I grew up in New York, where my parents instilled in me the values of public service and compassion – my father was an early leader in the New York Reform Democratic movement that wrested control from the old-line city boss machine in the 1950s. I am told I was present (in a baby carriage) when they campaigned (successfully) against an ill-conceived Robert Moses-inspired plan to replace Riverside Park with a 8-lane superhighway along the West Side of Manhattan.
After graduating from Harvard College with a major in Government, I spent a one-year fellowship working for a member of Parliament in London, which gave me the opportunity to see the comparative advantages of the US political system. I moved to Washington, DC, and after a year with a public interest group advocating tobacco control policies, I took a job working for Congressman Jim Scheuer (D-NY) as a legislative aide, responding to constituent concerns and analyzing legislation.
After these experiences, I knew I wanted to be in a career where I could be helping people directly (medicine) while also having a say in the laws and policies affecting public health (law). I decided to pursue both, attending Yale University where I received both my MD and my JD in 1998.
I met my wife in law school and, after living in Brookline and JP, we moved to Newton Highlands to raise our children here.
I have served as a primary care physician for nearly 25 years at Mass General and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. As an attending physician, I provide primary care to my patients in the clinic and, when they get ill, on the hospital inpatient wards. I also teach residents and medical students, and serve on administrative committees in the hospital to advocate for our patients.
In 2010 I ran for the Newton Board of Aldermen (now the City Council), because I was alarmed at the state of our roads, sidewalks, and school buildings. I was humbled by the experience of representing the voters of Newton for eight years, including in a leadership position as the chair of the Land Use Committee. As a city councilor, I strongly supported numerous clean energy initiatives, the preservation of open space at Webster Woods, the approval of senior housing projects, and the ordinance raising the tobacco age to 19.
Advocacy is a central part of my role as a physician. I advocated for healthcare reform as a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s House of Delegates and public health committees, and I helped lead an effort to amend the Massachusetts state constitution to establish a right to health insurance. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I have engaged in the American College of Physicians’ advocacy days in both Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.
I am the proud dad of two daughters: a 10th grader at Newton South High School, and a Newton South graduate now a first year student at Harvard.
A VOICE FOR ALL