foundation staff

David Abelman
President - Tufts Health Plan Foundation
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel - Tufts Health Plan
David Abelman joined the Tufts Health Plan family of companies in 1999. He now serves as the president of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation and as the plan's senior vice president & deputy general counsel. As president, Mr. Abelman has senior responsibility for the operations and strategic activities of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. Mr. Abelman oversees the foundation's staff and all foundation activities, including investments, grantmaking and administrative functions. Mr. Abelman received his bachelor of arts in economics from Brandeis University. He also received his juris doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School.

Anne Marie Boursiquot King
Director of Grants and Operations
Anne Marie Boursiquot King is responsible for day-to-day management of the foundation’s grantmaking programs and its operational functions. Ms. Boursiquot King was previously manager of Community Partnerships and Volunteerism at Tufts Health Plan, managing the company's community giving, corporate sponsorships and volunteer programs. Ms. Boursiquot King received her bachelor of science in business administration from Suffolk University. She also received her masters in business administration, international business concentration from the McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley College. She graduated from the Emerging Leaders Program of the Center for Collaborative Leadership, College of Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and participated in Babson College's Executive Education Program.

Stacey Mann
Communications Officer
A 15+ year public relations agency veteran, Stacey Mann joined the Tufts Health Plan Foundation to spearhead all of its communications efforts. Ms. Mann is focused on building communications programs that educate policy-makers, practitioners and the public at large about healthy aging issues. Ms. Mann previously served as executive vice president for Greenough Communications, where she managed account services, media relations, social marketing and content development programs for the Boston-based PR firm. Ms. Mann graduated cum laude from Tufts University with a bachelor's degree in economics.

Kristyn McCandless
Program Coordinator, Purposeful Engagement and Empowerment
Kristyn McCandless is responsible for supporting foundation operations including managing the online grantmaking website. Ms. McCandless also oversees the Purposeful Engagement and Empowerment grant program areas. Ms. McCandless received her bachelor of arts from the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL. She also received her juris doctorate from the New England School of Law in Boston. Ms. McCandless is a graduate of WOMEN Unlimited Inc.'s TEAM (Transforming Emerging and Aspiring Managers) management development program for women.

Ruth Palombo
Senior Health Policy Officer
Ruth Palombo is responsible for all of the foundation's educational, network-building and policy-related activities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. She joined the foundation from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs where she served as assistant secretary. A 30-year health and human services industry veteran, Ms. Palombo previously directed programs in nutrition, aging, health promotion and chronic disease prevention at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She also served as an assistant professor at both the Tufts University School of Medicine and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy where she taught courses in gerontology, community nutrition and public health. Ms. Palombo earned her Ph.D. in social policy with concentrations in aging and substance abuse from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She also received a master’s in health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health. Additional degrees in human nutrition and public health were earned from Cornell University and Teachers College, Columbia University. A leader in her field, Ms. Palombo has been published nearly 20 times and is a frequent presenter at healthy aging related conferences.

Kayla Romanelli
Program Coordinator, Health & Wellness
Kayla Romanelli is responsible for managing the Health & Wellness grant program area. Additionally, Ms. Romanelli assists in supporting the day-to-day operations of the foundation. Ms. Romanelli is a graduate of Harvard University where she received her bachelor of arts degree in government with a secondary concentration in sociology.