Dr. Carole Allen Elected President of Massachusetts Medical Society

WALTHAM — Arlington resident Dr. Carole Allen was elected president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide professional association of physicians and medical students, with more than 25,000 members. She will serve until May 2022, succeeding outgoing president Dr. David Rosman, who recently completed his one-year term.

Allen, a longtime trustee and delegate to the medical society, is a board-certified pediatrician who practiced in Massachusetts for 37 years before retiring in 2011. After retirement, she served six years on the board of directors of the American Academy of Pediatrics. A staunch advocate for improving access to and quality of healthcare, she spent five years as a gubernatorial appointee commissioner to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. She is the former chair of the Tobacco Free Mass Coalition and was a strong voice in the passing of the Massachusetts Smoke-free Workplaces law.

Allen will continue the organization’s work as a leader in collaborative efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also focusing on addressing social determinants of health.

“It is humbling and inspiring to represent Massachusetts physicians who have played a pivotal role in combating the pandemic,” she said. “I hope to use my platform as MMS president to advocate that every person has the opportunity for optimal health and access to high-quality, affordable health care. And I will work with stakeholders and our membership to continue our important work to eliminate racism affecting our members, our patients, and the public.”

Allen operated a private pediatric practice in Arlington from 1989 to 2002 and served on the Arlington Board of Health, which she chaired for nearly a decade. A graduate of Cornell University and Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), she completed her pediatric residency at Boston City Hospital and Boston’s Floating Hospital for Children. She has held faculty positions as a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine, and served as president of the TUSM Medical Alumni Council. In 2017, she completed an executive MBA program for physicians through Brandeis University.