Leading our efforts...

Bernard Mansheim, MD
President of the Board

Dr. Mansheim received his medical degree in 1972. He did his graduate training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Brown and Harvard and is Board-certified in both specialties. After embarking on an academic career for 4 years on the faculties of Harvard Medical School and the University of Florida College of Medicine, he entered private practice for 10 years in Florida. Following that, Dr. Mansheim worked for over 15 years in medical management. Since he left his full-time career last summer, he has devoted his time to health care consulting and volunteer work. Because of his lifelong concern for universal access to health care, he joined the RI Free Clinic Board in 2006 and is currently Board President. He resides in Newport.

Marie Ghazal
Chief Executive Officer

Marie Ghazal has extensive experience in community health centers developing and implementing programs and services for disadvantaged populations and securing new sources of revenue. She served as a Health Center Director in Central Falls and for the past twenty years as a Senior Vice President of Patient Care for the Community Health Centers in Providence. Marie holds a Masters in Community Health from Boston University and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Rhode Island. In the Providence Community, she is responsible for developing and operating the health care for the homeless clinic, the dental clinics for poor children and pregnant women, the State's Sexually-Transmitted Disease Clinic, the school clinic and initiating a volunteer staff model.

Marie is a seasoned leader who is well respected in the Rhode Island community. Over the years, she has been honored as the top-nursing alumni at URI, inducted as a Community leader by Sigma Theta Tau, selected for the President's award by Rhode Island State Nurses and as a semi-finalist for the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program. She is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island and currently serves on the Board of the Rhode Island Quality Institute.

Stephanie Danforth Chafee
Co-founder and President Emerita

Stephanie Danforth Chafee co-founded Rhode Island Free Clinic in 1999, serving as its first Board President until 2004. She remains active in the organization as President Emerita of the Board of Directors. She is a registered nurse and holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Health Care Management from the University of Connecticut. In May 2004 the University of Rhode Island recognized Mrs. Chafee with a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree. As an advocate of the medically underserved, Mrs. Chafee’s visionary leadership has been integral to the success of Rhode Island Free Clinic.

Board Vice President
Valerie M. Littlefield, PMP
AIPSO
Johnston

Board Treasurer
Thomas N. Forsythe
DiSanto, Priest & Co. 
Warwick

Board Secretary
Dayle Joseph, Ed.D
University of Rhode Island
Kingston

Board Medical Director
Caroline Troise, MD
Anchor Medical Associates
Providence

Lelani Bonner
RI Small Business Development Center
Providence

Jeffrey F. Chase-Lubitz, Esq.
Donoghue, Barrett & Singal
Providence

Andrew Davis, Esq.
Davis, Kilmarx, Swan & Bowling, LLP
Providence

William Fitzgerald
Amica Mutual Insurance Company
Lincoln

Mark Gim
The Washington Trust Company
Westerly

George Greer
Arlen Corporation
Warwick

Ronald P. Jordan
University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy
Kingston

Pamela Lambert
East Providence

Mark Montella
External Relations, Lifespan
Providence

Marsha Weiss
Lifespan Community Health Institute
East Providence

Miriam Weizenbaum
DeLuca & Weizenbaum, Ltd.
Providence