Leadership

Maggie Brennan brings over 30 years of experience and a deep and abiding passion for social justice and community health to her position as President and CEO at North Shore Community Health (NSCH).

Prior to this role, she held leadership positions in city, state and national health organizations in New York City. She is a founding Board member of Community Care Cooperative, the largest and best performing primary care-based Accountable Care Organization in MA. She is a graduate of the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program, received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and her Bachelor’s in History and Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Amer El-Haddad, M.D. is the Chief Medical Officer at North Shore Community Health Center. Amer has over a decade of experience in front-line and leadership work at inner-city community health centers. Amer joined NSCH in Feb 2022 and became CMO later that year. Amer immigrated from Lebanon after attending medical school there and went to residency at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio n Family Medicine and Community Health.

Amer oversees the clinical departments at NSCH including primary care, nursing, school-based health centers, and recovery services. Amer is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and health justice and the impacts of health disparities on community health patients. Amer also has a passion for health care leadership, immigrant health, women’s health, addiction, and LGBTQ+ health care.

Amer has many interests outside of work including cooking, hiking, biking, and traveling. Amer is fluent in Arabic and Spanish

Asia Astvatsaturian is the Chief Financial Officer at North Shore Community Health (NSCH), a leading community health organization serving thousands of patients on the North Shore and Cape Ann. With extensive experience in financial management and accounting, Asia has demonstrated a strong track record of overseeing complex financial operations and enhancing organizational sustainability. In her current role, she leads the finance department, ensuring strict adherence to GAAP, managing budgeting, cash flow, grants, and providing strategic financial analysis to support NSCH’s growth and service expansion.

Before joining NSCH, Asia held leadership roles where she successfully led teams, streamlined financial processes, and improved internal controls. Asia’s expertise spans across various sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, and environmental technologies, having worked with notable companies such as Spruce Environmental Technologies, American Dental Partners, Orchard Brands and Boston Medflight.

A Magna Cum Laude graduate with a dual BSBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Asia is also highly proficient in advanced financial software and Excel, and fluent in both English and Russian. Committed to fostering a collaborative environment, Asia is known for her ability to develop talent and build strong relationships within teams.

Ellen began her career as a nurse practitioner at North Shore Community Health in 2011, serving as a primary care provider in Gloucester for a number of years. Since 2015, Ellen has held multiple positions in management and leadership at North Shore, including overseeing the nursing and quality programs across the health centers as well as leading the implementation of Epic, our electronic medical record, in 2022.

In her current role, Ellen provides leadership around all aspects of our value-based care programs, including care management, behavioral health, population health and information systems.
Ellen is deeply dedicated to the mission of NSCH to ensure all community members have equal access to excellent health care and is grateful for opportunities to help patients achieve their own health goals. Specific areas of interest include substance use disorder treatment and the use of technology to help meet the needs of patients and staff. Ellen has a passion for learning languages and is proficient in Spanish and French.

Maria Escalera is the Vice President of Operations at North Shore Community Health.  Maria has two decades of experience within federally qualified health centers leading multidisciplinary teams to improve operational processes, building partnerships that expand healthcare access, and strengthen community outcomes. She has dedicated her career to advancing equitable, patient-centered healthcare solutions through strategic planning and operational excellence.

Maria was born and raised in New York and recalls spending time at community health centers in the South Bronx where patients and staff reminded her of her own family.  Her desire to serve the community was instilled at an early age.  She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston College of Public and Community Serve with a bachelor’s in human services.

Maria is most proud of her role as a mom of three amazing young people.

Libby Nicholson is an experienced HR executive and professional coach with more than 20 years of leadership, consulting, and
coaching experience across healthcare, education, and technology. A resident of Salem, Massachusetts, Libby is passionate about
supporting organizations and communities where people can thrive.

Libby specializes in building strengths-based organizations that attract, develop, and retain talented people while enabling individuals and teams to perform at their highest potential. Throughout her career, she has built and scaled HR functions and led organizations through significant growth, transformation, and change.

Her approach combines strategic HR leadership, executive coaching, and practical execution to
strengthen organizational culture, develop leaders, and improve the employee experience.