Register now for the MA SMP 10th Statewide Conference

Our Team

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Lucilia Prates-Ramos
Statewide Director
Lucilia Prates has been the statewide director for the Massachusetts Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program since 2002.  Prates has over 40 years of experience in advocating for immigrant and other vulnerable populations. An immigrant herself, Lucilia has worked with immigrant and refugees from all corners of the world. As the director of the MA SMP Program, she has made consumer engagement the core of the SMP Program message: Engaged healthcare consumers are the first line of defense to protect, detect and report healthcare errors, fraud and abuse, which have financial implications on each one of us and can have devastating health-related outcomes. 
Prates has served on numerous boards of directors and advisory committees.  She currently serves on the board of the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) and is the president of MHQP’s Consumer Health Council.  She is also a member of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Public Health Council since 2007, a gubernatorial appointment. Prates holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts and has studied in Portugal, Spain and Eastern Europe.

Carole Appleton
Program Coordinator
Carole Appleton joined the MA SMP team as Program Coordinator after a 25-year career in professional hockey, event marketing, and non-profit management in Western MA. More recently, she worked on the Covid-19 response and the vaccination roll out. Carole is an advocate for people with disabilities and elders who have been victims of fraud and abuse. Carole is a graduate of Norwich University and Boston University. A native of Newburyport, she enjoys working with programs that empower children, veterans and athletes with disabilities.

Gisele M. Michel
Project Coordinator for Diversity + Inclusion = Equity Project
Gisele M. Michel is the coordinator of the MA SMP Program’s Diversity + Inclusion = Equity Project. Her role is to help diversify of the MA SMP Program’s workforce in order to reach, to better represent and to provide more equitable services to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, their caregivers, and families in target communities across the state which have traditionally been under-served and unserved.
Prior to joining the MA SMP Program, Gisele was the founder and managing director of Icatalyst Consulting, a management consulting firm specializing in organizational development, change management, leadership transition, and interim CEO services. Gisele has extensive experience working in organizational strategy and technical assistance with a wide range of businesses, non-profits and governmental organizations in Boston, Miami, Minnesota, and Washington, DC. She has also worked internationally with client projects in France, Haiti, India, Liberia, and Northern Ireland. Gisele holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from George Washington University and a master’s degree with a concentration in East European studies and political economy from the University of Pittsburgh. 

Volunteer with MA SMP!

We invite you to join a team of trained volunteers to counsel and mentor elder consumers to become actively engaged in their healthcare. Become a volunteer and make a significant contribution in ensuring access to quality care and helping a fellow citizen to navigate the complexities of the healthcare payment system. We encourage you to take a stance.

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