NORTHAMPTON — Veteran health care leader Ralph S. Johnston has been hired as president and chief executive of Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.
Johnston, of Brewster, was named to the position by the school’s board of trustees after a nationwide search. He succeeds former president William J. Corwin, who stepped down last year after nine years, according to a release.
Johnston has nearly three decades of experience in health care, including management posts at diagnostic, biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical firms. He co-founded Contour Medical and Intranasal Therapeutics, according to the statement.
“I believe my business management and leadership experience will benefit Clarke from an operations and fundraising perspective,” Johnston said in the release. “I am excited to be part of a mission that makes such a lifelong difference for those we serve.”
He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern Michigan University, certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology and a master’s in business administration from Suffolk University.
Clarke is a private school based in Northampton that educates children who are deaf or hard of hearing. It has campuses in Canton, Jacksonville, Florida, New York City and Philadelphia.