Pediatric Residency Program: Meet Our Leadership Team
Joanne Wolfe, MD, MPH, is the Chair of Pediatrics at Mass General for Children and the Chair of Pediatrics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She previously served as the Division of Pediatric Palliative Care in the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Director of Palliative Care at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) for nearly 30 years. She also served as the Vice President for Faculty Development at the Dana-Farber. She is Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She holds an MD degree (1990) from Harvard Medical School and an MPH (1998) from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Wolfe’s research is focused on easing suffering and promoting wellbeing in children with serious illness and their families. She also co-directs the Multinational Pediatric Palliative Care Research Network.
Shaun Fitzgerald, MD, MPH
Director, Pediatric Residency Program
sffitzgerald@mgh.harvard.edu
Dr. Shaun Fitzgerald is a pediatric hospitalist at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Program Director for the Pediatrics Resident Program at Mass General for Children.
He was born and raised in the Greater Boston Area and attended College of the Holy Cross as an undergraduate, before moving to Chicago to complete his service in AmeriCorps working for the National AIDS Fund. He returned to Massachusetts to complete medical school at UMass Medical School followed by his pediatric residency at Mass General Brigham for Children. He also completed a pediatric hospital medicine fellowship at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA, simultaneously earning an MPH from UC-Berkeley. Dr. Fitzgerald finds that caring for hospitalized children imparts a deep sense of meaning to his practice which he enjoys sharing with trainees. In addition, he finds that the inpatient care space provides a rich learning environment for trainees to develop not only knowledge in the management of acute and chronic illness, but also the skills necessary to provide effective patient and family-centered care.
Outside of clinical practice, Dr. Fitzgerald actively participates in process improvement projects with residents, leveraging their experience in front line care and desire to innovate care delivery to bring about better and more equitable care for children at MGH and beyond. Dr. Fitzgerald’s academic interests also lie in antibiotic stewardship among hospitalized pediatric patients. In all capacities, the times spent working with, teaching, and learning from residents have been among Dr. Fitzgerald’s favorite and most rewarding experiences. He is very excited to help lead the new generation of Mass General Brigham for Children trained pediatricians.
Anna Handorf, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Handorf grew up on the South Shore of Boston and attended Case Western Reserve University for her undergraduate degree. She returned to Massachusetts to attend the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed her residency at Mass General Brigham for Children, followed by a fellowship in medical simulation and medical education in the MGH Learning Laboratory. Clinically, she works as a pediatric hospitalist at Newton Wellesley Hospital, as an Associate Program Director for the MGH Pediatrics Residency Program, and as a health professions education researcher at MGH in the Pediatric Education, Innovation, and Research Center (PEIRC) and the Peter L. Slavin, MD Academy for Applied Learning in Healthcare. Dr. Handorf is the Director of TinyTalks, an innovative platform of short, chalk-talk-style educational videos of clinical pearls targeted to pediatric residents. She loves spending time with her MD/PhD student husband and cat (who thinks he's a dog). She enjoys taking cooking classes while traveling, hiking in the White Mountains, and practicing yoga.
Jennifer Hanson, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Hanson grew up in the Boston area on the South Shore. She attended the Tisch School for the Arts at NYU and majored in theatre for her undergraduate degree. Following graduation she moved with her now husband to Paris, France for a year where she worked in cardiology research and explored as much of Europe as they could pack into their time there. She then went on to medical school at UMass before completing her residency and chief residency in pediatrics at Mass General Brigham for Children, and ultimately joined the residency team as an associate program director. Clinically, she works as a primary care pediatrician at MGH Revere Health Center and loves the diversity of her patient population. Professionally Jen is interested in physician wellness including novel approaches such as medical improvisational training, health disparities in primary care, and medical education. Outside of work Jen enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters, attending theatre, and spending as much time as possible outdoors skiing, boating, fishing, swimming, and working on hiking all the 4,000-foot mountains in the New Hampshire White Mountains.
Carlos Torres, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Carlos Torres was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He moved with his family to Milwaukee, Wisconsin during his teenage years, afterwards attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He graduated from Harvard Medical School, then attended pediatric residency at Mass General Brigham for Children and served as a chief resident. A proud pediatrician and clinician-educator, Dr. Torres is dedicated to advancing health equity and mentoring the next generation of compassionate physicians. He practices primary care at MGH Chelsea, a community health center serving underserved and diverse populations, and serves as a student advisor at Harvard Medical School. His academic interests center on community engagement, medical education, and identity formation in learners. He is particularly passionate about supporting physicians from all backgrounds in creating spaces where individuals can grow both professionally and personally. Outside of his professional life, Dr. Torres finds joy in spending time with his husband and their dog, connecting with his large extended family, exploring new places, nurturing his garden, and diving into a good book—his lifelong passion.
Chief Residents AY 2025-2026
Joseph-Michael Fields, MD
Chief Resident
Dr. Joseph-Michael Fields was born and raised in Texas and completed his undergraduate studies at Langston University in Oklahoma. He earned his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Tennessee, where he cultivated a deep commitment to advancing health equity and community-focused care.
His clinical and academic interests include pediatric palliative care, oncology, and expanding the presence and success of Black men in medicine. He is particularly passionate about creating inclusive spaces for medical education, promoting holistic wellness in residency training, and delivering compassionate, family-centered care for children with serious illness.
Outside of the hospital, Joseph-Michael is a writer, weightlifter, and advocate for sustainable well-being in medicine. He hopes to combine clinical practice, mentorship, and systems-level work to improve outcomes for underserved pediatric populations across the country.
Juliet Kim, MD
Chief Resident
Juliet was born in the Bronx, NY and completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard College, earning a degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology. After college, she spent the summer of her gap year as a cabin counselor at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, where she fell in love with pediatrics. She spent the rest of her gap year as a lab tech in a stem cell biology lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center prior to attending medical school at NYU Long Island School of Medicine. She is now a chief resident at Mass General Brigham for Children and applying to pediatric hospitalist fellowship. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants and walking around Boston while listening to audiobooks.
Grace Rivera Owen, MD, MS
Chief Resident
Grace Rivera Owen is originally from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. She moved to the states at 8 years old and grew up in New England. She completed her undergraduate studies at Quinnipiac University, where she majored in Microbiology and Immunology. She then received her Master's in Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University School of Medicine prior to matriculating at Albany Medical College. She couples matched with her husband, who is a PMR resident, and they currently live in Somerville, Massachusetts. She is interested in pediatric hospital and newborn medicine. She is passionate about working with Hispanic and Latin patient populations. In her free time, she loves biking on her peloton, reading, and exploring New England.
Residency Education Program Coordinator Team
Leslie Bretón
Pediatric and Med-Peds Residency Education
Leslie is originally from Cali, Colombia and has split her time between living in her home country and Northern California. A graduate of California State University, Monterey Bay, Leslie has been applying her film, stage, and event management skills to Medical Education – a career she fell into in 2010 when she began working for Stanford University’s School of Medicine, in their Center for Immersive & Simulated Learning (CISL) as the Standardized Patient Program Coordinator. Her pursuit of all things medical education drove her to move to New England in 2014 and she has been with Mass General Brigham for Children since the fall of 2019. The Pediatrics and Med-Peds residencies are incredibly special to her, and she is continuously in awe of the talent of every trainee that passes through; their innate talent; and the beautiful humans they are. Among her many responsibilities, Leslie works in process-improvement; credentialing & onboarding; and managing the interview season for both of her programs. Outside of work, Leslie is the Lead Snack Provider for her 7-year-old overlord; paints; writes about the human experience; runs drives for one of the economically disadvantaged schools in Peabody, MA; and loves helping wherever there is a need. She is extremely grateful to her colleagues who are exceptional humans that make every day an incredible adventure.
Amal Ezzat
Pediatric and Med-Peds Residency Education
Healthcare has always been a great passion of mine, from grade school all the way through my college education at Suffolk. I have over 6 years of experience in the field, most of which has been within Mass General Brigham. Throughout my career, I have worked in various roles at Mass General Brigham, from direct patient care to administrative positions. My passion for helping others has led me to this field, and I am excited to continue making a difference in the lives of patients and their families. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, reading, and spending time with my family and friends.