Our Leadership

Chris Hocevar brings with him a deep understanding of Help at Home’s business, having acquired a wealth of industry knowledge from his distinguished career building, leading, and advising healthcare organizations, as well as serving as a member of the Help at Home board. He worked for Cigna for 16 years in many executive leadership capacities, most recently as president of U.S. business segments, specialty businesses and global strategy. Before joining Cigna, Hocevar worked in Deloitte Consulting’s global insurance practice. He currently serves on the Boards of Shatterproof, Mindpath Health, and Sevita. His education includes a Master of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from University of Toledo.

Tim O’Rourke has more than 25 years of health care leadership experience, a passion for improving community health and a proven track record of delivering successful quality health outcomes and solid business results. Prior to joining Help at Home, he served as a senior executive leader for multi-billion dollar payer and provider businesses driving clinical and population health capabilities operations. O’Rourke’s previous positions included CEO of Ascension Complete, a multi-state provider integrated Medicare Advantage plan, and held various executive leadership roles at Humana, including president of the provider development segment and also president of its central division in his 17-year tenure. He holds a bachelor’s of science from Northern Illinois University.

Julie McCarter brings over 25 years of health care leadership experience focused on new market and product innovation oriented to delivering long-term value for companies who serve patients, clients, providers and communities. Much of her career has been spent with health insurance / health service companies, with specific focus in self-funded models, virtual care, and insurance product innovation. Most recently, McCarter served as Chief Commercial Officer for Mindpath Health, a provider of high-quality outpatient behavioral health services. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from University of Colorado, Boulder.

Ray Smithberger has extensive experience in driving growth and improving performance during times of significant change and market disruption. In his most recent position, he served as the senior vice president of operations at Elixir, the pharmacy benefit management division of Rite Aid. Prior to that he was cofounder and advisor at Seedership, a digital platform designed to enable small businesses to measure and share their giving story with local communities to drive customer loyalty. He also served as chief operating officer, commercial segments and specialty businesses, at Cigna. His education includes a Master of Business Administration from University of Central Florida and a Bachelor of Science from Ohio Northern University.

Rich Tinsley brings more than 20 years of professional experience from diverse industries such as health care, law and finance. His expertise includes creating strategic growth plans and designing business solutions to drive robust profitability in the private and public sectors. Previously, he served as president and CEO for Stoneridge Partners, a nationwide leading health care M&A advisory firm specializing in the brokerage of home care, hospice and behavioral health agencies. His track record includes developing and integrating new businesses. He is a CPA and earned a JD and MBA from the University of Louisville.

Carole Hodsdon brings to her role more than 20 years of leadership experience in healthcare IT. She most recently served as senior vice president of global architecture and integration services at Cigna, where she led strategic initiatives to modernize legacy applications and simplify its overall architecture. Before joining Cigna she held executive positions at Complex Care Solutions and Medecision. Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Management Information Systems from Loyola University Maryland.

Ryan McGroarty brings a deep understanding of the health care marketplace and strategic and operational finance expertise. Prior to joining Help at Home, he was with Cigna for over 20 years, where he most recently served as CFO of Government Business. He has extensive experience in government and commercial programs, delivery of health care and population and value- based solutions. McGroarty has a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Rochester and a Bachelor’s of Arts with a major in Finance from Michigan State University.

Joel Davis has helped propel Help at Home’s tremendous growth since he joined the team. His leadership was a key driver in the agency’s expansion from serving only two states to 12 and into service areas beyond senior home care, including special needs children and respite care. Davis has managed Help at Home’s state payor relationships and served in several roles, including executive vice president and chief operating officer. In 2002, he joined a group that acquired ownership of the company. Before joining the Help at Home team, Davis worked as an attorney with the Hlustik Huizenga law firm, where he focused on corporate and real estate law. His education includes a Juris Doctor from DePaul College of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from University of Colorado.

Joe Bonaccorsi provides deep knowledge and broad experience as a business executive, general counsel, compliance officer, governance specialist, lawyer, and human resources leader. He joined Help at Home after serving as executive vice president, general counsel, corporate compliance officer and secretary at Akorn, Inc.; senior vice president of mergers & acquisition and counsel for Walgreens-Option Care Home Care division; and senior vice president, general counsel, secretary and corporate compliance officer for Option Care, Inc. Bonaccorsi began his career in Chicago in private law practice, focusing on civil litigation. His education includes a Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University.

Marianne Longo, DNP, APRN/CRNP, FNP-BC, brings over 35 years of clinical experience in health care delivery as a clinical practice expert. She’s a proven leader with results-driven success building effective partnerships, creating best-in-class client, patient and staff experiences, as well as designing and executing evidence-based clinical programming that drive clinical quality and compliance, improved net promoter scores, lowering medical costs and creating greater care accessibility. Longo has served in various clinical leadership roles at Cigna Corporation, leading enterprise-wide clinical initiatives. She is a family nurse practitioner and a graduate with a doctorate in nursing practice from Northeastern University and various degrees from the University of Connecticut, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Western Connecticut State University.

Michelle Bonfilio brings decades of HR leadership experience to Help at Home. In her previous role as chief human resources officer at Covetrus, she led global human resources functions, enhancing talent acquisition, development and retention. Bonfilio implemented innovative human resources practices that significantly enhanced employee engagement and organizational performance. Prior to her Covetrus employment, she served as chief human resources officer for Petco and was instrumental in driving cultural transformation, as well as improving human resource processes and was responsible for the development and execution of strategic initiatives that aligned with business goals, fostering a positive and inclusive work environment. Additionally, Bonfilio held various leadership roles for Gap, Inc., where she managed global human resources operations. She has held various other human resources roles over her distinguished career and is an established executive coach with various coaching certifications. Bonfilio holds a bachelor’s in psychology with emphasis in biological science from the University of California.

Marisol Castro has more than 25 plus years of health care leadership experience in areas of corporate compliance, regulatory affairs, accreditation, licensing, quality management systems (ISO 9001:2015), governance, process excellence, revenue cycle management, policies and procedures, auditing & monitoring and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Help at Home, Castro served in various executive leadership roles -- most recently as vice president of operations for Nicklaus Children's Health Systems; Children & Family Hospital of South Florida (CFHSF). Prior to that position, she served as a lead expert/auditor focusing on home care, private duty and home health. Castro holds a master's degree from Nova Southeastern University in health care and business administration with certifications in Health Care Compliance (CHC) and Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP).

Patrick Conway, MD, MSc, currently serves as the CEO of Care Solutions at Optum, part of UnitedHealth Group where he leads a portfolio of care continuum businesses with over $20 billion in annual revenue serving tens of millions of people across acute and post-acute care, care in the home in-person and virtually, mental and behavioral care benefits and delivery, broad population and complex disease health management, specialty care, and government health services.

From 2017-2019, he was President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina leading the
organization to be recognized nationally for innovation, value-based payment, and investments in better health outcomes.

From 2011-17, Conway served as Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and as Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and the agency’s Chief Medical Officer. Before joining CMS, he oversaw clinical operations and quality improvement at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He remains a practicing pediatric hospitalist. A respected leader, innovator and clinician, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in 2014, received the President’s Senior Executive Distinguished Service award, and was a White House Fellow in 2007-08.

Linda Galipeau is a veteran C-level operating executive and experienced board director with deep expertise in the professional services, human capital management and HR technology sectors. As a member of Randstad NV’s Executive Board, she led a $7 billion USD portfolio of businesses spanning North America, Europe and Asia and including recruitment, contingent staffing, outsourcing and managed services. She also led Randstad’s global digital businesses (RiseSmart and Monster) and chaired the Randstad Innovation Fund, a corporate investment fund investing in early to expansion-stage HR technology companies, with the goal of accelerating HR technology advancements that impact how employers engage the workforce. Linda currently serves on the boards of WSP Global Inc, one of the world's leading engineering professional services consulting firms, Help at Home, a national provider of home-based health care services and Employbridge, the largest provider of industrial staffing in the US. She is also an Advisory Board Member for OpenClassrooms, Europe’s leading online education platform. Linda holds an MBA from McGill University.

Jeremy Gelber, senior managing director New York, joined Centerbridge in 2018 and focuses on investments in the Healthcare sector. Prior to joining Centerbridge, Gelber was a Partner at Pamplona Capital, a private equity firm, leading the healthcare investing vertical. Prior to Pamplona Capital, Jeremy was an Executive Director in the Healthcare Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley. Previously, he was a physician and completed his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College. Gelber serves on the Boards of Directors of MindPath Health, LLC, Sevita Health, Inc, GoHealth, LLC and Remedi SeniorCare Holding Corporation. He has a B.S. from Dartmouth College and an M.D. from Jefferson Medical college where he graduated summa cum laude.

Kristen Hughes is Managing Director at Centerbridge where she focuses on investments in the health care sector. Since joining Centerbridge, Kristen is involved in the firm’s investments in Sevita Health, Inc, a leading national provider of home- and community-based health and human services to individuals with intellectual, developmental, physical or behavioral disabilities and other special needs. She also works with Medical Solutions, a leader in placing quality travel nurses and other skilled healthcare professionals in contingent and permanent positions for health systems and Remedi SeniorCare, a provider of institutional pharmacy services to long-term care facilities. Additionally, Kristen has been involved with MindPath Health, LLC, a multi-site provider of in-network, outpatient mental health services, and American Renal Associates Holdings, Inc., multi-site dialysis PPM business throughout the U.S. Prior to joining Centerbridge, Ms. Hughes was an analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions group of The Blackstone Group. She received a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The Honorable Valerie Jarrett is chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of the Barack Obama Foundation. She is also a senior distinguished fellow at The University of Chicago Law School. Valerie is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, published in April 2019.

Valerie previously served as the senior advisor to President Barack Obama from 2009-2017, making her the longest serving senior advisor to a president in history. She oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls.

Valerie serves as board chairman of Civic Nation and Co-Chair of The United State of Women. In addition, she sits on the boards of Walgreens Boot Alliance, Inc., Ralph Lauren Corporation, Lyft, Inc., Sweetgreen, Inc., Ariel Investments, The University of Chicago, Sesame Street Workshop and The Economic Club of Chicago. She has received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” Award.

Dr. Christina Jenkins, MD (“CJ”), is a venture investor and strategic adviser who uses technology and trusted relationships to improve health, at scale. She is a Venture Partner at Phoenix Venture Partners, leading investments in seed and early-stage digital health and hardware-enabled platform companies used for diagnosis or monitoring. Dr. Jenkins serves on the boards of several venture-backed companies, is a board advisor to Independence Health Group (parent of Independence Blue Cross and Amerihealth Caritas) and advises C-suite health care leaders in health system redesign, integrated care strategies and clinical value improvement.

Previously, she was the founding CEO of OneCity Health, a population-health focused subsidiary of NYC Health and Hospitals, the nation’s largest public hospital system. There, she led a $1.2B effort to accelerate value-based payment readiness for 1M low-income New Yorkers through effecting novel tech platforms and integrated care models across the care continuum. She was a Bloomberg appointee to the board of NYC Health and Hospitals, serving as board chair of its Quality and Performance Committee, and a member of the Quality Committee of Healthfirst, a 1.2M member health plan. Dr. Jenkins is a former practicing internist trained at Mount Sinai in New York, where she served as a clinical instructor in medicine. She is a member of the Kauffman Fellows, a global leadership network of venture capitalists. Dr. Jenkins earned her M.D. from Northwestern University and her B.S. in Industrial Management from Purdue University.

Ryan Kitchell recently left Indiana University Health, the largest health system in Indiana with over $6 billion in revenue, where he served as President of IU Health's insurance division, EVP & CFO, and EVP & CAO leading finance, information services, human resources, communications, strategy, business development, marketing and government affairs for the system. Prior to Indiana University Health, Ryan served as State Public Finance Director and later Director of the Office of Management & Budget for Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Ryan also served in corporate treasury and controllership roles at Eli Lilly & Company and started his career at Prudential Capital Group.

Ryan holds an economics degree from Indiana University, a Masters of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Ryan has been designated an SEC Financial Expert and serves on the corporate boards of Old National Bancorp, OneAmerica Financial Insurance Partners, Help At Home, and Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Ryan is also an advisor to Meridian Street Capital and serves on the nonprofit boards of the Indiana Sports Corporation and the Crossroads of America Council.

Naishadh Lalwani joined Wellspring in 2013 and became a Partner in 2020. Naishadh is on the firm’s investment committee and co-leads Wellspring’s healthcare investing effort alongside Alex Carles. In addition to healthcare, Naishadh focuses on the distribution, logistics and services sectors.

Naishadh has co-led or led the acquisition and / or divestiture of Performance Food Group, National Seating & Mobility, Great Lakes Caring, Help at Home, Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Milan Supply Chain Solutions and Cadence Petroleum Group.
Naishadh was previously an investment professional at LetterOne Health / Pamplona Capital Management where he led the execution of the $5 billion take private of Parexel. Naishadh began his career at UBS in the Financial Sponsors and Leveraged Finance Group, where he participated in numerous transactions arranging and syndicating debt financing in support of sponsor and strategic acquisitions. Naishadh graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering.

Prior to joining Vistria, David Schuppan was a Founder, Partner and Member of the Investment Committee at Cressey & Company, a healthcare provider and healthcare technology focused private equity firm based in Chicago and Nashville. Prior to Cressey & Company, he worked with Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, a healthcare and information technology focused private equity firm that he joined at its inception. He began his career in the healthcare investment banking group of Bear, Stearns & Co. in New York.

Schuppan is currently a Director of AgapeCare, Civitas Solutions (dba The Mentor Network), Help at Home, Mission Healthcare, Rock Dental Brands, Medalogix and HomeFree Pharmacy Services.

He has also served as a Director of Encompass Home Health, Homecare Homebase, InfuScience, Midwest Dental, QualDerm Partners, PurFoods (dba Moms Meals), RestorixHealth, St. Croix Hospice, US Renal Care (2x) and Wound Care Specialists.

Schuppan received a B.S. from Indiana University and an M.B.A from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania

Alan Wheatley is a health care executive with more than 30 years of industry experience. Alan currently works with a variety of top-level private equity firms as an operating advisor. He currently sits on various boards, including Sevita Health, serving as executive chair.

Alan spent 31 years with Humana. He served as president of the company’s Retail Segment, responsible for leading strategy, growth, business operations and profitability across all Retail business lines. As a member of the management team, Alan contributed to Humana’s strategic direction, reporting directly to the chief executive officer. Throughout his 31-year-tenure with Humana, Alan served in several key leadership roles, including vice president and chief financial officer of Senior Products, vice president of Medicare Service Operations and president of the East Region, one of the company’s key Medicare Advantage (MA) geographies.

Alan served as chairman of the board for the National Senior Olympic Games, and on various non-profit boards. Alan holds a Master’s of Business Administration with distinction from the University of Louisville and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Kentucky.