Hopebridge Welcomes New CEO and Executive Leadership to Deepen Investment in Care and Clinician Support

New executives bring
extensive healthcare expertise to advance clinical quality, compliance, and technology across Hopebridge’s autism therapy services

Hopebridge, a leading provider of evidence-based Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for children with autism, today announced the appointment of four new executives to its leadership team: LeAnne Hester as Chief Executive Officer, Denise Bohnert as Chief Compliance Officer, Stacey Jensen as Chief Clinical Operations Officer, and Doug Folsom as Chief Information Officer. As one of the largest autism therapy providers in the nation, Hopebridge continues to invest in the people, processes, and technology needed to provide care to more children and families, strengthen clinical quality, and ease administrative burden for clinicians, helping them spend more time doing what matters most: caring for children and families.

“The team we’re adding brings valuable healthcare expertise and will help Hopebridge deliver stronger care today while building for the future,” said Hopebridge Founder Kim Strunk. “I started Hopebridge to give children and families the comprehensive, coordinated care they deserve, and LeAnne, Stacey, Doug, and Denise will continue that promise. For the past 20 years that mission has guided everything we do, and I’m looking forward to the next 20.”

LeAnne Hester brings more than three decades of leadership experience spanning providers, health systems, payers, and healthcare services organizations. Throughout her career, she has focused on expanding access to care, improving quality outcomes, and developing high-performing teams, while remaining deeply committed to the patients and communities they serve. Coming into the role of CEO in March of this year, Mrs. Hester is looking forward to advancing Hopebridge’s clinical excellence, investing in the people and processes that support its clinicians, and strengthening the quality and care available to the children and families Hopebridge serves.

“Families place a great deal of trust in Hopebridge, and we take that seriously,” said LeAnne Hester, Hopebridge CEO. “That trust is something we work to earn every day, through the quality of our care and the strength of the team behind it. We’re investing in the people who deliver care, the systems that support them, and the technology that reduces administrative burden, as it all comes back to the children and families who rely on us.”

Denise Bohnert RN, JD, CHC brings more than 20 years of valuable healthcare compliance experience to her role as Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel. Prior to Hopebridge, Mrs. Bohnert served as the Compliance Officer for Amedisys Home Health and Hospice, where she administered a compliance program for home health, hospice, palliative services, and a hospital at home program. As CCO, she will lead Hopebridge’s ethics and compliance program, strengthen governance and regulatory excellence, and help ensure clinicians have clear standards, tools, and support to deliver safe, consistent, high-quality care across the organization.

Stacey Jensen, RN, MBA, brings more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience spanning clinical operations, population health, and specialty pharmacy services. She most recently served as Chief Clinical Operating Officer at Upward Health, an in-home medical group specializing in primary medical, behavioral, and social healthcare for individuals with complex needs, where she led clinical program design and operations to drive consistent, high-quality care and strong patient satisfaction. As CCOO, Mrs. Jensen is looking forward to strengthening clinical standards across Hopebridge’s programs, supporting clinicians with consistent processes and best practices, and helping ensure every child and family receives high-quality care no matter which Hopebridge center they visit.

Doug Folsom has more than 35 years of technology leadership experience, most recently spending nine years at TRIMEDX, a leading provider of clinical technology management for healthcare systems, where he served as Chief Information Officer, President of CE Cybersecurity, and Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Folsom also serves on the Board of Directors of the TRIMEDX Foundation, a nonprofit supporting medical equipment repair and maintenance for international medical mission organizations. As CIO, he will help Hopebridge build the technology foundation needed to support clinical excellence, strengthen compliance, and reduce administrative burden so clinicians can spend more time with the children and families in their care.

*Informed consent was obtained from the participants in this article. This information should not be captured and reused without express permission from Hopebridge, LLC. Testimonials are solicited as part of an open casting call process for testimonials from former client caregivers. Hopebridge does not permit clinical employees to solicit or use testimonials about therapeutic services received from current clients (Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts 5.07-5.08; BACB, 2020). Hopebridge does not provide any incentives, compensation, or renumeration for testimonials provided by a former client or client caregiver.