Executive Team

Jim O’Connell, MD

President

Jim O’Connell, MD (he/him), serves as the President of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  Dr. O’Connell received his medical degree from Harvard University in 1982 and completed residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.  In 1985, he began full-time clinical work with homeless individuals as the founding physician of the program.  He established the nation’s first medical respite program in 1985, with 25 beds nested within the Lemuel Shattuck Shelter.  Working with the MGH Laboratory of Computer Science, Dr. O’Connell designed and implemented the nation’s first computerized medical record for a homeless program.  

Dr. O'Connell served as the National Program Director of the Homeless Families Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Dr. O’Connell is the editor of The Health Care of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Communicable Diseases and Common Problems in Shelters and on the Streets. His articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of Clinical Ethics, and several other medical journals. His first book, Stories from the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor, was published in 2015 and featured on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. 

Denise De Las Nueces, MD, MPH

CEO

Denise De Las Nueces, MD, MPH, is a board-certified internal medicine physician and addiction medicine specialist with a focus on vulnerable populations. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and subsequently studied at Harvard Medical School, where she received an MD in 2008. She trained at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Program from 2008 to 2011. Upon completion of residency training, Dr. De Las Nueces was granted a Commonwealth Fund Mongan Fellowship in Minority Health Policy, completing a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2012. She joined the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) in 2012. Dr. De Las Nueces was recognized in 2014 as one of Boston’s Top 40 under 40 Leaders by the Boston Business Journal and received a 40 Under 40 Leaders in Health Award in 2018 from the National Minority Quality Forum.  She now serves as the Chief Executive Officer of BHCHP and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.

Peter Smith, MD, MSc

Chief Medical Officer

Peter Smith, MD, MSc is board certified in internal medicine, addiction medicine, and preventive medicine. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2001, he was an internal medicine resident at Boston Medical Center, where he went on to serve as a chief resident. Following residency, he completed a general internal medicine fellowship, during which he earned a Master of Science in health policy research and published several studies on substance use disorder screening. In addition to his clinical work, he enjoys teaching students and residents and has won a number of teaching awards.  He now serves as Chief Medical Officer of BHCHP and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. 

Agnes Leung

Chief Financial Officer

Agnes Leung, MHA is responsible for planning, monitoring and reporting on the financial operations of the organization. She is also closely involved in long-term strategic program and financial planning. Prior to receiving her Master of Health Care Administration and working in finance, Ms. Leung was a special education teacher in Hong Kong. She also holds degrees from York University, Toronto and the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Ms. Leung joined Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program in 1995.

April Ramsey, RN

Chief Operating Officer

April Ramsey, RN joined BHCHP in 2011 as a clinic staff nurse at our shelter partner the Pine Street Inn; shortly after, she began splitting her time as a respite staff nurse at our Barbara McInnis House respite program. In 2013, April began coverage as the respite nursing supervisor and later as the interim respite director of case management. She then went on to help develop our care management program with Commonwealth Care Alliance One Care program and served as one of the first nurse care managers on that team. In 2016 April was named site director of our Pine Street Inn clinics, and after two years, she became associate director of clinical operations for the program. In August 2024, April was appointed as BHCHP’s chief operating officer.

April began her nursing career at the CAB Health and Recovery Services in Danvers and Boston. From 2014 – 2022, she held the role of public health clinical instructor for Northeastern University School of Nursing. April holds a BS in Nursing from Northeastern University having completed clinical roles at the Children’s Hospitals in Boston and Philadelphia.