About Us

Who We Are:
MassAHEC Scholars is an optional elective during the first two years of medical school with opportunity for mentoring in years three and four. The elective’s goal is to ensure learners are equipped to improve the care of people who are geographically isolated and economically or medically vulnerable.  

Students choosing this elective are part of the National AHEC Scholars program and can document this participation on their CVs and residency applications. 

Questions can be directed to:  MassAHEC@umass.med.edu

Philip Day, PhD, Director, Philip.Day@umassmed.edu
Philip is the director of MassAHEC and the Associate Director of Education in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Philip’s career has been devoted to medical education, ethics, and community engaged research.

James Laford, BA, Evaluator James.Laford1@umassmed.edu
James serves as the evaluator for MassAHEC and works on several other federal grants.

Suzanne Cashman, ScD, MS Rural Health Scholars Co-Director Suzanne.Cashman@umassmed.edu
Suzanne is Professor Emerita in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. In 2000, Suzanne founded and began co-leading the Rural Health Scholars elective.

Nicholas Hajj, MD, Rural Health Scholars Co-Director Nicholas.Hajj@umassmemorial.org
As a student at UMass Chan, Nick developed his passion for rural medicine from his experiences with the Rural Health Scholars program. He went on to the Barre Family Health Center for his training in the UMass Chan Family Medicine residency program and now serves as co-director of Rural Health Scholars.  

Rosa Fernandez, Rosa.Fernandez@centerforhealthimpact.org Central MA AHEC/Urban Health Director 

TBD, Baystate Franklin AHEC/Rural Health

Linda Cragin, MS Linda.Cragin@umassmed.edu
Linda was the former MassAHEC director and has served nationally on the National AHEC Organization Board of Directors.