Board of Directors

Ken Burdick
Chairman

Kenneth Burdick

Ken is a seasoned public company executive with extensive healthcare experience. Before joining LifeStance, Ken served as the Executive Vice President of Markets and Products at Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a managed care organization committed to helping people live healthier lives by providing access to high-quality healthcare. Previously, Ken was the Chief Executive Officer of WellCare Health Plans, Inc., where he led the company in its mission to provide quality, cost-effective healthcare solutions for its members, providers and government customers. Earlier in his tenure at WellCare, Ken held the role of President, National Health Plans, before being elevated to President and Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to joining WellCare, Ken served as president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota; CEO of Coventry Health Care’s Medicaid Division; and CEO of MHNet, a Coventry behavioral health business unit. Ken also spent 14 years as an executive with UnitedHealth Group, rising through positions of increasing responsibility including Senior Vice President, national underwriting; CEO of UnitedHealthcare; and CEO of the company’s Secure Horizon retail Medicare business.

Throughout his career, Ken has served on a number of non-profit boards, including the board of directors of the United Way in both Minneapolis and Phoenix. Ken currently serves on several healthcare company boards and just completed a four-year term as national Board Chair for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Ken holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Amherst College and a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Darren Black
Director

Darren Black

Darren Black has served on our Board of Directors since 2017, and on the board of our predecessor since 2015. Mr. Black is a Managing Director with Summit Partners. Mr. Black joined Summit Partners in 2013 and focuses primarily on the health care and life sciences sector. Mr. Black also serves on the boards of Abode Healthcare, InnovaCare Health, Leon Medical Centers, Paradigm Outcomes, PharmScript, Sound Physicians, Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care, VaxCare, Vertava Health, and U.S. Renal Care. Prior to Summit, Darren was a Managing Partner with SV Life Sciences, where he focused on health care services, health care information technology and pharmaceutical services. Prior to SV Life Sciences, Darren was Cofounder and President of two companies—ClinCare and PharmaStar. Previously, he was a health care consultant for Accenture. Darren holds an AB in government from Harvard College and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Member of the Compensation Committee
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Member of the Audit Committee
Robert Bessler, M.D.
Director

Robert Bessler, M.D.

Robert Bessler, M.D. has served on our Board of Directors since 2017. Dr. Bessler founded Sound Physicians in 2001 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. Dr. Bessler also serves on the boards of directors of private organizations, including UpStream Rehabilitation and BroadJump, LLC. Dr. Bessler holds a Bachelors’ degree from Tufts University and an MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Bessler completed his residency in emergency medicine at the MetroHealth Medical Center and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland Ohio.
Member of the Quality and Compliance Committee
Jeffrey Crisan
Director

Jeffrey Crisan

Jeffrey Crisan has served on our Board of Directors since 2017, and on the board of our predecessor since 2015. Mr. Crisan founded Silversmith Capital Partners in 2015 and currently serves as managing partner. Prior to founding Silversmith, Mr. Crisan served as Managing Director of Bain Capital Ventures. While at Bain Capital Ventures, Mr. Crisan’s investments were predominantly growth equity investments in both Healthcare IT & Services as well as SaaS & Information Services. Mr. Crisan previously served in various roles at Bain Capital and Bain & Company. Mr. Crisan also serves on the boards of Panalgo, Inc., Iodine Software, MediQuant, Upperline Health, Nordic Consulting Partners, Inc. and Partners Surgical. Mr. Crisan holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Compensation Committee
Teresa DeLuca
Director

Teresa DeLuca, M.D.

Teresa DeLuca, MD, MBA, has served on our Board of Directors since March 2024. Dr. DeLuca is a physician-executive with over two decades of experience running large divisions at Fortune 50+ healthcare companies. Dr. Deluca was previously the Managing Director of Columbia University’s NY Life Science Venture, Chief Medical Officer for Magellan, and has held SVP and VP roles for Humana, Walgreens, and Medco. Dr. DeLuca presently serves on the boards for Surgery Partners and Rejuveron, and was previously on the boards of 180 Life Sciences and North Bud Farms. Dr. DeLuca maintains a current New York State Medical License and DEA License. Dr. DeLuca holds an MBA from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business and an MD from Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College.
Chair of the Quality and Compliance Committee
William Miller
Director

William Miller

William Miller has served on our Board of Directors since July 2020. Mr. Miller is Chairman and CEO of WellSky. Prior to joining WellSky in July 2017, Mr. Miller served as the CEO of OptumInsight, a division of Optum, which is the health services platform of UnitedHealth Group. Prior to OptumInsight, Mr. Miller served as senior vice president of technologies at Cerner Corporation, where he had global responsibility for the company’s managed services, outsourcing, and technology services business units. Mr. Miller holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Kansas.
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Jeffrey Rhodes
Director

Jeffrey Rhodes

Jeffrey Rhodes has served on our Board of Directors since May 2020. Mr. Rhodes is a Partner of TPG, where he co-leads the health care group and the firm’s investment activities in the health care services, pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. Mr. Rhodes also serves on the boards of Beaver-Visitec International, Immucor, Kelsey Seybold Clinic, Kindred at Home, Kindred Healthcare, and WellSky. Mr. Rhodes previously served on the Boards of Biomet, EnvisionRx, IMS Health, Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Surgical Care Affiliates, Zimmer Biomet and as a founding Board member of the Healthcare Private Equity Association. Mr. Rhodes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Williams College and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Eric Shuey
Director

Eric Shuey

Eric Shuey has served on our Board of Directors since 2018. Mr. Shuey is a Partner at Revelstoke Capital Partners LLC where he focuses on the health care services sector. Mr. Shuey also serves on the boards of CEI Vision Partners, Encore Rehabilitations Services, Genea, Partners Surgical, Sound Physicians and US Renal Care. Prior to Revelstoke, he was a co-founder and served as the President of Liberty Health Partners which was merged with Remedy Partners. In addition, he served as a senior Corporate Development executive for Fresenius Medical Care North America from 2012 until 2017, and Chief Financial Officer of Liberty Dialysis LLC from 2006 until 2012. Prior to joining Liberty Dialysis, he served as a Director at DB Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Deutsche Bank, and a Principal at Aurora Capital Group. Mr. Shuey earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton.
Chair of the Audit Committee
Seema Verma Image
Director

Seema Verma

Seema Verma has served on our Board of Directors since August 2021. Ms. Verma is a leading national health policy expert with over two decades of experience in the healthcare industry. As the longest-serving Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator in modern history, she oversaw health insurance programs for over 140 million Americans and set out to transform the American healthcare system by lowering costs, improving quality and increasing access. Prior to CMS, Ms. Verma was the founder and CEO of a health policy consulting firm helping states and private industry navigate a range of healthcare issues. Ms. Verma received a BS in life sciences from the University of Maryland and a Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University.

Member of the Quality and Compliance Committee
Katherine Wood
Director

Katherine Wood

Katherine Wood has served on our Board of Directors since May 2020. Ms. Wood is a Principal at TPG Capital, where she focuses on investments in the health care sector. Ms. Wood also serves on the boards of Convey Health Solutions, Kadiant, Ellodi Pharmaceuticals, and Neogene Therapeutics, and was previously on the boards of Adare Pharmaceuticals and AskBio. She has also been involved in TPG’s investments in Allogene Therapeutics, Aptalis, EnvisionRx, IASIS and Par Pharmaceutical. Prior to joining TPG in 2009, Ms. Wood worked in health care investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Ms. Wood holds a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cell biology from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Chair of the Compensation Committee