Our Leadership Team

Curana Health® is led by a team of innovators, clinicians, and operators driven by one shared goal: to improve the health, happiness, and dignity of senior living residents. With deep expertise in clinical care, operations, finance, strategy, and regulatory affairs, our leaders bring both heart and discipline to every aspect of our mission.
Curana Leadership speaking on stage at a conference
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Derek Chao, MD

President and Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Chao brings more than two decades of experience in managed care, clinical leadership, and healthcare transformation to Curana Health. Starting his medical career as a hospitalist and nephrologist in Southern California, Dr. Chao has held various leadership positions (including medical director and chief medical officer) within numerous healthcare organizations (including HealthCare Partners). Before coming to Curana, he served as chief executive officer of Optum Health’s western region, where he oversaw operations and care delivery across nine states. Dr. Chao’s expertise spans a range of healthcare models, from fee-for-service to value-based care across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial plans. His broad experience has honed his ability to lead both clinical and operational teams through the complexities of healthcare delivery models, and his professional insights are shaped not only by his clinical expertise, but also by personal experience (having witnessed firsthand the challenges his elderly parents faced in navigating the American healthcare system). At Curana Health, Dr. Chao leads efforts to empower the organization’s healthcare providers, optimize care delivery, and ensure clinicians have the tools and support needed to achieve exceptional outcomes for patients and operator partners alike.

Mark Price

Chief Executive Officer

Mark is passionate about Curana Health’s mission to improve the health, happiness, and dignity of senior living residents, and he is honored to work with and learn from all the talented and mission-driven Curana associates that bring this vision to life every day. Mark believes the fundamental role of the executive team is to ensure all Curana associates around the country are set up for success. He spends his days focused on ensuring that Curana’s team members have the tools, resources, support, data, and direction they need to provide great service to senior living residents and are able to work in a fulfilling and engaging environment.

Mark has significant experience in senior leadership roles for healthcare organizations focused on value-based care. Prior to founding Curana Health, Mark held senior leadership roles at Intermountain Health, DaVita HealthCare Partners, ChenMed, and Bain & Company. Prior to that, Mark started his career as an engineer at Eli Lilly & Company.

Mark earned a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Engineering from Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management and McCormick School of Engineering) as well as a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He lives in Houston with his wife and three kids.

Lily Huang

Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Lily and her team are responsible for financial operations, strategy, and accounting for Curana Health’s Medical Group and Health Plan operations.

Before joining Curana, Lily was a partner at New Enterprise Associates, where she oversaw healthcare services and technology investments. Her background also includes serving on the boards of Curana Health, Elion, Vori Health, Aetion, Belong Health, Everside Health, Strive Health, and TriValence.

Prior to NEA, Lily was a member of TPG’s North America Buyouts Group, where she focused on private equity transactions across health care services, biopharmaceuticals, and other industries.

Lily was named a Rising Star by the Venture Capital Journal and featured on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list. She graduated summa cum laude from The Wharton School with a Bachelor of Science in business and the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in biology.

Chris Dawe

President, Curana Health Services

As President of Curana Health Services, Chris oversees the development and delivery of innovative, tech-enabled services and solutions that support Curana providers and external partners in the delivery of value-based care. Chris’ portfolio includes the Curana Population Health business, which currently manages more than $1.5 billion in Medicare risk, as well as merger and acquisition/integration, strategy and product development, and healthcare policy and advocacy.

Before joining Curana Health, Chris served in several leadership roles at Evolent Health (including Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer for Evolent Care Partners: the company’s primary care risk business). Prior to his time at Evolent, he spent ten years working in health policy in Washington, D.C. (via the Senate Finance Committee, the Office of Health Reform in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Economic Council at the White House).

Jeremy Dressen

President, Curana Health Plans

As President of Curana Health Plans, Jeremy Dressen ensures that a rapidly growing number of residents and patients in senior living communities and skilled nursing facilities across the country have access to exceptional coverage for value-based services. A passionate advocate for value-based care and special needs populations, Jeremy brings deep operational expertise and strategic vision honed through decades of leadership across diverse healthcare sectors.

Jeremy’s career spans senior roles at major healthcare organizations, where he has led teams through high-growth phases, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and complex business transformations. Prior to joining Curana Health, Jeremy served as the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Operations at Bright Health, Chief Operating Officer of QualChoice Medicare Advantage Plans for Catholic Health Initiatives, and as a national-level director and market Chief Operating Officer at UnitedHealth Group. Earlier in his career, he worked as a mediator and investigator at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, underscoring his commitment to equity and public service.

Jeremy earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science and American government, graduating with high distinction and Scholar of the College honors from the University of Minnesota Morris. Outside of work, he’s an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking, fishing, and lake activities. He also loves spending time with his active family—including energetically coaching his young son's baseball team.

Valentina Gissin

Chief People Officer

Valentina Gissin brings a richly diverse background to her role as Chief People Officer at Curana Health.

Her tenure has spanned various industries and functions, including time spent as a lawyer, cybersecurity leader, general manager, screenwriter, and, ultimately, a passionate advocate for cultures and teams that deliver results.

Valentina’s leadership philosophy is rooted in the understanding that exceptional talent, intentionally cultivated within a high-performance culture, is the ultimate driver of organizational success.

Her professional journey, from shaping critical talent programs for investment leaders at Bridgewater Associates to scaling people functions at high-growth companies like Chewy and Garner Health, demonstrates a track record of building systems that attract and unlock top talent.

She thrives on creating high-output, psychologically safe cultures and designing compelling employee value propositions that drive both individual fulfillment and tangible business results.

Conor McCaw

Chief Growth Officer

As Chief Growth Officer, Conor McCaw is responsible for the strategic growth and national expansion of Curana Health. This includes leading business development and strategic partnerships for Curana’s Medical Group and Medicare Advantage plans. He also oversees marketing and business analytics. Prior to joining Curana Health, Conor served as Vice President of Business Development at Privia Health (NASDAQ: PRVA), a national medical group and physician enablement company. There, he drove the organization’s strategic partnership efforts and joint-venture development work with primary care organizations. His background also includes serving as the Vice President of Growth at Evolent Health (NYSE: EVH), where he was responsible for establishing value-based care partnerships with primary care networks, health systems, and accountable care organizations. Earlier in his career, Conor was a healthcare management consultant at Kaufman Hall and Associates and worked in finance at NYU Langone Health. Conor received his Master of Business Administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science from Skidmore College. He currently resides in Orlando with his wife and daughter.

Todd Tyler

Chief Information Officer

As Chief Information Officer, Todd Tyler is accountable for the enterprise's information technology platforms that support Curana’s Medical Group and health plans. He is also focused on maintaining an aligned and integrated strategic approach for all solutions and services, and he leads a team that manages all IT critical functions (including security, operational support, the program management office, architecture, development and integration, clinical and business application services, and enterprise reporting and analytics).

Todd attended Oregon State University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in information technology (with a minor in pre-law).

Prior to joining Curana, Todd served at Optum Care (part of United Health Group) for three years. During his time there, he led national strategic plan development, operations, and vendor management for Optum’s electronic medical record and PM footprint, serving over 50,000 providers in the ambulatory space. In this position, he aligned integration strategy with internal product development efforts for value-based care, medical management, referrals, patient and provider portals, and clinical decision support. Before working at Optum, he spent 10 years at DaVita, where he led information technology for their laboratory division (serving patients on dialysis). Also, as part of his tenure at DaVita, he led the clinical information technology strategy and operations for their acquired medical groups. Prior to DaVita, Todd held various roles with QuadraMed Corporation over a 10-year period, serving patients in acute hospital settings (which included professional services, software development, integration, information technology operations, and support).

Todd currently resides in Denver, Colorado with his wife, Christy, and two daughters, Serena and Arianna. His son, Kendrik, lives in Oregon. He enjoys the outdoor activities Denver has to offer, with golf being at the top of his list.

Darryl Landahl

Chief Legal Officer

Darryl Landahl serves as the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Curana Health. In his role, he oversees all legal services provided to the company and its operating divisions, including Curana Health Medical Group and Curana Health Plans. Darryl has dedicated his entire legal career to healthcare and healthcare delivery system improvement, bringing more than 20 years of legal experience to Curana Health. He has represented healthcare providers and health plans as both in-house and outside counsel, with a deep focus on value-based care.

Darryl applies his diverse knowledge and background to Curana Health’s medical group and health plan platforms, and he helps guide the company’s efforts to transition the care provided in senior living facilities from a fee-for-service model to value-based care.

Darryl obtained his Bachelor of Science in justice studies from Arizona State University and his law degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

He is married to Katie, and they have three amazing children that inspire them every day. 

Melanie Crowe, CIPP/US, CHC

Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer

As Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer, Melanie and her team are responsible for compliance, ethics, and data privacy for all operating divisions of Curana Health.

Melanie believes compliance is a competitive differentiator, and as such, she works with her team to support Curana Health’s mission with excellence. She comes to compliance from the legal world and brings a unique understanding of the risks and opportunities facing highly regulated entities.

Melanie has extensive experience in healthcare law, compliance, and privacy. She served for over a decade as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and HIPAA Privacy Officer for LogistiCare Solutions, LLC, the leading non-emergency transportation broker serving Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans in the United States. She also provided legal services to Prudential’s privacy law department and Veyo, another non-emergency transportation broker. Melanie received her law degree from the University of Georgia and holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology (also known as Georgia Tech).

She lives in Atlanta with her husband and daughter, and she cheers for Georgia Tech.

Headshot of Paula Requeijo

Paula Requeijo, MD, CMD

Chief Medical Officer, Curana Health Medical Group
Dr. Requeijo attended medical school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship that allowed her to study at New York Presbyterian Hospital and attend Weil Medical School in New York City. She completed her residency in Austin, Texas and became board-certified in internal medicine.

She worked as a hospitalist at HCA Hospitals for 13 years. While practicing hospital medicine, Dr. Requeijo developed a passion for acute/post-acute integration (with a focus on the clinical management of complex, chronically ill patients at high risk of re-admission).

In 2010, she co-founded the legacy company Elite Patient Care, a multi-state, post-acute, and transitional care company, where she served as Chief Medical Officer, Co-Founder, and Managing Partner. For the last 10 years, she’s worked as a medical director in dozens of skilled nursing facilities while actively managing a rapidly growing, specialized post-acute team of physicians and advanced care providers. Additionally, she helped develop and lead inpatient palliative care and transitional care medicine service lines.

Dr. Requeijo sought further education and became a Certified Medical Director through the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. In addition to her board certification in internal medicine, she also obtained board certification in palliative care and hospice medicine. She is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

In 2021, Elite Patient Care, Provider Health Services, and AllyAlign Health came together to form Curana Health, where Dr. Requeijo currently serves as Chief Medical Officer. She oversees all quality outcomes for the company, including value-based care initiatives. Her focus continues to be on providing high quality and compassionate care to all senior residents across the care continuum.

In her free time, Dr. Requeijo enjoys adventuring in the great outdoors, where she runs, skis, and scuba dives. She is also an avid reader and traveler who is always eager to learn new things.

Nate Aumock, PhD, MSCEP

Chief Population Health Officer

As Chief Population Health Officer, Nate is responsible for defining the clinical care model Curana Health deploys to support front-line clinicians in providing great care and improving patient outcomes. His responsibilities include identifying and implementing value-based care programs and partnerships to enable Curana to share in the value created from improved patient outcomes.

Nate and his team oversee Curana’s Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and High Needs REACH Accountable Care Organizations, with Nate serving as the Chairperson of the MSSP participant EPC ACO, LLC.

Prior to joining Curana, Nate held several roles at Landmark Health, where he led the growth and payor account management teams responsible for sourcing, negotiating, and managing value-based contracts. He also previously worked on the national contracting team at Healthcare Partners/DaVita Medical Group: a global risk bearing, fully capitated and delegated medical group.

Nate holds a Doctor of Philosophy in chemical engineering and Master of Science in Chemical Engineering Practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and three children.