Public Health Institute Welcomes New Employees, Board Members

SPRINGFIELD — The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (PHIWM) recently welcomed three new employees: Kim Gilhuly, Research and Population Health manager; Samantha Hamilton, LiveWell Springfield manager, and Victoria Ramos, research associate. It also named three new board members: Nikki Burnett, Frances Gomes Marthone, and Jennifer Lee.

Gilhuly is part of the research and evaluation team at PHIWM. She has 30 years of nonprofit experience, with more than 11 years at Human Impact Partners as a national leader in the field of health impact assessment, bringing health data, frame, and voice to public policy and practice change discussions.

Hamilton was formerly the director of Operations at Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services (MLKFS). Before that, she was director of the Public Health Initiative at MLKFS. She has 14 years of experience working with residents in the Mason Square Community and with youth ages 5 to 24. 

Ramos is working on various research and evaluation projects at PHIWM, such as the ROADS (Research on Active Design in Springfield) study, the Age-Friendly City Project, as well as the evaluation of the Go Fresh Mobile Market.

Nikki Burnett is the regional vice president for Collective Impact and Multicultural Initiatives for the New England Region for the American Heart Assoc. She has been with that organization for 15 years.

Marthone serves as the chief Nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services for Mercy Medical Center. She is responsible for ensuring compliance with patient-care quality standards and ensuring that clinical and staffing standards are met, promoting best practices in nursing and patient care, and serving as a liaison for communication between leadership and the nursing staff. 

Lee currently serves as the systems advocate for Stavros, where she assists the agency in promoting and protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities. Her major responsibilities include advocating for policy and serving as a community organizer. She has a commitment to bringing a disability perspective to various dialogues, including that of housing, healthcare, transportation, and policy. For years, she has served as an advocate for people with disabilities.