Therapy Franchise Company Ellie Mental Health Announces CEO Transition

Erin Pash, founder and CEO of Ellie Mental Health, is stepping down from that role and into the role of chairwoman for the Ellie board of directors.

The Mendota Heights, Minnesota-based mental health provider will be led by long-time revenue cycle management executive Michael DiMarco. The company announced the transition to staffers on Jan. 28.

Ellie Mental Health operates corporate-owned outpatient mental health clinics, and partners with local investors and clinicians to establish franchise clinics.

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DiMarco began engaging with the company as a consultant and advisor in 2024. His LinkedIn profile specifies he was a board advisor. 

“The management team and I have worked closely with Michael on a variety of strategic and operational initiatives over the past year, and I wish him well in his new role leading Ellie at this stage of our growth,” Pash said in a news release. “I will continue to be a steadfast clinical advocate and will remain deeply invested in the continued success of the company, as Chairwoman of Ellie’s board.”

Founded in 2015, Ellie Mental Health operates in 40 states through 260 franchised and corporate-owned clinics. Cumulatively, Ellie clinics employ about 2,000 clinicians. It is one of the nation’s fastest-growing behavioral health companies: It landed at No. 1,468 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 with revenue growth of 352%.

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The company is backed by Dallas-based franchisor and multi-unit investor Princeton Equity Group. Princeton invested in Ellie Mental Health in 2022.

“Erin is a true visionary and pioneer in the mental health space, and her thought leadership is unmatched,” DiMarco said in the release.

DiMarco most recently was the chief revenue officer and president of the revenue cycle management and health care software provider Omega Healthcare Management Services. He came to that role via a sale of Himagine Solutions, a digital health care coding and registry company where he worked as CEO for over seven years. Omega acquired Himagine in 2021. He has been an executive in health care support services since 1998. 

Ellie Mental Health has also named a new chief operating officer. It promoted Emily Undajon, who joined the company in April 2024, to the role. Previously, Undajon held the role of senior vice president of franchise operations.

In 2023, Behavioral Health Business’ parent company, Aging Media Network, named Undajon to the Future Leaders Class of 2023 — as part of the home health & home care cohort. Before joining Ellie Mental Health, she was the senior vice president of operations at the Omaha-based home care company Right at Home LLC.

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