Board of Directors

Prior to joining UConn Health, Andy served as a managing director and a co-leader of Berkeley Research Group’s (BRG) Hospital Performance Improvement practice. Before BRG, he served as chief executive officer of Providence Healthcare, a five-hospital region of Providence Health & Services in Spokane, Washington. He also previously held the positions of president and chief executive officer of Grady Health System in Atlanta; president and CEO of Tenet South Fulton Hospital in East Point, Georgia; chief operating officer of 14-hospital St. Joseph Health System in California; and secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Andy has also served as chief of the Pediatric Urgent-Care Department for Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Boston. He is a pediatrician who received a master of business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2003, Tenet Healthcare awarded him its CEO Circle of Excellence award. In 2005, he was named one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians” by Georgia Trend magazine. In 2007, he was named one of the "50 Most Powerful Physician Executives" by Modern Healthcare magazine. Other honors include CEO of the Year, Trailblazer category (Atlanta Business League, 2005), Most Influential Atlantans (Atlanta Business Chronicle, 2005), Speaker and Citizen of the Year (Atlanta Peachtree Rotary, 2004)  and Agent of Change award (Catalyst magazine, 2002)

Dr. Bennett created the first adolescent medicine specialty clinic at Connecticut Children’s in March of 2017. Her clinical interests include the management of adolescents and young adults with eating disorders, contraceptive needs, menstrual concerns, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In addition to providing specialty care within the Adolescent Medicine Clinic, Dr. Bennett also provides primary care at Connecticut Children’s.

While patient care is Dr. Bennett’s primary passion, she also enjoys teaching future pediatricians about adolescent medicine. As a Core Faculty Leader of the UConn Pediatric Residency Program, she oversees the 4-week adolescent medicine rotation for 2^nd year pediatric residents. She also teaches colleagues, local pediatricians, and the public about eating disorders, vaping, and contraception via formal presentations, podcasts, and events within the Greater Hartford community.

Jennifer is also a member of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Services and the North Region Advisory Council for the Department of Developmental Services, a member of the Connecticut Family Support Council, and the Board of Directors for the Cherish the Children Foundation of Connecticut. She enjoys working with Connecticut leaders to bring the voice of families into the decision-making process and to improve policy to meet the needs and challenges that people with disabilities and their families contend with.

Bridgett has received professional accolades, most recently selected as one of Becker’s 70 African American Leaders in Healthcare To Know (Becker’s Healthcare 2020), Alabama State University 50 Under Fifty honorees (Alabama State University 2019); Becker’s African American Leaders in Healthcare (Becker’s Healthcare 2019); Women of Excellence (Michigan Chronicle 2019) and Notable Women in Finance (Crain’s Detroit 2018). 

She received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting (Alabama State University) and earned a Master of Business Administration in Information Systems Management (Wayne State University). Birdgett's professional memberships include Healthcare Financial Management Association, American College of Healthcare Executives, Inforum and National Black MBA Association. She has varied board experience and her current board membership includes Accounting Aid Society, MBA Advisory Board for Siena Heights University and Metro Detroit Basketball Association. She supports multiple community organizations; as well as actively participates with UWSEM Women United and Meals on Wheels.

Her extensive experience in leading startups, new business development and operations for high growth organizations has contributed to the achievement of a number of process improvements and system optimizations to support strengthened clinical and financial integration at Connecticut Children’s.

Fitzgerald brings a career of progressive financial and operational leadership expertise to Connecticut Children’s. Most recently, she served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Stamford Health Medical Group, a regional multi-specialty physician group practice and an affiliate of Stamford Hospital and Stamford Health. Prior to that her experience included CEO, CFO and Controller positions at Medical Oncology & Hematology, PC, the largest physician-owned oncology practice in the Northeast, and Ryders Health Management, a privately held management company for seven independent skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers. 

Fitzgerald serves on the Finance and Contracting Committee for Connecticut Children’s Care Network, its Clinically Integrated Network (CIN), the Finance and Audit Committee for Connecticut Children’s, and is an Ex Officio Board Member for Connecticut Children’s Specialty Group.

Fitzgerald earned a BS degree in Accounting from Central Connecticut State University and a MHA from Quinnipiac University, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. Focht came to Connecticut Children’s from Boston Children’s Hospital, where he was the Chief Medical Officer with the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Boston Children’s.

Prior to that, he was the first president and physician executive for the provider organization, which consists of more than 350 physicians practicing 37 specialties in 19 communities. As the chief executive of Central Maine Group, Dr. Focht delivered winning direction and stewardship to an organization with annual gross revenues in excess of $100 million.

Prior to his tenure at Central Maine Group, Dr. Focht served as the Vice President of Medical Affairs for Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass. In this position, Dr. Focht was responsible for operating and leading a group practice of more than 80 physicians, 24 practice locations, and yearly gross revenues exceeding $35 million.

From 1999 through 2004, Dr. Focht served as Medical Director of Quality Care and Education, and Chief Medical Officer, for Milford Regional Hospital (Milford, Mass.).

Dr. Focht was also a clinician at Tri-River Health Center (Uxbridge, Mass.), an affiliate of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, from 1994 through 1999. It was during this time that he also won awards as a member of the faculty at UMass Medical School.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Dr. Focht did his residency at University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and liberal arts from Messiah College in Grantham, Pa.

She holds a bachelors degree in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh, an MSN in pediatric nursing from Yale University, and a Doctorate in public health and social psychology from Columbia University. Margaret's career has focused on children and youth who are vulnerable due to chronic conditions. Her primary research has been in youth with type 1 diabetes and the prevention of type 2 diabetes in high risk youth. Margaret has been principal investigator for grants totaling over $30 million. In addition, she is the author of over 270 journal articles, chapters, and abstracts, and has received numerous regional and national honors for her research. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Trained as a pediatrician, Linda’s research focuses on stress-response and regulatory mechanisms in young children at both biological and psychosocial risk. She has especially focused on the impact of prenatal substance use on children’s long-term outcome. She has made contributions to understanding the mechanisms of effect of prenatal stimulant exposure on the ontogeny of arousal regulatory systems and the relation between dysfunctional emotional regulation and impaired prefrontal cortical function in young children. She has published widely in the developmental psychology, pediatrics, and child psychiatry literature. Given the nature of her work with children at significantly high-risk for developmental impairments from both biological and psychosocial etiologies, Linda also focuses on the impact of parenting on the development of arousal and attention regulatory mechanisms in their children and specifically on how substance abuse impacts reward and stress regulatory systems in new parents. With other colleagues in the Center, she studies how adults transition to parenthood especially when substance abuse is involved and the basic neural circuitry of early parent-infant attachment using both neuroimaging and electroencephalographic techniques. She and her colleagues have developed a series of interventions for parents including an intensive home-based program called Minding the Baby. Her research programs are multidisciplinary not only in their blending basic science with clinical interventions but also in the disciplines required including adult and child psychiatry, behavioral neuroscience, obstetrics, pediatrics, and neuropsychology. She is also a Distinguished Visiting Professor in psychology at Sewanee: The University of the South where she is working on intervention programs to enhance child and family resilience.

 Aimee was the Director of Government Relations at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) for Genomic Medicine from 2016 to 2019. Previously, Aimee was Manager of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Pitney Bowes, Inc., in Stamford, CT, where she focused on state legislative and global public policy issues.

Peri last worked at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where he served as the senior vice president & chief strategy officer for three years. During his time there, he successfully implemented an enterprise financial and operational performance metrics system. His earlier experience includes serving as vice president for strategic development & operations at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio.

He has committed himself to building an organization of talented, skilled, dedicated employees, one that embraces and honors diversity, openness and innovation. He has high standards of excellence for himself and all employees – with the goal of providing the highest level of treatment, service and advocacy for our clients. Prior to The Village, Galo was the chief operating officer of Catholic Charities, overseeing programs in Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties. His career at Catholic Charities spanned 16 years, where he rose to serve as executive director of the Hartford region and director of the Institute for the Hispanic Family. He serves on the Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council, and the board of directors of the Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, CT Council of Family Services Agencies, Connecticut Association of Human Services, and Hartford Federal Credit Union. He also participates with the Alliance for Children and Families and National Council for Behavioral Health. He was a recipient of a 2015 Polaris Award from Leadership Greater Hartford. Galo earned a master's in public health from UConn and received his training and licensure as a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Cartagena in his native Colombia, South America. His medical career included serving as a family physician with the Colombia Red Cross, in a city hospital and in private practice, as well as a physician in a psychiatry and substance abuse program in San Pablo Hospital in Cartegena.

She also serves as the Division Chief for the Department's Office of Student Supports and Organizational Effectiveness. She is a performance-driven and visionary education leader with over 20 years experience in successfully leveraging the interconnectedness of the social, emotional, physical and mental health of students and their families as foundations for positive school and life outcomes. She passionately supports family and community engagement in education as well as equity and diversity initiatives. She previously served as Associate Commissioner of Education and Bureau Chief within the Department. Charlene participates on various state and national committees; she is co-chair of the Connecticut General Assembly Committee on Children Strategic Action Group on Chronic Absenteeism, and is an expert panel member of committees of the National Academies - Institute of Medicine. Charlene has extensive teaching experience as an adjunct faculty member at Albertus Magnus College School of New Dimensions.

Prior to joining Connecticut Children’s, Jim spent the last eight years as the Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Hospital Colorado. Before that, he was the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt from 2002 to 2007. Jim is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE).  He is an adjunct faculty member in the Hospital Administration programs, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Jim is a native of Nashville, Tennessee.

He serves as a medical consultant to Manchester CT Head Start Program and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at University of CT School of Medicine. Ken also works in collaboration with CHDI and the Autism EPIC program. Before working in a private practice, he worked with Kaiser Permanente for 17 years.

Vanderploeg received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University, completed Predoctoral and Postdoctoral training at Yale University School of Medicine, and was a research faculty member at Yale before joining CHDI in 2009. He initially began as a Program Associate before being promoted to Associate Director of Mental Health in 2011, and Vice President for Mental Health Initiatives in 2014.  

During his career at CHDI, he played a central role in developing effective policies, systems, and practices for the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions among children and adolescents and their families. He was the lead author of the Connecticut Children’s Behavioral Health Plan, a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the behavioral health needs of youth, which has remained a significant guiding framework for state-wide reform. He was also the co-developer of the Connecticut School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) model and was instrumental in creating a quality improvement system for the state’s mobile crisis system.

In addition to his role as CHDI President and CEO, Vanderploeg serves on the Behavioral Health Plan Implementation Advisory Board, co-chairs the Quality, Access and Policy Subcommittee of the CT Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council, and is a member of several other committees and councils in children’s behavioral health policy development. He holds faculty appointments in Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut Health Center School of Medicine.

He has an extensive background in health care law, and has authored several pieces in legal publications focused on HIPAA and patient privacy laws. Moses is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Health Lawyers Association, Connecticut Lawyers Association, Health Law Section of Connecticut Bar Association and Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association.