FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2026
CONTACT:
Molly McKinney, Ball Consulting Group, LLC
Phone: 617-243-9950; Email: molly@ballcg.com
RIZE Massachusetts Appoints Rosen as Board Chair and Shelto and Sudders as Board Members
BOSTON (May 5, 2026) – RIZE Massachusetts Foundation (RIZE), a nonprofit foundation solely dedicated to creating and funding solutions to end the opioid overdose crisis in Massachusetts, today announced the appointments of Joy Rosen as chair of the Board of Directors and Audrey Shelto and Marylou Sudders as members. Rosen will replace Steve Pollock, who served as chair for seven years and will remain on the board.
“As chair and vice chair of the board, Steve and Joy have guided RIZE to remarkable progress, including a groundbreaking partnership with the state to ensure that opioid settlement funds are optimized to help communities recover from the crisis,” said Steven Lipiner, RIZE board treasurer. “As chair, Joy will couple her experience on the board with her background in government and health care to chart the future course for the organization. Audrey and Marylou will bring perspectives and wisdom to their new board roles honed over their estimable careers and formidable professional accomplishments.”
Rosen, of Brookline, now retired, was the former vice president of behavioral health at Mass General Brigham. Earlier in her career, she held high-level roles with the state Department of Public Health, the Department of Mental Health, and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Rosen earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and a master’s degree in social policy and management from Brandeis University. She has served as vice chair of the RIZE Massachusetts Foundation board for six years and has served on the board for nine years.
For nearly 13 years, Shelto, of Somerville, was the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation before retiring in 2025. She has held various leadership posts within nonprofit health insurance organizations and the state Department of Mental Health. She serves on the board of directors of Women’s Lunch Place and on the board of advisors for Brandeis University’s The Heller School of Social Policy and Management. Shelto earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in management of human services from the Heller School at Brandeis University.
For eight years, Sudders, of Cambridge, served as secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Before that, she served as commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health. Currently, she is a health policy consultant at a leading public policy group. She previously served as a human services agency CEO, associate professor, and program chair at Boston College School of Social Work. Sudders holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in social work from Boston University, and honorary doctorates from Boston University, Bridgewater State University, and William James College.
About RIZE Massachusetts
RIZE Massachusetts (RIZE) is solely dedicated to funding and collaborating on solutions to end the overdose crisis. Guided by those with lived and living experience and unafraid of new ideas, RIZE is building networks, creating programming, and investing in community partners who are using novel approaches to preventing overdose and increasing access to treatment and recovery supports. RIZE makes health equity a programmatic priority by addressing root causes such as racism, systemic barriers to care, and power imbalances. Learn more at www.rizema.org.
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