It all started when...

Our company traces its beginnings to patient simulations at the Rutgers Medical School during the years 1975 to 1978. Margaret McGovern, a student in the Theatre Arts Department at Douglass College, Rutgers University, was among a group of students recruited to portray patients with a variety of ailments, for the training of medical students, and in continuing education programs for practicing Family Physicians conducted at the Medical School.

The project came to the attention of Roche Laboratories, which was about to introduce Limbitrol, a therapeutic agent for anxiety and depression. Roche reasoned that patient demonstrations would be valuable for their sales force to witness in preparation for detailing the new drug, which differed in rathersubtle ways from their existing products.

A group of the Rutgers simulators was hired for this project, which proved to be a great success. Roche then continued to employMargaret McGovern, who subsequently founded SIMULATIONS, INC.

Our Team

Janet Quartarone
Vice President & Director of Marketing 

Janet is involved in all aspects of the company's many creative and administrative activities.  She directs and supervises SIMULATIONS' unique workshops throughout the country, and is a hands-on consultant and liaison with our client companies during the development and customization phase of our projects.  In addition, she concentrates especially on company promotion, and presentations and proposals to prospective clients.

She graduated from Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, where she also had a special emphasis in Theater.  An actress and director, she is a member of Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild.  Janet is also a member of the ASTD, a board member of the classical theatre company Shakespeare '70, and a member of the Gala Steering Committee for the Eden Institute of Princeton, NJ.

Annie McGovern  
Vice President of Programming and Event Development

Annie serves several integral roles within the organization. Including creating our programming, staffing/casting all of our events, on boarding staff, principal client liaison, on site producer, program facilitator.

Throughout her tenure with the organization, Annie has been involved in the creation and development of all of our program offerings in the Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Medical Device sectors. Focusing on the organization of each program, Annie works closely in collaboration with a wide range of our clients' internal departments, including Field Sales, Marketing, Training, Human Resources, Organizational Development and compliance.

A professional actress and teacher, she is a member of Actors' Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild.  Annie holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Arts from Douglass College, Rutgers University.  She is also currently the Co-Artistic Director of the Lucille Lortel award winning 3Graces Theater Co. in New York City.

Ellen McGovern-Stevens
Project Director

Ellen’s is often the first voice you’ll hear when you call SIMULATIONS and you’ll frequently encounter her in the field. She schedules and coordinates our projects from start to finish, fulfilling the needs of staff, faculty and actors. Ellen manages all our financial accounts and is responsible for all administrative office functions.

Cynthia Judge
Regional Project Director

Cynthia has been fortunate enough to work with Simulations, Inc. for many years. Her association has been first and foremost as an actor/teacher, where she has led hundreds of programs playing physicians, sales specialists, managers and patients. Ms. Judge is also a Program Director and a Casting Director/Trainerin Chicago for Simulations, Inc., and is proud to have brought many fine actors into the organization. She has acted in regional theatre around the country from Alaska to Florida, and has both produced and acted at many theatres in Chicago including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight, Theatre, Court Theatre and many others.

Our Founders

Margaret McGovern
Founder & CEO & President

Margaret is responsible for the casting, training and directing of the Simulators who staff our educational experiences.

She pioneered the use of highly trained Professional Patient Simulators for Health Care Education, in the training of Physicians, Medical Students, Allied Health Care Professionals and Pharmaceutical Representatives. She has produced all of our Simulations, both live and on video and film. Included in these projects are the introductions of several major pharmaceutical products. Her background is in theater.

She earned her Master of Arts Degree at New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts at Douglass College, Rutgers University. She is a member of Actors' Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild and has been a member of the American Directors Institute.

Joseph P. McGovern
Founder & VP Emeritus (in memoriam)

Joe was responsible for the company's operations for almost 40 years. In this capacity, he was heavily involved in administrative functions. He was also responsible for presenting particular segments of many of our general business training and education sessions. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from St. Peter's College.

Formerly Director of Training for National Starch and Chemical Corporation, he served as President of the Mid-New Jersey Chapter, American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).

Our Team of Pros