Skip to contents
In This Issue:
Matthew Timmel and Courtney Pelley
Teach For America (TFA) alumna Courtney Pelley, MA, and information technology (IT) professional Matthew Timmel, MHA, may have varied backgrounds and interests, but both carry a passion with them to improve the health care landscape.
This year, the pair will serve as BWH's new Deland Fellows-a one-year administrative experience that prepares professionals to be leaders of health care institutions.
Just a few weeks into the program, the fellows have already developed an appreciation for the opportunities available to them at BWH.
"This program provides us with a breadth of experience and exposure to every level of both the administrative and clinical sides of the hospital," said Timmel. "The brilliance of every individual in this organization is humbling."
Timmel worked for five years as a health care IT project manager at Epic-the health care software company working with Partners to develop and implement Partners eCare-in Madison, Wisconsin. He decided to shift his career toward health care administration after building relationships with customers and seeing the challenges that health systems are facing. As a Deland Fellow, he hopes to build experience in operations, quality and performance improvement to complement his background in health informatics.
As a TFA corps member, Pelley saw firsthand the role that health disparities play in the educational achievement gap. Motivated by her experiences teaching high school chemistry, Pelley is committed to further exploring the connection between the health status of both individuals and communities and academic achievement. From the fellowship, she hopes to gain a better understanding of the effects that health disparities have on health care efficiency and costs.
"My goal is to work to identify and address the factors that lead to health disparities so that one day health equity can be attained," she said. "I am excited to be at BWH because it is both an academic and community-based medical center."
Throughout the fellowship, Timmel and Pelley will work with senior leaders at BWH. Timmel's mentor is Anne Fitzgerald, MBA, vice president of Network Development, and Pelley's mentor is Wanda McClain, MPA, vice president of Community Health and Health Equity.
Timmel, who hails from Buffalo, New York, graduated from the University of Notre Dame and earned a master's degree in health care administration from the University of Minnesota. Pelley, a Massachusetts native, received her BA in neuroscience from Wellesley College and MA in intercultural services in health care from Wake Forest University.
The Deland Fellowship in Health Care and Society honors the memory of former board president F. Stanton Deland Jr., a key figure during the merger of BWH's predecessor hospitals. During the extensive planning period, he inspired all parties to advance a unified objective: to provide premier health care and promote innovation in clinical care, research and education.