CHRISTOPHER KIRWAN, PHD

Christopher J. Kirwan, PhD, is the Director of Interpreter Services at Massachusetts General Hospital and Coach of the MGH Patient Care Services Collaborative Governance Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He holds a doctorate in ethics from the Accademia Alfonisana in Rome, Italy, where he lived and attended school for eight years.  He taught in the field of social ethics for many years before coming to MGH in 2006. 

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Chris is the President of the Board of Directors of FOCIS (Forum on the Coordinators of Interpreter Services), which gathers coordinators of Interpreter Service Departments from all over the United States.  He is the coach of the MGH Collaborative Governance Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  Chris has co-authored four articles in peer-reviewed journals on the importance of the use of interpreter services for vulnerable populations.  He is also involved in a number of projects across MGB focused on health equity for patients and their families with language access needs.  Chris was a long-standing member of the Collaborative Governance Ethics in Clinical Practice Committee.  English is Chris’ first language, and he is proficient in Spanish and Italian and has studied four others; he also has a deep passion for and commitment to efforts focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity.