Leadership Team
Lisa Lehmann, MD, Ph.D., MSc | 203-937-3888
Acting Director
Lisa Lehmann, MD, Ph.D., MSc, was appointed Acting Director July 8, 2019. Dr. Lehmann is Chief Medical Officer of the VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1), a practicing primary care physician, and bioethicist. She joined VA in 2015 as Executive Director of the VHA National Center for Ethics in Health Care. She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Prior to joining VA, Dr. Lehmann practiced primary care and was Director of Bioethics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She has coauthored over 100 publications. Her research focuses on improving care for patients and families at the end of life, the relationship between moral courage and patient safety, addressing the social determinants of health, and how to responsibly integrate genomics into clinical medicine. Dr. Lehmann is a graduate of Cornell University, where she was a College Scholar. She received her MD and PhD in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, completed her residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and was a fellow in the HMS Fellowship in General Medicine and Primary Care and the HMS Fellowship in Medical Ethics. She received a Master of Science in clinical epidemiology from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Lehmann was Chair of the Society of General Internal Medicine Ethics Committee, Chair of the Framingham Heart Study Ethics Advisory Board, and Chair of the HMS Scholars in Medicine Medical Humanities Advisory Committee. She is a member of the American College of Physicians.
John Callahan | 203-937-3888
Associate Director
John J. Callahan was appointed Associate Director in January 2012. He is a native of Rhode Island and received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island in 1980. Mr. Callahan has over 30 years of experience with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Associate Director, Mr. Callahan was Chief of Health Administration Service at the VA Medical Center Philadelphia, Penn. He began his VA career as a staff pharmacist in 1980 and since that time has served in increasingly complex leadership roles including Assistant Chief of Pharmacy, Project Coordinator/Facility Planner and Executive Assistant to the director. He is a graduate of the Network Healthcare Leadership Institute (NEHCLI) and a graduate of VA’s Executive Career Field Training Program (ECF) and Healthcare Leadership Institute. He is nationally certified as a Fellow Mentor. Mr. Callahan served as Acting Associate Director at VA Medical Center Fargo, North Dakota and from May to October 2010, he served a six-month detail as acting Associate Director at VAMC Philadelphia.
Linda Accordino | 203-937-3888
Associate Director for Patient Care Services
Linda Accordino, APRN, was appointed Associate Director for Patient Care Services on Oct. 2, 2016. She previously served as the VA Connecticut Care Line Manager for Geriatrics and Extended Care since 2006. Ms. Accordino received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Dominican College and her master’s degree from the Yale University School of Nursing. Ms. Accordino is also a graduate of the adult nurse practitioner certificate program from Yale University. Other assignments have included serving as the Director of the VA Connecticut Home Based Primary Care. Ms. Accordino is a gerontological nurse practitioner. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the State Society on Aging and the Gerontological Society of America.
George Fuller, MD | 203-937-3825
Acting Chief of Staff
Dr. George F. Fuller, M.D. was appointed Acting Chief of Staff in January 2019. Prior to that he was the Associate Chief of Staff. He has academic appointments at the Yale, University of Connecticut and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Schools of Medicine. He retired from the US Army as a Colonel in 2005 and joined the VA. Dr. Fuller graduated from Fairfield University in 1977 and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1981.
Ross Hildonen | 203-937-3888
Assistant Director
Ross A. Hildonen, MPA, FACHE was appointed Assistant Director in December 2016. He previously served as the Executive Assistant to the Director, and from December 2015 to August 2016, he served a nine-month detail as the Acting Assistant Director of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Mr. Hildonen holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Westfield State University. He is a graduate of the VHA Health Care Leadership Development Program (HCLDP), University of Maryland University College’s (UMUC) National Leadership Institute, VA New England Transformational Leadership Program, and the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) Program. He is a certified Federal Program/Project Manager, certified Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, and a certified Veterans Health Administration Coach/Mentor. Mr. Hildonen is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Board Member of the Federal Executive Association of Connecticut and a member of the Connecticut Association of Healthcare Executives.
