Movers & Shakers: Talkiatry Fills C-Suite Position With Former Talkspace Exec; New Hire at Charlie Health

Talkiatry appoints new chief growth officer

Virtual psychiatric care provider Talkiatry has added to its executive ranks with the hire of Alex Kozersky as chief growth officer (CGO).

As Talkiatry’s CGO, Kozersky will help the company expand its insurance partnerships in connection with a national roll out. Most recently, he was the chief sales officer of chronic care provider Trellus Health.

Prior to Trellus Health, Kozersky had already possessed experience in the virtual behavioral health world, having been a senior vice president of health plan business development for Talkspace (Nasdaq: TALK).

“Proactively addressing the needs of our insurance partners is rooted in one of our core values, collaboration,” Robert Krayn, the co-founder and CEO of Talkiatry, said in a press release announcing the hire of Kozersky. “Alex has a proven track record of developing and managing strategic partnerships with payors in the behavioral health space and I’m extremely excited for him to lead our growth function as we execute on the next phase of our strategy.”

Launched last year, New York-based Talkiatry provides behavioral health assistance to individuals by telehealth as well as in person. The provider employs more than 30 psychiatrists and has registered over 30,000 patient visits since its inception. Among the health insurers Talkiatry has in-network partnerships with are United Healthcare, Aetna, Humana, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Talkiatry scored $20 million in a Series A funding round completed in late July, which included $5 million led by Sikwoo Capital Partners and $15 million led by Left Lane Capital.

Charlie Health welcomes new director of growth strategy

Charlie Health, a virtual behavioral health provider serving high acuity youth, has named Clark DeWoskin as its director of growth strategy.

In his new post, DeWoskin will oversee the introduction of Bozeman, Montana-based Charlie Health into new markets. He comes to the role from Quartet Health, where he was the associate director of clinical operations strategy for the mental health platform.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Clark to the Charlie Health team,” Carter Barnhart, co-founder and CEO of Charlie Health, said in a press release announcing the hire. “Clark’s experience, coupled with his commitment to expanding access to high-quality care for youth, will accelerate Charlie Health’s growth and our ability to help more families faster.”

Founded in 2020, Charlie Health works with youth and families by connecting them with group services based not on geographic location, but on having common backgrounds, preferences and needs with other peers. Charlie Health’s treatment services include intensive outpatient programs (IOP) consisting of group, individual therapy and family therapies, along with psychiatric support.

“Each week, emergency departments and inpatient units admit thousands of teens and young adults for mental health-related concerns due to a nationwide lack of access to high-quality outpatient care,” DeWoskin said in the press release. “Charlie Health is meeting patients where they are, in the community, with evidence-based treatment delivered virtually in the home. I am proud to join the Charlie Health team as we continue to reimagine the delivery of high-acuity care with a hyper-focus on clinical outcomes.”

Action Behavior Centers fills general counsel role

Autism care provider Action Behavior Centers (ABC) has announced the hire of Brian Burns as its general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Burns will be in charge of legal services, policies and procedures for ABC. Additionally, he will be responsible for liaising with operations and clinical teams across a multi-state platform, along with being a member of ABC’s senior leadership team.

Burns arrives at ABC from DaVita Kidney Care, where held the position of Vice President, Associate General Counsel for the nationwide dialysis provider.

“I’m delighted to take on this role and work closely with the team at Action Behavior Centers as we work on improving access to high-quality, efficacious services for children with Autism,” Burns said in a press release. “I have spent the better part of my career working with clinicians on building compliance programs and am honored to take on this role with ABC.”

Austin, Texas-based ABC provides applied behavior analysis (ABA) services to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ABA is widely considered to be a gold standard of autism care.

Founded in 2017, ABC operates 54 clinics in Texas, Arizona and Colorado.

ABC is a portfolio company of NexPhase Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm focused on middle market companies.