(January 29, 2020) Nantucket Cottage Hospital is pleased to announce that Michelle and Bob Atchinson will serve as the event chairs for the 2020 Boston Pops on Nantucket concert set for August 8th.

The Atchinsons, summer residents of the island who have been coming to Nantucket for 30 years, will oversee the signature event of the summer with a dedicated group of hospital staff and volunteers, producer Jon Rosbrook and Aisling Glynn’s ACKtivities, as well as vendors and special guests. The annual concert is the largest single fundraiser for Nantucket Cottage Hospital that brings thousands of people together at Jetties Beach. All of the net proceeds generated during the event stay on Nantucket to sustain the hospital’s general operations and its year-round commitment to the health and wellbeing of the island community.

“Bob and I are honored to take on this role in support of Nantucket Cottage Hospital and are excited to work with the many volunteers who make the Pops a special event for the community,” Michelle Atchinson said. “We look forward to doing our part to steward this great tradition and ensure that it continues to provide critical support for our island hospital.”

The concert in August 2020 will mark the 24th year for the Boston Pops on Nantucket event.

In chairing the event, the Atchinsons follow Bob and Laura Reynolds, who put together a memorable Boston Pops on Nantucket concert in 2019. Last year’s performance was hosted by award-winning journalist David Gregory, and featured special musical guest The Spinners, along with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and conductor Keith Lockhart. The host and special guest for the 2020 event will be announced in the coming months.

The Atchinsons have been involved with numerous charitable endeavors around Massachusetts and on Nantucket over the years, including their work with the Campaign for Catholic Schools in Dorchester and Brockton, as well as co-founding the Mike Toth Head and Neck Cancer Research Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston. On Nantucket, the Atchinsons are supporters of the Boys and Girls Club, NGC Children’s Charity, Strong Wings, the Nantucket Historical Association, and the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation.

The Atchinsons are blessed with three adult children, including Dan, Katie, and Christine, as well as five grandchildren.

Michelle Atchinson has volunteered as a reading tutor at the Lower Mills School in Dorchester MA and inspired Bob to become involved with the Campaign for Catholic Schools, joining an effort to rebuild the Lower Mills Campus and other schools in Dorchester and Roxbury. There is now a campus of three newly refurbished schools, as well as a school in Brockton, with the goal to make them all competitive and sustainable as they educate over 1,200 children each year. Bob is co-chair of the Campaign for Catholic Schools. Michelle initiated an evaluation system that is now used to measure the success of each school and the overall campus in achieving goals in education, enrollment, teacher training and retention, principal development and curriculum enhancement.

Bob Atchinson is the co-founder of Adage Capital Management, a firm which manages over $30 billion in equities for 350 foundations and endowments. In addition, Bob serves on the Finance Committee of Partners Healthcare and the Board of Trustees of Mass Eye and Ear. He was formerly on the Board of Trustees of the College of the Holy Cross.

Together, Michelle and Bob Atchinson also serve on the Strategic Advisory Committee for Upstream, a non-profit dedicated to empowering women to plan for pregnancies with better information and contraceptive options to reduce the frequency of unwanted pregnancies. The whole Atchinson family has also volunteered, and Bob served as board member, for Horizons for Homeless Children from 1998-2013.