President

Joseph Mitchell, MD, is the President of Franciscan Children’s. He also serves as an Executive Vice President at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Before joining Franciscan Children’s, Dr. Mitchell was a partner with McKinsey & Company in Boston for 14 years. During that time, he worked with a variety of clients across healthcare, focusing on healthcare providers.  He served as one of the leaders of the North American healthcare provider practice.

Dr. Mitchell trained in the Harvard Urology residency program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and completed an NIH-sponsored research fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned his MD from Washington University in St. Louis after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in history.

Dr. Mitchell served on the Franciscan Children’s Board for three years before becoming the organization’s president. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston and previously on the Board of the March of Dimes in Massachusetts.

Dr. Mitchell lives in Wellesley with his wife and two children.

Chief Operations Officer

Robert Insoft, MD, FAAP is the Chief Operating Officer at Franciscan Children’s. Dr. Insoft is a pediatrician and neonatologist and has more than 20 years of experience leading academic medical centers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Prior to joining the team at Franciscan Children’s, Dr. Insoft served as the Chief Medical Officer and Senior VP of Quality and Medical Affairs at Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island. He is also a Professor of Pediatrics at Brown University Alpert Medical School. Prior to this, Robert served as Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Insoft received his medical degree from Boston University. His post-doctoral training includes a pediatrics residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Critical Care Transport fellowships at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center and the Brigham Leadership Program/ Harvard Business School (Healthcare Management).

Dr. Insoft is a longtime volunteer with the March of Dimes having served as the Immediate past Regional Board Chair (two terms), state and national Advocacy leader, and currently appointed member of the Boston/ New England Board of Directors. In 2019, the March of Dimes honored him as the recipient of the 25+ year National Volunteer Leadership Award.

Dr. Insoft also volunteers with the Mothers Milk Bank North East serving as the Volunteer Medical Director and as a member of its Board of Directors (11 years).

Chief Medical Officer

Jane O’Brien, MD is the Chief Medical Officer at Franciscan Children’s. She has been a member of the Franciscan Children’s team for nearly 30 years, serving as Chief Medical Officer since 1993 while concurrently serving as the Director of the Department of Genetics for 17 years.

Dr. O’Brien has extensive experience caring for medically complex children in the acute care setting, having served for 11 years as the Director of Complex Care Service at Boston Children’s Hospital. She has been published for her research on pediatric post-acute care including: ventilator weaning protocols, patient acuity rating scale, demographic studies and the demand for pediatric post-acute care.

Dr. O’Brien received her undergraduate degree in English from Harvard College and her master’s degree in special education from Tufts University. She did her pre-medical studies at Harvard and received her medical degree from Tufts Medical School. During her residency at New England Medical Center, Dr. O’Brien served as chief resident in pediatrics and completed her fellowship in clinical genetics.

Chief Nursing Officer

Elizabeth Smith, RN, MBA, BSN-NE-BC serves as the Chief Nursing Officer at Franciscan Children’s, a role that she has held since 2019.  In her role, she oversees the direct patient care staff, clinical quality and safety, and infection prevention.  She also plays a vital role in the organization’s people mission, coordinating recruiting, retention, and training of frontline staff.  She is an ex-oficio member of the Board of Trustees.

Liz has over 25 years of nursing experience.  Liz joined Franciscan in 2014 and has held a variety of leadership positions in the organization.  Prior to joining Franciscan, she held senior nursing leadership roles at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, and Healthcare Corporation of America (HCA), the largest for-profit provider in the country.

Liz earned a BSN from Villanova University and MBA with a focus in healthcare management from Boston University.  She is an active member of the American Nurses Association and Organization of Nurse Leaders.  She completed Nurse Executive Board Certification through the ANA.

Liz is the proud mother of Gisele, a former patient of Franciscan and Boston Children’s.  She adopted Gisele in 2018 after caring for her on the Franciscan medical unit.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with Gisele, coaching soccer, and volunteering in the Lowell PTO.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Harry Dieuveuil is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Franciscan Children’s.

Harry has more than twenty years of experience building and leading high performing human resources teams at healthcare systems in Maine, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Before that, Harry worked as a social worker helping at-risk youth and people facing mental health challenges. He is recognized as a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Harry earned his Ph.D. in History with a concentration in labor relations from the University of Maine, where he also received his master’s in social work.

Vice President of Finance

Daniel LeFaivre is the Vice President of Finance at Franciscan Children’s.  Danny has extensive experience in healthcare finance, having worked more than 20 years at New England Baptist Hospital, most recently as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Danny earned his undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Master of Science in Accounting from East Carolina University.

Early in his career, he worked for Exxon Mobile and spent two years overseas in Turkmenistan & Angola.

He moved back to the United States to raise his family in the Boston area. He has been a basketball, baseball and soccer coach. Danny has a passion for teaching and supporting kids’ growth through sports and education.