-called “public policy divide,” the gap between the existence of helpful and compelling data, research, analysis, and recommendations on the one hand and the actual implementation of related and sensible public policies on the other. Tom previously served as a health lawyer and lobbyist at NH Legal Assistance, health policy advisor to the Governor of New Hampshire, and public policy director for New Hampshire’s statewide network of community health centers. He is an adjunct professor of health law and policy at the Law Center.

Tom holds a JD from Northeastern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts.

Karen Horsch is an experienced evaluator with expertise in process and outcome evaluation and their use in organizational development and change. She currently works as an independent consultant providing evaluation training and technical assistance.  In addition to working with the Endowment, Karen has provided evaluation support to nonprofit organizations and funding organizations including the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, the Oral Health Foundation, the New York Women’s Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, United Way of the Greater Seacoast, the Suicide Prevention Partnership, and the Legal Services Corporation. Karen previously worked as a Senior Evaluation Associate at Innovation Network, a nonprofit consulting firm based in Washington, DC.  Prior to that, she was a Research Associate/Project Manager at the Harvard Family Research Project and an evaluation and technical support contractor working with field offices and nongovernmental organizations for the United States Agency for International Development.

Karen holds a Masters in Education from Harvard University.

Lindsay Josephs now serves as the Oral Health Consultant for the Endowment for Health, having recently transitioned from Endowment for Health Program Director, where, for seven years, she managed the portfolio of grants, projects and policy initiatives related to oral health, one of the Endowment’s first themes.

Lindsay has worked for more than 20 years to address the issues that exist in New Hampshire’s health system, with special attention to the needs of the most vulnerable populations. Prior to her time with the Endowment, she worked as an independent consultant to a variety of New Hampshire health and human service organizations, where she provided research, grant writing, and program development expertise, with a special interest in oral health and primary care. Lindsay has also served as the first Executive Director of Bi-State Primary Care Association and as the Executive Director of the Portsmouth Prenatal Clinic.

Lindsay received her nursing degree from Westbrook College in Portland, Maine and worked for many years in Boston teaching hospitals where she specialized in intensive care nursing.