Executive Leadership

Hilary Marden-Resnik
President and Chief Executive Officer
Hilary Marden-Resnik joined UCare in 2010 because of her passion for UCare’s nonprofit mission to improve the health of our members through innovative services and partnerships across communities. She wanted to be a part of what she describes as “the hardest working, people powered health care team in town.”
Marden-Resnik began her career at UCare as Senior Vice President of Administration. She was promoted to SVP/Chief Administrative Officer in 2013, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer in 2021, and in March of 2022 she became UCare’s President and CEO.
Prior to joining UCare, Marden-Resnik was Vice President of Human Resources at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in Minneapolis. She also held positions as Director of Human Resources for HealthEast Care System, Human Resources Manager for Fairview Health Services, and employment and health law attorney for the Gray Plant Mooty law firm.
Marden-Resnik holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin, a graduate degree in industrial relations/human resources management from the University of Minnesota, and a Juris Doctor (Summa Cum Laude) from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. She is a member of the Minnesota Women's Economic Roundtable and Women's Health Care Leadership TRUST. Additionally, she serves as board chair for Achieve Twin Cities, and board member for the Minneapolis Workforce Development Board, the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, America’s Health Insurance Plans and Lifespark. In 2007, she was named 40 under 40 by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, and in 2016, she was recognized with a Women in Business Award by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. In 2022, Marden-Resnik was honored as a Notable Leader in Health Care by Twin Cities Business (TCB) Magazine.

Tenbit Emiru, MD, PhD, MBA
Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer
Joining UCare as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer in 2022, Tenbit Emiru, MD, PhD, MBA, brings a passion for improving health outcomes for underserved and historically marginalized communities. Dr. Emiru leads the Medical Director, Clinical Services, Equity and Inclusion, Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services, Pharmacy, Population Health and Quality Management departments. She plays a key role in driving the strategic direction for the entire organization.
From 2016 to 2022, Dr. Emiru was a Critical Care Neurologist at Hennepin Healthcare (formerly HCMC) in Minneapolis, where she also was the system’s Chief of Neurology. In that role, she led a multi-disciplinary team of providers and operational leaders in transforming the delivery of care in the neurosciences. Additionally, Dr. Emiru was a member of Hennepin’s Senior Strategy Team and a member of the Hennepin Healthcare Finance and Audits/Compliance Committee of the Board. Prior to Hennepin Healthcare, Dr. Emiru was a Medical Director for HealthPartners/Regions Hospital.
Dr. Emiru was named a “Top Doctor” by Minnesota Monthly in 2018 and 2020, and among the “Top Docs and Rising Stars” by Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine in 2017 and 2018. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice and CHC (Creating Healthy Communities).
Dr. Emiru earned her MD and PhD in Psychology from the University of Minnesota. She also holds an Executive Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Darin McDonald
Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Darin McDonald joined UCare in 2021, building on more than 30 years of technology leadership. In addition to in-depth knowledge of health care and product solutions, he is adept at bridging the gap between operational business units and engineering to enable success. McDonald has extensive experience in strategic planning, team development, budgeting and program management.
As Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at UCare, McDonald provides vision and strategic direction for UCare’s technology staff and systems to enable the health plan to efficiently and effectively serve members and business partners. He oversees all areas of program and project management and IT operations including architecture, infrastructure, applications, web, security, quality assurance, data and service as well as UCare’s project management office. McDonald is responsible for establishing and implementing UCare’s technology vision, strategy, and roadmap in alignment with organizational strategies and priorities. Prior to joining UCare, McDonald was CIO for AIM Specialty Health, Chief Administrative Officer at Sentry Data Systems, Corporate Healthcare Strategy Officer at UST Global, and CIO and VP of Operations at Blue Cross subsidiary NASCO. He serves on the Board of Directors of Touchstone Mental Health.
McDonald has a Bachelor in Science in Mathematics with a Minor in Computer Science from North Dakota State University (Fargo, ND).

Beth Monsrud
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Beth Monsrud joined UCare in 2001 as Controller, and was named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2008. She provides executive leadership and oversight for all fiscal operations, and is responsible for the strategic direction for UCare’s accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and health care economics reporting systems, among other key financial functions. Additionally, Monsrud oversees UCare's member enrollment and billing, as well as serving as UCare's Corporate Treasurer.
UCare benefits from Monsrud’s more than 20 years of experience in the financial management field. She came to UCare from the position of Controller-Corporate Operations for CIGNA Behavioral Health, and previous duties as Director of Accounting at United Healthcare Corp., and Audit Manager at Deloitte & Touche. In 2009, Monsrud was recognized by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as a "Woman to Watch" and also received the Mid-Career Award from the Women's Health Leadership Trust. In 2013, she was named a CFO of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Monsrud graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Dakota-Grand Forks, with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. She also graduated Summa Cum Laude from Rochester Community College with an Associate of Arts: Business Transfer Program degree.

Daniel Santos
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
Since joining UCare in 2018, Daniel Santos has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, as well as Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors. He also oversees the Compliance and Internal Audit departments. Immediately prior to joining UCare, Santos spent six years with Sentara Healthcare, an integrated health system headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, serving as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Sentara’s multi-state health plan division, Optima Health. At Sentara, Santos also served in leadership roles system-wide as an Associate General Counsel, providing counsel to its provider operating companies including its 12 hospitals and 4 medical groups (1,000+ providers). Previously, he practiced health law for law firms (AMLAW 200) in Virginia and Pennsylvania, and served as a Special Operations Officer (Diving & Salvage) in the U.S. Navy.
Santos has received numerous distinctions for his leadership and contributions to the legal and business community, including election as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, selection by Minnesota Lawyer magazine as a recipient of its In-House Counsel Award in the Healthcare Organization category, multiple selections by Super Lawyers magazine as a “Rising Star” lawyer, multiple selections by Virginia Business magazine as one of Virginia’s Legal Elite, and recognition by the Hispanic National Bar Association as a “Top Lawyer Under 40.” In 2022, Santos was honored as a Notable General Counsel by Twin Cities Business (TCB) Magazine. Santos currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Minnesota Chapter, and is a Member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Santos earned his J.D. from the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, and his B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Pat Schmitt
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
Pat Schmitt joined UCare in 2012 and brings more than 30 years of human resources and enterprise project management leadership experience. As Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of UCare, Schmitt oversees strategic direction, accountability and results for UCare’s human resources, facilities, business transformation, claims and configuration, and customer services areas. She is passionate about operational efficiency to ensure optimal services for UCare members and partners. Schmitt is a champion for UCare’s employee engagement and company culture, which has earned recognition as a Star Tribune Top Workplace since 2010 when the awards began.
Previously as Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness and Chief Human Resources Officer at UCare, Schmitt led strategy and performance of UCare’s human resources, facilities, change management, project management, provider enrollment and configuration, claims and configuration, and customer services, as well as the development of a new business process outsourcing model. Prior to joining UCare, she held senior human resources leadership roles with HealthEast and Hennepin Healthcare (formerly Hennepin County Medical Center) and worked with local health care providers as an independent human resources consultant for several years.
Schmitt frequently speaks about employee engagement, change management, workforce dynamics and organizational effectiveness at industry conferences. In addition, she is a Board Member of the American Heart Association, Women Business Leaders/Women Leading Health Care, Minneapolis CHRO Summit Governance Board and Women’s Health Care Leadership TRUST.
Schmitt has a Bachelor of Science in Business from the College of St. Catherine and Master of Arts in Human Resources & Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota.

Ghita Worcester
Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Chief Growth Officer
Ghita Worcester brings more than 35 years of health care management experience to her role as Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Chief Growth Officer. She provides strategic direction for marketing, business development and strategy, public relations, legislative, regulatory, government programs, and community outreach activities. She oversees the organization’s federal and state health care reform efforts and policy formulation related to national and state health policy issues. Worcester is also instrumental in the development and implementation of UCare’s strategic and operational plans.
Before joining UCare, Worcester served as Director of Policy and Operations for Minneapolis-based University Affiliated Family Physicians (UAFP), the management company that started UCare in 1984. In that role, she directed the development of new HMO products and policies, and helped develop and implement HMO strategic and operational plans. Before that, she worked for 13 years in a community-based family medicine residency program operated by the University of Minnesota Department of Family Practice.
Worcester has significant legislative and public policy experience at both the state and federal level on health care reform, and Medicare and Medicaid policy. She serves as a national expert and speaker in the field of Medicare, Medicaid, and Special Needs dual-eligible programs. In 2015, Worcester was recognized with a Women in Business Award by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and, in 2018, she was named a Woman of Courage by the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST.
Worcester has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She has served on several community boards and committees, and is currently a member of the Children’s Defense Fund Advisory Board, Portico Healthnet Board and Minnesota Council of Health Plans Board.
Board of Directors
Patricia (Pita) Adam, M.D.Jeff Bangsberg
Charity Bennett
Tom DePhillips
Myron Frans
P. Jay Kiedrowski
Teresa McCarthy, M.D.
Mariam Mohamed
Patricia Nelson
Allison O’Toole (At-large)
James Pacala, M.D., Chair
Robert Riskin
Bill Roberts, M.D.
James Van Vooren, M.D.
Michael Wootten, M.D.
Department Leadership
Roma Anderson Milton, Human Resources
Patricia Ball, Business Transformation
Troy Brice, Customer Services
Bruce Cantor, M.D.,Clinical and Quality Management
Jamie Carsello, Health Care Economics
Liz Conway, Product Development
Jodie Dvorkin, M.D., Clinical and Quality Management
Brian Eck, Sales
Jennifer Garber, Mental Health & Substance Use Disorder Services
Sheri Johnson, Billing & Enrollment
Greg Hanley, Quality Management and Population Health
Scott Kammer, M.D., Clinical & Quality Management
Margie Lindberg, Member Experience
Joy Marsh, Equity and Inclusion
Greg Marshall, Accounting/Purchasing
Jane McMahon, Compliance and Ethics
Patrick Mitsch, Pharmacy
Elizabeth Owen, Legal
Stephanie Schwartz, Government Relations
Jay Stave, Business Development
Joel Ulland, Public Affairs
Cathy VonRueden, Provider Relations and Contracting
Amy Wickman, Clinical Services
Marie Zimmerman, Strategic Partnerships