For more than 50 years, Maureen Hackett has lived a life emulating her mother’s commitment to paying it forward. “My mother had a philanthropic heart,” she says. “She gave her wisdom, a hug or a coat — it didn’t matter what, as long as someone needed it. She would tell me that ‘the world is bigger than you are, and it is your job to give to those who cannot help themselves.’”
This adage, in addition to witnessing her father’s ongoing battle with major depressive disorder, shaped Maureen’s future as a philanthropist dedicated to providing life-changing support to improve mental health care access. Most recently, she and her husband, Jim Hackett, through their Hackett Family Foundation, established the Jerrold F. Rosenbaum, MD, Endowed Chair in Psychiatry, named in honor of friend and former Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Jerrold “Jerry” Rosenbaum, MD.
A Curious Philanthropist is Born
Maureen’s upbringing was not without its hardships. As a mother to nine children and wife to a husband whose personal struggles inhibited him from working, Maureen’s mother took on the lion’s share of supporting their family. But she always did so with grace and an entrepreneurial spirit, creating opportunities — like opening a school to prepare women for leadership roles — for others to succeed.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Maureen explored ways to be more involved with the community and, as a teenager, started volunteering at a local hospital’s psychiatry department, delivering flowers to patients and performing odd jobs in the crisis clinic. It was there that her interest in mental health emerged. “I would meet patients who were dealing with mental health issues, and it made me think of my father,” says Maureen. “It made me want to learn more about his struggles.”
Honoring a Friend
Maureen’s new vantage point fueled her lifelong enthusiasm to redefine mental health care. This especially became evident when she served on the board at Nantucket Cottage Hospital (NCH), a member of Mass General Brigham (MGB), and her connection with Dr. Rosenbaum.
For the better part of 40 years, Maureen and Jim have spent time visiting Nantucket and consider the island an extension of their home in Texas. Over their many summers there, they recognized a need for increased access to mental health services for year-round residents. When NCH became a member of Mass General Brigham, and, therefore, affiliated with Mass General, Maureen spotted an opportunity to tackle this issue by capitalizing on the hospital’s reputation for excellence in psychiatry.
“I knew Mass General was a top-ranked hospital with a world-class psychiatry department, so I was excited,” Maureen says. “I wanted to know more about what made them the best and whether they could help with mental health services on the island.”
Her advocacy sent her to Palm Beach, Florida, to attend her first Mass General Leadership Council for Psychiatry’s annual seminar. There, Maureen met Dr. Rosenbaum, and she made her pitch, describing the mental health needs on Nantucket. As a result of that conversation, Maureen and Dr. Rosenbaum facilitated a connection between leaders from NCH and Mass General’s Psychiatry Department to discuss increased access to mental health services.
“Jerry is a great person, and, coincidentally, a friend of my brother, who is a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital,” says Maureen. “I find his research to be compelling. He’s done a lot to increase access and elevate care for Mass General Brigham patients.”
In 2024, Maureen’s admiration for Dr. Rosenbaum, and his willingness to take action on behalf of those in need of mental health care, propelled the Hacketts to support the creation of the endowed chair in Jerry’s honor in the spring of 2024.
The position — currently held by inaugural incumbent Jordan Smoller, MD, a psychiatrist, epidemiologist and geneticist in the Department of Psychiatry at Mass General and the Tepper Family MGH Research Scholar 2014-2019 — provides enduring support to advance the chair holder’s educational efforts to train the next generation of clinician-researchers and make progress in their own research. This sort of sustained funding enables clinician-researchers to gain a better understanding of and develop more and better treatment options for psychiatric illnesses. This work, ultimately, aligns with the Hackett’s mission to make mental health a highly accessible and routine part of comprehensive medical care.
“I am delighted to be able to do this in Jerry’s honor,” says Maureen. “He and Dr. Maurizio Fava [chair of psychiatry for academic medical centers at MGB], are remarkable people and psychiatrists who have made incredible advances in the mental health field. They have improved the lives of their patients and people around the world.”
Looking Toward the Future
As a mother, and, now, a grandmother, Maureen has taken on the role of guiding her own family to live by her mother’s motto and to treat philanthropy as more than writing a check, but as a means to become immersed in a cause near to your heart.
Maureen’s understanding of her father’s depression is also clearer today, and it remains top-of-mind as she continues championing for improved mental health care.
“I want access to mental health care to be as simple as asking someone where they get their teeth cleaned,” Maureen says. “I want conversations about mental health to start early, so that, as we get older, it’s easier to ask for help and receive care. I know that with Mass General leading the way, we can get there, and I know that the work Mass General is doing today would have helped my father all those years ago.”
To learn more about ways in which you can get involved in the Leadership Council and the Mass General Department of Psychiatry, contact us.
