Dr. Sondra Crosby is the Director of Medical Services at the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and a member of the Section of General Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center. To date, she has examined almost 300 survivors of torture and provides instruction to physicians and health care workers about caring for survivors of torture. She has a specific interest in HIV infected refugees and torture survivors, and has published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) about the special needs of this population as well as in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). She graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Crosby is currently developing a curriculum for primary care doctors.

Dr. Michael A. Grodin, Co-Director of BCRHHR, is also Director of the Bioethics and Human Rights Program and Professor of Health Law, Bioethics, Human Rights, Socio-Medical Sciences and Community Medicine and Psychiatry at Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine, where he is the recipient of the Norman A. Scotch Award for Excellence in Teaching. In addition, Dr. Grodin is a Professor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences. He completed his B.S. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his M.D. at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, his postdoctoral and fellowship training at UCLA and Harvard, and he has been on the faculty of Boston University for the past 27 years. Dr. Grodin is an elected member of the American Psychoanalytic Association and has received 2 national Humanism in Medicine awards. He has received a special citation from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for his "profound contributions to Holocaust education and remembrance". Dr. Grodin is also a member of the Global Implementation Project of the Istanbul Protocol Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment and an Advisor to UNESCO and WHO. Dr. Grodin has published over 150 papers and 5 books including 2 textbooks on "Health and Human Rights"

Erica Hastings has a Master’s degree in International Health Care Management from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the College of Charleston, SC. She serves as the Center’s primary point of entry, managing referrals and providing case coordination. Ms. Hastings is the site coordinator for the Center’s HIV testing and counseling program and she coordinates “Caring for Refugee Patients” a four-week elective rotation in Refugee Health and Human Rights Medicine. Ms. Hastings contributes to research and grant writing efforts and does event planning and fundraising for the Center. Before joining BCRHHR, she worked in a research capacity at the Hispanic Health Council, a community based organization in Hartford, CT.

Terence Keane, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Board Member

Dr. Terence M. Keane is the Co-Director of Research at the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights at Boson Medical Center. He is also the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Research and Development at the VA Boston Healthcare System. For twenty-four years Dr. Keane served as Chief of Psychology at the Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson Mississippi (1980-85), then at the Boston VA Medical Center (1985-98), and eventually at the VA Boston Healthcare System (1998-2004). Dr. Keane is currently the Director of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-Behavioral Sciences Division and is widely recognized for his significant contributions to the psychological care of combat veterans. The author of more than 175 publications, Dr. Keane has been recognized by numerous academic awards including a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award (’93-‘94), the Outstanding Researcher Award in Behavior Therapy from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (2004), the Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) and the Robert Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement (1997) from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Weisband Distinguished Alumnus Award from Binghamton University-SUNY(1998), and Outstanding Research (2000) as well as Distinguished Service Awards (2002) from the American Psychological Association. He has lectured on topics related to PTSD across the world and served as a consultant to many countries as well as to the United Nations. Following the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon, he served as a consultant to the Fire Department of New York, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration. Dr. Keane is Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Behavioral Neuroscience at Boston University and Vice Chairman for Research in the Division of Psychiatry.

Linda Mancini
Outreach

Linda Anna Mancini is an advocate for refugees, religious freedom and human rights. She provides outreach and event planning to the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, enhancing awareness of the center, celebrating its good work. As Director of the LamRim Buddhist Center, she directs classes, ceremonies, concerts, and other events to share Tibetan and Buddhist culture. Mrs. Mancini coordinates the Boston Tibet Network where local, national and international Tibetan Support Groups, along with Amnesty and others, work together to encourage political action, cultural preservation and awareness. She ran a Graphic Design and Exhibit Design studio in Boston and founded the NE branch of the Graphic Artists Guild. She has managed media attention as leverage, arranging interviews or personally making TV appearances, handling print interviews. Educated as a painter in the classical tradition at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston, she received a fifth year diploma, their highest degree awarded and finds this training in the arts informs all her work.

Julie Park
Research Assistant

Julie Park is the research assistant at the Center, responsible for data management and contributing to grant writing efforts and administrative support. She also helps to organize research for various members of the BCRHHR staff. After receiving a B.A. in Psychology from Boston University in 2005, she was employed at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of MA and Brigham & Women’s Hospital where she worked in the clinical trials field.

Linda Piwowarczyk, MD, MPH
BCRHHR Co-Director, International Mental Health Program

Dr. Lin Piwowarczyk, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR) is a psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center, board certified in Psychiatry and Internal Medicine. She first began working with refugees in 1993, as a Fellow in International Psychiatry at the Indochinese Psychiatry Clinic. Dr. Piwowarczyk also completed an internship at the Geneva headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She specializes in the mental health evaluation and treatment of torture survivors and is currently the principal investigator for a grant funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, addressing, in part, the holistic treatment of survivors of torture and community outreach. Since 2002, Dr. Piwowarczyk has served on the Executive Committee of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs. In 2005, she was awarded the Local Legends Award from the National Library of Medicine that honors female physicians. She has presented on the topic of torture, locally, nationally, and internationally and has published several articles in various medical journals.

Elizabeth Rourke, MD
Primary Care

Dr. Elizabeth Rourke provides primary care for refugees and torture survivors at the Center. She has cared for this patient population since 2002. Dr. Rourke completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Boston University after earning her M.D. at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has published articles on topics including refugee women’s health and medical issues and Ramadan. She has presented at numerous national conferences on peripheral neuropathy and led workshops focusing on primary care of refugee patients. Dr. Rourke’s research has focused on the primary care of refugee patients and the intersection of human rights and medicine. She and Dr. Sondra Crosby are currently collaborating on the creation of a training program in refugee medicine.

Dana Rous, LICSW
Social Work

Dana Rous joined the Center as the Refugee and Asylee Social Worker for patients with HIV in February 2003. Her position is designed to specifically meet the needs of this patient population by providing intensive case management and social work services. Ms. Rous’ work serves to complement existing services at the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, as well as in the Center for Infectious Diseases. Dana spent three years doing social work at a residential program through McLean Hospital. She received her Master of Social Work degree at Simmons College in 2000. During her time at Simmons, Dana completed an internship at Brigham and Women's Hospital ID Clinic and in the Emergency Department. Dana has also worked at a domestic abuse agency, a homeless day station as well as working with children that have developmental delays.

Kelley Saia, MD
Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Saia was graduated from University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT in 2001 and completed the OB/GYN residency training program at Boston University's Boston Medical Center in 2005. During residency, Dr. Saia received the Humanism in Medicine Award 2005, Concern for Fellow Residents Award 2004 and Medical Student Teaching Award 2004, 2005. She is currently the OB/GYN Director for the Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights at Boston Medical Center: specializing in health issues specific to women survivors of torture, sexual violence, and female genital mutilation. Dr. Saia also has a special interest in Substance abuse in Pregnancy: specifically in opioid addiction and treatment with Buprenorphine. She currently practices general obstetrics and gynecology at Boston Medical Center and East Boston Health Center.

Corey Simon, MA
Vocational Rehabilitation

Corey Simon is a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist at the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights. Ms. Simon assists refugees, asylees and asylum seekers in their individual process of finding and maintaining gainful employment. She addresses the difficulties involved in adjusting to a new environment and vocational focus, while simultaneously dealing with the psychological and physical challenges resulting from torture and trauma. In this capacity, she also collaborates with potential employers and vocational trainers in the Boston area. Ms. Simon also coordinates the ESOL program for BCRHHR. Ms. Simon has a BA in Psychology and International Development & Social Change from Clark University and will be receiving her Master’s Degree in International Development & Social Change from Clark University in May 2008. Ms. Simon has also conducted research on forgiveness and reconciliation, which included attending a conference in Cape Town, South Africa and with Lutheran Refugee and Immigrant Services on the psycho-social needs of refugee families in Worcester, MA. Ms. Simon worked in a volunteer capacity at the International Rescue Committee in San Francisco, the Association for Jewish Refugees in London, and as a Small-Claims Court Mediator in Worcester.

Ana Zea , DDS
Oral Health Program

Dr. Ana Zea is a Clinical Instructor in the Division of Community Health Programs, Health Policy Health Services Research at Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine. She earned her D.D.S. from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, in 1996. Dr. Zea previously worked closely with refugees at the Department of Community Health Programs at MGH Chelsea Health Care Center’s Refugee Health Assessment and Refugee and Immigrant Programs and Interpreter Services. She is the project coordinator for the Survivors of Torture Oral Health Program at the Boston Center of Refugee Health and Human Rights providing dental screenings, referrals and case management. Through her work at Community Health Programs, she coordinates school-based dental sealant programs in the Boston Public Schools.