PCA Workforce Council Members

At all times a majority of Council members must be consumers of MassHealth PCA services. The Council is charged with insuring the quality of long-term, in-home, personal care by recruiting, training and stabilizing the work force of PCAs

How it Works

• The Governor appoints 1 member from a slate of 3 consumers recommended by the governor's special advisory commission on disability policy.
• The auditor shall appoint:
  • 1 member from a slate of 3 consumers recommended by the developmental disabilities council.
  • 1 member from a slate of 3 consumers recommended by the Massachusetts office on disability, and
  • 1 member from a slate of 3 consumers recommended by the statewide independent living council.
• The attorney general shall appoint:
  • 1 member from a slate of 3 consumers or consumer surrogates recommended by the Massachusetts home care association.
  • 1 member from a slate of 3 consumers or consumer surrogates recommended by the Massachusetts council on aging and
  • 1 member chosen at her discretion.

Executive Director of the PCA Quality Workforce Council

Jocelyn Gordon, 

^{The Executive Director of the PCA Quality Workforce Council, is a mission-driven and analytically oriented senior executive and long-term services and supports business strategist with 20+ years of experience spanning across national and community-based health care organizations.}

^{The desire to ensure equity and access to healthcare for underserved communities has guided her career, beginning with a Fulbright grant to evaluate a community-based self-help program for children suffering from chronic asthma in Buenos Aires, Argentina, through her current position as the Executive Director of the Personal Care Attendant Quality Workforce Council. Prior to her work with the Council, Jocelyn served as Strategic Growth and Business Development Director at UMass Chan Medical School’s ForHealth Consulting where she worked to frame and focus strategic growth pathways for the organization, foster collaboration among different parts of the organization, and develop alliances with external organizations in support of the organization’s portfolio.}

^{Prior to joining UMass, Jocelyn led the development and implementation of long-term care risk and care management strategies, product development and claim services at LifePlans Inc.   Jocelyn practiced law at the firm of Goulston and Storrs in Boston, Massachusetts; where she concentrated her practice in business and health care law with an emphasis on health care provider organizations and regulations, corporate transactions, and telemedicine.}

^{Jocelyn is a mom to 3 adult children and holds a Master of Science degree in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health, a law degree from the Northeastern University School of Law and is a graduate of Wellesley College.}

PCA Workforce Council Members

Member	Affiliation
Amy Rosenthal	Amy Rosenthal,   Undersecretary of Health at EHHS   is a highly respected and passionate health care leader with 30 years of experience working on the most vital health policy matters facing Massachusetts. Amy has served as the executive director of Health Care For All (HCFA) from 2017-2025, driving meaningful impacts at one of the state’s most active nonprofit organizations advocating for health justice and access. Ms. Rosenthal has expertise in health care, public policy, government, nonprofits and more. Under her leadership, HCFA drove significant health policy change and provided people in Massachusetts with resources to improve health care coverage and access through legislative and administrative advocacy, coalition building, community organizing, public education and outreach efforts. Prior to her time at HCFA, Rosenthal served as the Director of External Affairs & Campaigns at Community Catalyst, a national health care advocacy organization, where she spent a decade drafting, passing, implementing and defending the Affordable Care Act. She has been a lecturer at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health since 2014. Amy holds a bachelor's degree in organizational studies from Northwestern University, a master's degree in public health from Harvard University, and a master's degree in public affairs from Indiana University.
Justin Graceffa	Justin Graceffa currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Mass PCA Workforce Council. In August 2007, Justin fell off a balcony, breaking his C5 vertebrae, which left him paralyzed from the chest down. Prior to his accident, Justin, a musician, attended Berklee College of Music. He graduated after the accident with a degree in professional music studies. After several years in the PCA program, Justin began to realize the importance of having good working conditions, both for PCA’s and the consumers they serve.  Justin’s desire to work for program improvements prompted him to join the Council in 2022 and has been working on different committees ever since. Justin is passionate about representing consumer employers, helping them to maintain their self-direction and live independently in the community. Justin works to support personal care attendants (PCAs) thrive in their jobs through his active participation In the Council’s Labor Management Committee, Training Committee and Recruiting and Retention Task Force. On the Labor Committee, Justin works for fair pay and better working conditions for PCAs. On the Training Committee, Justin focuses on creating programs that teach PCAs new skills to improve caregiving. On the Recruitment and Retention Task Force, Justin works to bring in new PCAs and make sure they stick around. Most importantly, Justin believes in the importance of ongoing education and training for PCAs so they can continue to grow and provide the best care possible.
Chris Hoeh	Council Member Chris Hoehhas been a PCA consumer since May 2017. He served as the vice chair of the council for several years and as a member of the labor management, racial justice and equity, training, and recruitment committees. Chris is involved in many disability advocacy efforts, including: -improving regulations related to accessible housing and workplaces, PT1 (Transportation for Mass Health members), wheelchair warranty and repair, and MassHealth estate recovery. Chris is an active member of the Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, and currently serves as a MA Registered Advocate with the United Spinal Association. He was featured in the short documentary Wheels of Justice about his work with the Disability Law Center to successfully appeal MassHealth rejection of his elevating and standing power wheelchair. Chris was an elementary school teacher with a career that spanned more than 30 years. He was named the 2015 Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year from the National Council for Social Studies, and the 2014 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Southern Poverty Law Center. He is a graduate of the College of Public and Community Service at UMASS Boston and holds a Master of Education Degree from Wheelock College. Chris has been an active participant in his Jamaica Plain community for decades. He was the founding director of the Jamaica Plain Youth Soccer Academy. He returned to this role a year after his spinal cord injury.
Tom Hooper	Council Member Tom Hooper is the Vice President of Sector Pathways with Commonwealth Corporation. Tom is responsible for overseeing Commonwealth Corporation’s industry-focused programs and initiatives: the Career Technical Initiative, Market Makers, the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, and the Workforce Training Fund Program. Tom’s duties include collaborating with external stakeholders to increase awareness of these programs and explore partnership opportunities, partnering with Commonwealth Corporation staff to identify strategies for scaling programs and maximizing their impact, and fostering strong coordination among programs. Tom’s interests for the Council include increasing the pool of PCAs, expanding career pathways for PCAs, and engaging additional partners such as workforce development boards and community-based organizations.
Amber Pettell	Amber Pettell has been a PCA consumer for almost two decades. Amber is a disability rights advocate and professional with deep experience supporting self-advocacy and community inclusion across Massachusetts. She serves as the Self Advocacy Peer Coordinator for Massachusetts West Region Self Advocacy at The Consortium in Holyoke, where she supports peer-led groups for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) which create opportunities for individuals to build the confidence, skills, and self-determination needed to advocate for their own goals and rights. As part of her work, she co-created a staff orientation curriculum on self-advocacy and supporting healthy sexuality, strengthening organizational practices that promote autonomy, informed choice, and person-centered support. Amber is also a trained sexuality educator through the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services. Amber is a Citizen Member of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC), where she works to ensure disabled peoples' perspectives remain central in statewide initiatives and policy development. She has provided formal testimony to the Massachusetts Legislature on a wide range of disability issues, including supported decision-making, voting access, accessible housing, wheelchair repair, and other policies that directly affect autonomy, safety, and community living for disabled people. Amber also served as a contributing mentor for the Paul W. Spooner Generational Leadership Summit, supporting emerging disabled leaders in strengthening their leadership and legislative advocacy skills. Amber holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication with a specialization in Public Interest Communication and a Graduate Certificate in Global Strategic Communication from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Westfield State University.
Tamara Huntley	Council Member Tamara Huntley is a self-advocate who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in social work from Bridgewater State University.  She is a licensed social worker who currently works as a Lead trainer for the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council. For over 10 years, Tamara has been training others to learn how to advocate for themselves and define their own future goals.  Her training career began (2005) working with Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong, the statewide self-advocacy group to create and teach a 3-hour training on recognizing and preventing abuse called Awareness and Action. Since 2019, Tamara continues to work with Easter Seals as a mentor for the THRIVE program.  THRIVE is a woman’s group that focuses on young women with disabilities and matches them with adult mentors.   For the past two years Tamara has served on the Statewide Personal Care Attendant council to ensure consumer employers have a say in their care. As of January 2024, Tamara has become a facilitator for Elevatus working with others across the nation educating individuals with disabilities on the topic of sexuality. Aside from her advocacy work, Tamara is a single mom of two active young teenagers both on IEP’s. She is committed in her role to advocate for change to ensure her children have a bright and prosperous future.
Kristen McCosh	Council Member Kristen McCosh is the Disability Commissioner and ADA Title II Coordinator for the City of Boston. In this role, she leads the City’s collaborative efforts to ensure accessibility and inclusion in all programs, policies, public rights of way, and municipal buildings in Boston. She is responsible for overseeing non-discrimination on the basis of disability so that all Boston residents and visitors with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate fully in everything the city has to offer. Commissioner McCosh is a well-respected leader in the disability community, where she has been a local and national advocate for over 25 years. She served as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2007 and Ms. Wheelchair America 2008, promoting disability rights, equal access, empowerment, and independent living. Commissioner McCosh graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston with a B.A. in English and Political Science, and she holds an M.A. in Disability Studies from the City University of New York. She is a lifelong resident of South Boston.
Karen Bureau	Council member Karen Bureau has been a PCA consumer for 38 years. Having been diagnosed with FSHD Muscular Dystrophy at the age of 12, Karen has learned how to effectively navigate the complex system designed to help people with disabilities. Karen earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a Specialization in Counseling and Psychology from Lesley University. While working at an Independent Living Center as the PCA Program Manager she went on to earn a Graduate Certificate in Human Services Management from Suffolk University. She currently works for a small non-profit organization as a Marketing/HR Director and has been a non-invasive ventilator user for twenty-six years. Karen is involved with the National Council on Independent Living’s (NCIL) Healthcare subcommittee and has been the Vice President of REquipment DME Reuse Program in Massachusetts for several years. Karen is also a Board member of Breathe with MD and sits on the implementation Council for Onecare. Karen recognizes that  the National Caregiver shortage needs creative ideas and hopes to add to solutions.

Date published:	June 26, 2024