Bart Asner, M.D.
Former CEO & Founder Monarch HealthCare
Bart Asner trained as a pediatrician at Children’s’ Hospital Los Angeles after attending the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and practiced pediatrics for 20 years in Orange County. Dr. Asner most recently served as executive vice president for Optum’s Local Care Strategy focused on the California market. In this role he oversaw the alignment of Optum assets in the California market, including Optum Health, Optum Insight and OptumRx, to focus on lowering the cost of care and improving outcomes for the patients served by OptumCare in this market, while improving patient and provider experience. Optum is the national healthcare services division of United Health Group.
Prior to this role, he served as president of the OptumCare California Region, overseeing the Southern California care delivery assets including AppleCare, Monarch HealthCare, NAMM and OptumCare Medical Group, consisting of six thousand physicians. Dr. Asner was the chief executive officer, and currently chair and a member of the board of directors of legacy Monarch HealthCare, now Optum Orange County. Optum Orange County was comprised of three thousand physicians providing care to 300,000 MediCal, commercial and senior patients in Orange County and Long Beach, California. Monarch became part of Optum in 2011.
Dr. Asner was a twice elected past chair and served on the board of directors and executive committee of APG, America’s Physician Groups. He serves as a member of the advisory board of the Merage Center for Health Care Management and Policy at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Asner is a past chair, and past member of the board of directors of the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), a statewide policy group that brings together the top decision makers from the major sectors of the health care industry; IHA was responsible for the development of the pay for performance program in California. He has testified on healthcare issues at the California legislature and before Congressional committees. Dr. Asner retired in January 2022.
John Mach, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Ceresti Health
Dr. Mach, a geriatrician with 40 years of clinical and business leadership experience, is the chief medical officer at Ceresti, and founder and general manager of Mach Health Care Strategies providing consulting services to entities serving high-risk populations. He spent 13 years as CEO and chief medical officer at Evercare, at the time UnitedHealth Group’s award-winning division and the country’s largest private sector entity serving frail elderly and people with disabilities. Most recently, he served as chief medical officer at Medica Health Plans and previously held CMO positions at Evolent, UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare division and XL Health. Dr. Mach was also the president of complex care management at Univita, an integrated and risk-bearing home care services company serving people nationally. As of June 2022, he is the chair of the board of trustees of the John A. Hartford Foundation of New York, the country’s oldest and largest private philanthropic funder of geriatrics research and education.
Dirk Soenksen
Chief Executive Officer
Ceresti Health
Dirk Soenksen is co-founder and CEO of Ceresti Health. Prior to co-founding Ceresti, Mr. Soenksen was founder and CEO of venture-backed Aperio which he built into the recognized leader in digital pathology, prior to its acquisition by Danaher in 2012. In 2006, Mr. Soenksen founded the Digital Pathology Association (DPA), a non-profit organization comprising major vendors and leading pathologists, with the goal of establishing best practices and increasing awareness of digital pathology. He served as president of the DPA from its inception until 2012, and as a board member of the DPA through the end of 2014. He has an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Bowdoin College, and a graduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned his MBA from Pepperdine University.
Nicole McPherson
Director of Coaching Services
Ceresti Health
With over 18 years of experience in senior care, Nicole serves as the director of Coaching Services at Ceresti Health. Her lifelong passion for supporting caregivers and their families, particularly those navigating the challenges of dementia, drives her commitment to excellence in her role. Before joining the Ceresti Health team, Nicole worked at O’Connor Woods, a non-profit continuing care retirement community. At Ceresti Health, Nicole brings her wealth of experience, compassion, and empathy to empower caregivers on their journey of caring for loved ones with dementia. As the leader of the coaching effort, she ensures the optimization of the team, oversees the success of the Ceresti program, maintains high caregiver satisfaction, and develops best-in-practice dementia education. Nicole graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology with summa cum laude honors, further enriching her understanding of human behavior and enhancing her ability to support caregivers and their loved ones.