Our Board

David I. Cohen, M.D., M.Sc. is the Executive Vice President for Population Health and Academic Affairs at Maimonides Medical Center. He serves on several boards including Housing Works, the Brooklyn Health Home, Healthix, and the New York eHealth Collaborative.  Dr. Cohen received his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s of science in Epidemiology and Health from McGill University where he was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar. 

After completing his fellowship, he joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University where he was appointed Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital. He subsequently served as Director of Ambulatory Care and Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, Vice President for Medical Operations for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Deputy Dean for Clinical Affairs at the City University of New York Sophie Davis Medical School, and Medical Director at Bellevue Hospital Center before joining the staff at Maimonides.

Dr. Marilyn Fraser is the Chief Executive Officer at the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (AAIUH), a Research Associate Professor in both the Department of Medicine and the School of Public Health at the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and the co-Director of the Brooklyn Health Disparities Center. Previously, as Deputy Director and Associate Director for Research & Training, she managed the Institute’s community outreach and research programs. 

Guyanese-born, Dr. Fraser is a graduate of the Spartan Health Sciences University School of Medicine in St. Lucia and did her medical training in the West Indies, Mexico, and the United States. Dr. Fraser has received numerous awards including the Health Award from the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, and the prestigious Fulbright Research Specialist award to develop and implement a climate change and public health internship program for secondary school students in Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Fraser was honored as a Power Woman in Brooklyn and received the special Health Award. She was also honored as the winner of the Crain's Heritage Healthcare Leadership Award and named one of Crain’s Notable Women in Healthcare, and as one of the CUNY School of Medicine’s 2021 Strong Women in Medicine. Dr. Fraser regularly presents her work at scientific meetings, nationally and internationally, and is a co-author on several publications and a book chapter.

Roger L. Green is a former New York State legislator who served Brooklyn’s Assembly District 57 in the New York State Assembly for 26 years. He was educated in the New York City public school system and graduated from Southern Illinois University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in cultural anthropology, international affairs and government. After graduating and returning to Brooklyn, he became involved in local politics, joining several civil rights groups and community organizations concerned with the elimination of racism and social injustice.

In 2007, shortly after the end of his term in the State Legislature, he was appointed a Distinguished Lecturer at Medgar Evers College, where he is also the Director of the Dubois-Bunche Center on Public Policy, a think tank dedicated to advancing best practices in law, policy, and community covenants that advance social and economic justice for urban communities within the U.S. and throughout the African Diaspora.

Karen Nelson, MD, MPH is former Senior Vice President of Integrated Delivery Systems at Maimonides Medical Center. Dr. Nelson has also served as Executive Director of The Brooklyn Health Home, a NYS-licensed Health Home program comprised of more than 35 care management organizations who provide life-saving services to support very sick and high risk Medicaid patients throughout Brooklyn.

Maurice A. Reid is the President of KenJam Consultants LLC, consultant advisors to primary health care executives and CBOs. He previously served as the President and CEO of the Brownsville Community Development Corporation's (BCDC) [d/b/a Brownsville Multi-Service (BMS) Family Health Center], a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)].  He currently serves as a Consultant /Advisor to the Alliance for Healthy Communities, a collaboration of Federally Qualified Health Centers in North Central Brooklyn, and as Chairperson of the Community Action and Advocacy Workgroup (CAAW) of the Community Cares of Brooklyn (CCB).

Maurice is President of the Borough Development Group; Chairperson, the New York Web Center Board of Directors; Co-Chairperson, the Coalition to Transform Interfaith Medical Center; Co-Chairperson of the Bedford Stuyvesant Early Childhood Center (d/b/a Bed Stuy Head Start); and, Treasurer of the BCDC Board.  He is also a member of the Central Brooklyn Martin Luther King Commission and the NYS Community Services Block Grant Advisory Council, and of the Board of NYC Rx.

Maurice has a bachelor’s degree from the School of Business, Manhattan College and a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College, CUNY.  In June 1995, he completed a two year fellowship from the Southern Regional Council as a Voting Rights Expert-in-Training.  He is the recipient of numerous community service awards.

Bruce Richard is a Senior Consultant for Community Health to the 1199 SEIU President. Bruce has played an important role in the Coalition To Transform Interfaith Medical Center, as one of the Co-Chairs, helping to introduce a viable labor/community relationship in Central Brooklyn.

Previously, Bruce was Executive Vice President of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, where he was responsible for most of the hospitals in Brooklyn for nearly 10 years. Bruce is the author of the book, The Other New York, a story about human transformation, with a forward by Harry Belafonte.

J. Phillip Thompson is an urban planner and political scientist, and is currently a Professor of Urban Planning and Politics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The former Deputy Mayor of Strategic Initiatives for the City of New York, Thompson has been a longtime champion of diversity and community-action. As Deputy Mayor, he was responsible for spearheading a diverse collection of priority initiatives and oversaw New York City’s signature Pre-K for All program, as well as overseeing the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises Program, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, Department of Youth and Community Development, and the Department of Small Business Services, among others.

Prior to his role as Deputy Mayor, Thompson worked as Deputy General Manager of the New York Housing Authority and as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Coordination. He continues to be a frequent advisor to trade unions in their efforts to work with immigrant and community groups across the United States. He received a B.A. in Sociology from Harvard University in 1977, a M.U.P. from Hunter College in 1986, and a PhD. in Political Science from the City University of New York Graduate Center in 1990.