BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD CHAIR, Adam Thomas, joined the AWFH board in February 2022.  Adam has served as the Chief People Officer and Secretary at Synlogic since July 2017.  In this role he is responsible for all human resource functions leading office operations and serving as Corporate Secretary. Adam has spent more than 20 years in human resources helping leading companies recruit and retain top talent. Prior to joining Synlogic, he served as Vice President and Head of Human Resources for Research and Development at Shire during a period when the company underwent major expansion, doubling the size of its research and development workforce in Massachusetts. Before joining Shire, Adam served as Head of Human Resources for Research, Development, and Engineering for S.C. Johnson and Company. Earlier in his career he served as director in various human resources functions at Pfizer. Adam holds an M.B.A. from Boston University, a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) from the University of Edinburgh and an M.A. in human resource management from the University of the West of England. Adam also serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Science & Technology Fair, a STEM-education focused non-profit.

CLERK, Amali De Zoysa, is a Chief of Staff at St Anthony Shrine, a Catholic community with over 20 outreach and evangelical ministries. She has worked in the human services/non-profit field for the past 20 years in a leadership capacity.  Amali grew up in Sri Lanka and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and an Executive MBA from Boston University. Her work has centered around advocating and providing supportive services to underserved communities. She is excited and proud to serve on the board for AWFH to help advance efforts to improve the health and lives of Asian women in the community.

BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE, Dr. Namrata Sengupta, is a trained scientist, science communicator, career coach, and advocate for equity in health and STEM. She is the Associate Director for Scientific Public Engagement and Broad Discovery Center at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She is a member of the Citizens’ Committee on Civic Unity, appointed by the City Manager of the City of Cambridge. Namrata also speaks at a variety of career panels and lectures in the higher education community. She is deeply passionate about science and health equity-related advocacy work and facilitates dialogues around issues that disproportionately affect communities of color. 



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BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE, Neha Bhagat, has been a member of AWFH since 2018 when she joined the planning committee for the 10th Annual Asian American Mental Health Forum. She has since been involved with AWFH’s CelebrASIANS event and is chair of Program Committee for the 2020 11th Annual Asian American Mental Health Forum. Neha holds a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University and is a lab manager in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.
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​Her passion for mental health advocacy, particularly in suicide prevention, has led her to serve on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Community Advisory Board for Suicide Prevention in addition to being a volunteer at Samaritans. Neha is proud to serve on the board for AWFH and continue their efforts improving the health and lives of Asian women in the community.

BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE, Marilyn Gardner, is a public health nurse consultant and writer who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the Director of Clinical/Community Operations at the Center for Health Impact in Worcester, MA.. Prior to this position, she worked for 10 years as the manager of the Women's Health Network at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She has worked in women's health internationally in Pakistan, Egypt, and Northern Iraq as well as in three states - Illinois, Arizona, and Massachusetts. She is a certified cultural competency trainer and the author of two books - Between Worlds: Essays on Culture and Belonging and Worlds Apart - A Third Culture Kid's Journey. Marilyn is passionate about communicating across cultural boundaries and making space for all voices in the health care conversation. You can find her books wherever books are sold and her writing at Communicating Across Boundaries.

BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE, Lily Wound, is a partner at Goodwin Procter in its Technology and Life Sciences groups.  She has extensive experience representing pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other life sciences companies in a wide range of complex commercial, corporate, and licensing transactions, including those involving gene therapy, gene editing, engineered cell therapy, and genomic testing. With broad knowledge of licensing and collaboration matters, Ms. Wound has worked on some of the most complex life sciences collaborations in the industry and has handled transactions at every stage of the life cycle of a life sciences product, and has represented early stage to big pharma companies in connection with these transactions.

Ms. Wound has also led Young Women in Bio (YWIB), a non-profit organization within Women in Bio focused on helping girls interested in STEM, for over eight years. She founded the Metro-New York Chapter of YWIB and then went on to become the National Chair, running all 14 YWIB chapters across the country and in Montreal with over 150 volunteers. In her role as National Chair, she is responsible for developing the fundamental tenets of YWIB and launching 8 national, STEM-focused programs for girls from elementary school through college, including YWIB Online, YWIB Showcase, YWIB Teachers and YWIB College. She is particularly focused on diversity and inclusion and expanding YWIB’s outreach to girls who would not have otherwise had an opportunity to pursue their interest in STEM.

​Ms. Wound also has a Master in Public Health, and is a firm believer in the power of the community to address public health issues. As a first-generation Asian American, she is passionate about AWFH’s mission to apply community-based and public health measures to improve health outcomes for Asian women.

BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE, Nandini Sangarasivam Choudhury, LCSW, MPH, (she/hers) is the Reproductive Health Equity Specialist for Fenway Health's Reproductive Health & OB/GYN  Department. She holds a dual Master's degree in public health and social work. Before coming to Fenway Health, Nandini conducted health equity community-based research projects at Boston University School of Social Work to improve the health, dignity, and overall well-being of communities of color, LGBQIA+, and Transgender & Gender Diverse (TGD) communities. As the Reproductive Health Equity Specialist, Nandini manages cervical cancer and contraception/sexual health population health projects and community engagement and outreach programs that uplift communities of color, LGBQIA+, and TGD communities. Additionally, she is invested in removing the stigma around mental health access and therapies for the AAPID community. Nandini is a first-generation Tamil Bengali American who enjoys playing music, outdoor activities, and good food. 

BOARD MEMBER-AT-LARGE, Ingrid Chiemi Schroffner is an attorney, singer-songwriter and author who joined the AWFH board in October of 2022. She served as a Co-Chair for the AWFH 10th Anniversary Celebrasians Fashion Event and the proceeds of her 2022 book, “Odd Simple Beauty” are directed to AWFH. Her books and songs are available at Newtonville Books, Sherman’s Maine Coast Bookshop and online. She is the Senior Associate Attorney at the Office of Management at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, having joined in March 2020. Previously, she served as Acting Deputy General Counsel and Associate General Counsel at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services ("EHS"), having joined as Assistant General Counsel in 2008. Prior to EHS, Ingrid had practiced at Burns & Levinson LLP since 1998. Ingrid also clerked for Chief Justice Joseph P. Warner at the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Massachusetts Superior Court justices. A native of Hawaii, Ingrid is a past president of the Asian American Lawyers of Massachusetts, served on its Board, has also served on the Boston Bar Association Council and as president of the Boston College Law School Alumni Board, also having served on its Board. Ingrid chaired the Legal Intern program for EHS, as well as the EHS Diversity Council, the latter for which she received a Certificate of Appreciation from Massachusetts Medicaid. In addition, since 2012, she has served on the Supreme Judicial Court Standing Advisory Committee on Professionalism, and in 2022 was appointed as its Co-Chair. She has also served on the Board of Trustees for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education since 2019 and is Co-Chair of its Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

In 2022, Ingrid was named as part of the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (“MLW”) “Circle of Excellence" for its Top Women of Law event, having been previously named as one of MLW’s Top Women of Law in 2013. She was also named a Massachusetts Bar Foundation Life Fellow by its Board of Trustees in 2015. In 2008, the Asian Community Development Corporation presented Ingrid with its Excellence in Community Service Award.
Ingrid graduated from Boston College (Phi Beta Kappa), summa cum laude, and Boston College Law School (Campbell Fellowship Recipient and White, Inker, Aronson Professional Achievement & Service Award). She is dedicated to expanding horizons, promoting diversity, empathy and connectivity, and is excited to serve on AWFH’s board to help advance efforts to improve the health and lives of Asian women in the community.

Ingrid graduated from Boston College (Phi Beta Kappa), summa cum laude, and Boston College Law School (Campbell Fellowship Recipient and White, Inker, Aronson Professional
Achievement & Service Award). She is dedicated to expanding horizons, promoting diversity, empathy and connectivity, and is excited to serve on AWFH’s board to help advance efforts to improve the health and lives of Asian women in the community.