Members

Susan D. Block, MD received her AB from Stanford University, her MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and completed residencies in both internal medicine and psychiatry at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. She is board-certified in both fields.

For more than 40 years, Dr. Block has been a national leader in the development of the field of palliative medicine, focused particularly on the psychological and psychiatric issues related to serious illness, and has led major innovative educational and quality improvement projects in a variety of areas, is known internationally as an expert in medical education, communication teaching, faculty development, and health system change, and has contributed to research in medical education, palliative care, psychooncology, and health system change . During her career, she led multiple faculty development efforts, including the Project on Death in America Faculty Scholars Program and the Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice, that trained many of the leaders in our field. These faculty and the hundreds of palliative care fellows, residents, and medical students, and other clinicians whom she has trained populate palliative care (and other clinical services) across the US and internationally. Her primary collaborator throughout her career was her husband, Andy Billings, who died in 2015.

She was the Founding Chair of the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a Founding Director of the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care, a national center of excellence for palliative care education. In addition, she was the founder and Director of the Serious Illness Care Program at Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health care innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health and Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is the author of over 200 publications and has won numerous awards for education, research and leadership in both palliative medicine and psychiatry.

She currently spends her time teaching undergraduates and clinicians at Dana-Farber, seeing a small number of patients, hanging out with family and friends, walking and throwing endless balls for her obsessed golden retriever, reading, learning Italian, and messing around with paints and printmaking.

Jessica Goldhirsch, LICSW, MSW, MPH, is a clinical social worker with the Adult Palliative Care Consult Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Division of Supportive Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. She is an adult educator and curriculum developer with 25 years of experience training medical interpreters and health care clinicians to partner effectively when providing care across language and cultural differences.

Ms Goldhirsch is the co-director of an innovative annual series of dialogues in palliative care between diverse groups of clinicians and medical interpreters. Jessica began her career as a child life therapist and later became a patient advocate and director of interpreter services prior to her career in clinical social work.

Ms. Goldhirsch presents nationally and internationally on palliative care, cultural and linguistic access to care and medical interpreter training and her publications reflect these interests. She coordinates the Palliative Care and Hospice Social Workers of Massachusetts networking group and is a member of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network and the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care.

Danielle Green, AGACNP-BC, is a nurse practitioner originally from Auburn, Massachusetts. She received her BSN from University of Rhode Island and MSN from Northeastern University.

Before completing the Harvard Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Fellowship in 2023 at Dana Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Danielle practiced for six years as a registered nurse both locally and traveling in many different fields of nursing including geriatric, oncology, surgery, and palliative care department at MGH as faculty on both the inpatient palliative care and supportive care unit teams.

Danielle is passionate and devoted to promoting resources and support for care givers and educating her fellow nursing and advanced practice providers about primary and specialty palliative care.

Dr. Scullion earned B.S. and PharmD degrees from St. Louis College of Pharmacy and subsequently completed a Specialty Pharmacy Residency in Palliative Care at University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy. She has been at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Palliative Care since 2001.

Additionally, she was Clinical Pharmacy Manager for 10 years and is currently Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services since 2016. Dr Scullion is a Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist, Residency Program Director for an ASHP-accredited PGY-2 Pain Management and Palliative Care Pharmacy Residency program which is integrated into the Harvard Interprofessional Palliative Care Fellowship. Dr. Scullion is a founding member and past president of the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists (SPPCP) and currently serves as the Nominations Committee Chair for SPPCP and Treasurer of the SPPCP Foundation.

She was also recently appointed to the inaugural Pain Management Pharmacy Specialty Council for the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties.