"A personal value I hold near and dear to my heart is the value of human interactions. Our time here on Earth is all about connection with each other," says Schwartz Center supporter Pamela Mann. "Especially when individuals are ill and vulnerable, compassion and connection can positively influence the experience for both the receiver and the giver."

Pamela first got to know the Schwartz Center when she attended the Annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner. Drawn to the organization’s mission, she subsequently joined the staff from 2007 to 2016, and has been a member of the Leadership Council since 2019.

Pamela has long had a passion for humanitarian causes. Upon earning her undergraduate degree in psychology and anthropology, Pamela served in the Peace Corps; after completing her social work degree, she held several roles focused on supporting and strengthening communities, including for Planned Parenthood in Cleveland, as the first executive director at Horizons for Homeless Children, and as director of programs at the Schwartz Center. This experience motivated Pamela to pursue chaplaincy training, divinity school and pastoral clinical education. Today, Pamela supports patients and families as an interfaith chaplain on the Palliative Care Team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Pamela believes strongly in the mission and the work of the Schwartz Center. Together with her husband, David Baron, who is a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, they are committed to caring for vulnerable populations. They recently made a generous multiyear commitment to the Marjorie Stanzler Financial Aid Fund, which covers the costs of Schwartz Center programming for organizations that support underserved populations, including community hospitals, Indian Health Services and VAs. Pamela and David are motivated to allow all clinicians to take advantage of Schwartz Center programs wherever they work; support that will ultimately allow them to provide better, more compassionate care.

"Scholarships are a way to address disparities in healthcare. This is a personal interest of ours that has always been at the core of who we are. Our hope is to make a difference in equity and the delivery of healthcare in whatever way we can," says Pamela.

The Schwartz Center is grateful to Pamela, David, and the Mann Family Foundation for their sustained leadership support that makes these programs available to organizations across the country and around the world, focused on compassionate care and communication for caregivers.

Reflecting on her support, Pamela says, "The compelling reason I wanted to work with the Schwartz Center--and now continue on as a donor individually and with the family foundation-- is because good communication and compassionate care are key to good quality healthcare. Like Ken Schwartz said, positive connections with providers can help make the ‘unbearable bearable’. Our hope is that every healthcare provider will have strong communication skills and will know the significance of compassionate care."