Shawn LaFrance
Vice President for Population Health (Retired)
Dartmouth Health – Cheshire Medical Center
Shawn recently retired from serving as Vice President for Population Health at Dartmouth Health–Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire. Cheshire Medical Center is a hospital, safety-net provider, and the public health agency in the rural southwest region of NH. He received the NOVA/Dick Davidson Award-2022, from the American Hospital Association, for innovation in addressing the needs of people seeking treatment for substance use disorders in the region. Prior to that role, Shawn worked for more than 15 years at the Foundation for Health Communities in Concord NH and served as its founding Executive Director. The organization focuses on access to health care, quality of care, and community-based strategies in the state. Earlier in his career, he worked at The Commonwealth Fund, New York City Department of Health, and the Citizen’s Committee for the Children of NY in program development, grant-making, and public policy.
Shawn LaFrance is ordained as a Deacon in the Episcopal Church and serves in parish ministry and pastoral care in Concord NH. His diaconal formation program was in Boston with the Diocese of Massachusetts. Shawn’s community volunteer activities include leadership roles on the board of directors for: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-NH; NH Hospice and Palliative Care Organization; NH Public Health Association; and Concord Public Library Foundation. He completed his graduate studies at Columbia University with a Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Urban Planning and his undergraduate education was at the University of New Hampshire.