LearnWell Leadership

Gregory A. Serrao

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Serrao is the founder and a board member of Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care (Thrive SPC), a provider of pediatric home care services to medically fragile children. Mr. Serrao served as the Chairman and CEO of Thrive SPC from April 2016 to July 6, 2020. Prior to Thrive SPC, Mr. Serrao founded American Dental Partners, Inc. (ADPI), and served as the company’s CEO and President and a Director for twenty years.  In July 2015, Mr. Serrao retired as CEO and President of ADPI. He currently is Chairman of ADPI.  From 1992 through December 1995, Mr. Serrao served as the President of National Specialty Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Cardinal Health, Inc. (Cardinal Health).  From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Serrao served as Vice President of Corporate Development at Cardinal Health.  Before joining Cardinal Health, Mr. Serrao was an investment banker at Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., where he co-founded its health care investment banking group and specialized in mergers, acquisitions, and public equity offerings.

Mr. Serrao serves on the Board of Directors of National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) and LearnWell. He is a Senior Advisor to Amulet Capital Partners. He is the former President of the Boys and Girls Club in Lawrence, MA, former member of the Dean’s Board of Advisors at Tufts University School of Dental Medical, former member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and a former member of the Finance Committee for the Town of Andover.

Kathleen Egger, Ed.D.

Chief Operating Officer

In 2004, Kathleen joined the company to help build up the organization’s growing human resources and hospital teaching operations. She came with a strong background in HR, and with healthcare experience gained while working at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. Since then, she has taken on oversight of all corporate and regional operations at LearnWell and Comprehensive Counseling, PLLC. Today, she has a mandate to build the country’s best customized education services programs for behavioral and medical hospital partners and to expand the operations of Comprehensive Counseling, PLLC.

Kathleen recently was awarded her Ed.D. from Northeastern University in 2021. She also holds Bachelors degree and Masters degree from Salve Regina University. In addition to her work at LearnWell, Kathleen also serves as a Principal Instructor for the Masters in Human Resource Management within the College of Professional Studies for Northeastern University.

She currently lives with her family in Southeastern Mass. During her free time, she can be found volunteering at her children’s sporting events or watching them swim and play tennis. She is also an avid sailor and loves racing her sailboat with family and friends.

Elizabeth Sedlak

Vice President of Business Development

Elizabeth joined the company in 2008 and has worked tirelessly ever since to help the organization grow. Over the years she has gained significant experience managing both acquisitions and organic growth, but it is her passion for developing strong partner relationships that sets her apart as a seasoned growth-focused executive.

Elizabeth loves working in education. As a member of the education community she has learned the value of candor, resourcefulness, and adaptability. She loves to learn, teach, and problem solve. Moreover, she has a passion for helping others to problem solve by reinforcing optimism and divergent thinking.

In her free time she serves on the board for the Ellen M. Gifford Cat Shelter, travels, facilitates a ladies’ activity group, and enjoys exercising and crafting. May 2017, Elizabeth completed her Masters in Liberal Arts in Management from Harvard University Extension School.

James Hickey, LCSW-R

Vice President, Chief Clinical Officer

James is the owner of Comprehensive Counseling, Vice President of Counseling Services at LearnWell, and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Upon returning from service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador in 2004, James pursued his goal of helping at-risk populations in New York City. In 2006 he completed his master’s degree, joined his family’s business, and began providing psychotherapy in English and Spanish in new immigrant communities.

James’s step-father and Comprehensive’s founder, Dr. Barry Butner, passed in 2010. At that time, James became Comprehensive’s owner and head administrator. James continued to practice psychotherapy with a special focus on treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while simultaneously leading a multi-year team effort to modernize and expand the size and scope of the practice. He continues to practice therapy on a limited basis and enjoys providing clinical supervision to other therapists.

James holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Fairfield University and a Master of Social Work degree from New York University. James also holds the ‘R’ privilege, which is the highest designation a clinical social worker can earn. James is a former collegiate athlete, has a lifelong passion for competitive sports and has traveled extensively in South America, Europe and Asia. James is happiest spending time with his wife Kellye, their two young children James II and Harper, and dog Marley.

Melissa Melo, CPA

Controller

Melissa joined the LearnWell team in 2021 to lead the Accounting and Finance group. Prior to LearnWell, Melissa was a Finance Director and Corporate Controller at various companies, primarily in the service industry. She comes with a strong background in high growth, private equity owned business, with a focus on acquisitions and integrations. Melissa has participated in over 100 acquisitions, lending accounting and tax expertise to the due diligence and post-closing integration processes.

Melissa is a licensed CPA and holds a BS and a MBA from Bryant University. She has served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of The Tomorrow Fund, a RI non-profit devoted to supporting children with cancer that are treated at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Melissa lives in southern RI with her husband and 3 children. Most of her free time is spent cheering on her children at their various sporting events. She enjoys supporting their academic institutions in a volunteer capacity as well and is happiest in the summer enjoying the beach and tending to her flower garden.

Chelsea Riccio

Senior Director of Teaching Operations

Chelsea joined the company in 2010, teaching in both medical hospitals and behavioral health programs before taking on a leadership role in 2012. Since then, she has progressed into positions of increasing responsibility within Learnwell. She has traveled the country, working in teaching operations across all states to build outstanding programs rooted in our core values.

Her abilities range from business development to launching educational programs and cultivating strong client relationships. She is also experienced in operations management, budgeting, managing staff and executing the Topgrading methodology of hiring best practices.

Chelsea graduated from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. With a passion for culture and exploration Chelsea enjoys traveling in addition to rooting for her favorite Boston sports teams.

Danielle Wright

Regional Director, New England & Western US

Danielle joined LearnWell in 2013 working as a member of the Student Services team. She was invited into the role as a staffer with Teaching Operations in 2015. This position included developing stronger relationships with the local school districts as well as redefining documentation for academic services rendered for students. From there, she grew into larger management roles and continued her growth within the organization, overseeing and launching hospital locations in Illinois, California, Maine, and Massachusetts.

Throughout her time with LearnWell, Danielle has strived to build excellent relationships with our teachers, hospital clients, and local school districts. Her passion in Teaching Operations includes improving our hospital programs’ financial performance and advocating for the educational rights of students within our contracted facilities.

Danielle graduated from Suffolk University in Boston, MA in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. In her free time, she loves to go boating and fishing with her family and take her two goldendoodles to the beach.

Jennifer McHugh

Regional Director, Western MA & NY Metro Area

Jennifer joined the company in January 2019, as an Operations Manager in New Jersey. Since then, she has expanded her role as a Regional Director working in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Western Massachusetts. She brings with her a strong background in IT, sales, and operations management; along with a Six Sigma certification from her previous employment with General Electric, Industrial and Aerospace Division.

Jennifer graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Drexel University. She is a native of New Jersey! She loves spending time with her family, including her 3 children who keep her very busy with their extracurricular activities. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and running! She is training for her first 1/2 marathon this summer.

Maurice Williams

Regional Director, Mid-Atlantic

Maurice joined the company in July 2018, bringing over 25 years of experience in education and human services. In his previous endeavors he has been a Program Director, Manager and Coordinator in the Philadelphia School District. Most recently he was a Regional Director overseeing multiple programs under the Alternative Education division. He loves his work in education and thrives on the motto “It’s not about me.”

In addition to his work in education, Maurice has an extensive background in sports, both as a coach and as a player on the HS, collegiate and professional levels. This experience has helped him to develop strong skills in building collaborative partnerships that work towards a common goal.

Maurice resides in Townsend, Delaware with his wife and son.  In their spare time they love to travel and entertain family and friends. He loves music, especially Smooth Jazz, and is involved in various youth organizations in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Greg Pinkham

Director of Teaching Operations

Greg joined the company in March of 2017 working in Teaching Ops in the New York/New Jersey area. Previously, he worked in Rockland County, NY as a year-round camp director in the summer camp industry for more than 10 years.

In his various roles at LearnWell, Greg has worked on-site managing education programs, launching new education programs and establishing relationships with school districts across the LearnWell hospital network. He brings a smile to work with him every day.

Greg graduated from Union College in Schenectady, NY. He currently resides in Massachusetts with his wife and two kids. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, fishing and spending time with extended family.

Kellye Hickey

Director of Payor and Provider Relations

Kellye joined Comprehensive Counseling in 2012 and recently joined LearnWell as the Director of Counseling Operations. Kellye has a background in Public Relations and Marketing and was responsible for establishing Comprehensive’s web presence. Over the years, she innovated on the delivery of counseling services and company operations and will continue to lead counseling operations in her new role across LearnWell.

In addition to finding great joy in improving client and patient engagement, Kellye is also passionate about supporting the mental health of children and adolescents and has mentored at-risk youth in New York City.

Kellye is a Penn State graduate, lifelong Francophile and loves traveling, cooking, enjoying time at home with her husband, James and two children in New Jersey.

Julie Beamish

Human Resources Director

Julie joined the company in 2012 starting first in an administration role. Within her first five months, she hired six staff members to join the administration team so that she could step away from the department in order to begin participating in the company’s inaugural staffership program. During her year-long staffership, she spent time working within different departments throughout the company including teaching operations, district outreach, and business development before finally finding her home within the human resources department.

Over the past seven years on the Human Resources team, she has increased her exposure not only within the different human resources functions but also from a broader business management perspective. She has traveled throughout LearnWell’s operations, interacting with as many employees as possible with the focus of learning how to best support a remote culture.

Julie graduated with a BS from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2011 and will soon start work on obtaining her Masters in HR. She currently resides in southeastern MA with her husband and two Australian Shepherds. Outside of work, she is also a fitness instructor, an avid reader, and a lover of cooking and baking!