Your PPOC Leadership Team
PPOC is proud to present our accomplished and driven leadership team, always seeking to improve the quality of care of the over 400,000 children in the state of Massachusetts.
Gregory Young, MD
President & Executive Officer
Dr. Gregory Young has served as a clinician and administrator for more than 20 years, and is seeking to redesign and optimize health services delivery for the benefit of children, adolescents, and young adults. He has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pediatric Physicians’ Organization at Children’s (PPOC) since 2006, leading the network’s quality improvement efforts – including its adoption of electronic health records and the family-centered medical home to improve quality and clinical integration.
Dr. Young has a deep interest in understanding how systems design and function impact health care. While chief of an inpatient unit at Boston Children’s Hospital, he co-chaired a group that undertook a major redesign of inpatient service delivery, resulting in improved quality of care and cost savings. Later, he became managing partner at Longwood Pediatrics and helped to improve the organization’s clinical and business performance. He continues to maintain an active primary care practice today.
In addition to his clinical practice and PPOC leadership role, Dr. Young is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, part-time, at Harvard Medical School. He also teaches third year MD/MBA students in their primary care clerkship. Dr. Young is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. After receiving his medical degree, Dr. Young completed his residency at Boston Children’s Hospital where he served as Chief Resident in Pediatrics.
He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physician Executives. He is also a recipient of the Sidney Farber Award and Community Pediatrician Award, both from Boston Children’s Hospital. He is board certified in pediatrics and a diplomate of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians.
Margaret Fry, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Margaret Fry began her tenure as PPOC’s Chief Medical Officer in March 2022. She came to the PPOC from the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group (PAFMG) in the San Francisco area, having held multiple leadership roles, including overseeing the pediatric service line, with responsibility for all pediatric care delivery for general pediatrics, pediatric specialty care, pediatric hospital medicine, and pediatric urgent care for approximately 250 pediatricians and pediatrics APCs. In addition, Dr. Fry practiced pediatric primary care with PAFMG for 15 years, and was in private practice before that.
Dr. Fry received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan and attended medical school at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Stanford Children's Health.
Dr. Fry's professional interests include clinical quality and continuous improvement--both in metrics and processes, healthcare equity, and physician and clinician wellbeing.
Jessica Farnham
Chief Operating Officer
Jessica Farnham has many years of financial and operational management experience in healthcare IT and healthcare services. She joined the PPOC as Chief Operating Officer in early 2015.
Previously, Ms. Farnham was the Vice President of Finance and Operations at American Well, an industry-leading telehealth company, where she was deeply involved in the creation and management of an affiliated provider group employing dozens of physicians across the United States. Earlier in her career, Ms. Farnham worked at the Boston Consulting Group and Outcome (later acquired by Quintiles), and spent two years as a practicing attorney with a focus on land use and senior housing development projects.
Ms. Farnham holds a law degree from the New York University School of Law and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and received her bachelor’s degree from Duke University.
Nael Hafez, MBA
Chief Information Officer
Nael Hafez has 17 years of leadership experience in information technology and health care management, both in the military and civilian sectors.
A former Captain in the United States Army, Mr. Hafez has been the Chief Information Officer for the PPOC since 2011. In his role as CIO, Mr. Hafez is responsible for the implementation, integration, operations, and support of all PPOC information systems and technology.
Prior to joining the PPOC, Mr. Hafez spent more than six years with the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC), starting as a Technical Project Manager and steadily rising, taking on more responsibility, and being promoted to Director of Technical Services. In that role, he led large scale, multi-stakeholder, statewide, and inter-organizational projects involving the implementation of electronic health records, health information exchanges and clinical data warehouses.
From February 2001 through March 2009, Mr. Hafez served as an officer in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. He held several leadership positions within the Medical Service Corps, the branch of the Army which provides administrative, tactical, and logistical support to the Army Medical Command, including Platoon Leader, Battalion Medical Operations Officer, and Medical Company Executive Officer. Mr. Hafez was called to active duty and deployed in support of combat operations overseas. He is the recipient of the Purple Heart, two Army Commendation medals for meritorious service, the Combat Action Badge, and numerous other service medals and ribbons. Mr. Hafez holds an M.B.A. in Healthcare Management from the Boston University Questrom School of Business, and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Boston University College of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Hafez is married and has two young boys.