TEAM

Our Founders

In Seon Hwang

In Seon Hwang

Managing Partner
Dr. Richard Park

Dr. Richard Park

Managing Partner

In Seon Hwang

Managing Partner

In Seon Hwang is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Ascend Partners. Prior to founding Ascend, Mr. Hwang was the global head of the Healthcare Group and member of the Executive Management Group at Warburg Pincus, a New York-based private equity firm that has invested more than $80 billion, including more than $12 billion in healthcare companies. He has invested approximately $5 billion of equity capital across approximately 40 companies and has served on approximately 30 boards of directors. His notable deal experience includes CityMD, Modernizing Medicine, Alignment Healthcare, Outset Medical, SOC Telemed, Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP), Navitas Midstream, Zenith Energy, Competitive Power Ventures, and APT Power. Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, Mr. Hwang worked at GSC Partners, Goldman Sachs, and the Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Hwang serves on the boards of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, The Gillen Brewer School, and Hope for New York. He currently serves on the boards of Essen, ilumed, Medical Specialists of the Palm Beaches and CareAbout.

Mr. Hwang received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Dr. Richard Park

Managing Partner

Dr. Richard Park is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Ascend Partners. Dr. Park is the founder and former CEO of CityMD, a leading urgent care company that treats more than 4.4 million patients annually across its 180+ locations in New York and New Jersey. Under his leadership, CityMD grew successfully from a single-site startup medical office in 2010 to almost $500 million in revenues in 2019 through de novo site openings and medical practice acquisitions. Dr. Park is a board-certified emergency medicine physician with deep healthcare operating experience, and is a successful serial entrepreneur and investor who has worked with companies from conceptualization through execution and multiple exits. Prior to founding CityMD in 2010, Dr. Park was an Attending Physician in the Emergency Department at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. As a physician educator, he served as Associate Program Director and was voted Teaching Attending of the Year by the residents in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Dr. Park is a co-editor of McGraw Hill’s Intensive Review of Emergency Medicine. He also serves on the boards of Essen Health Care, Rendr, and CareAbout, and Dr. Park serves as an observer on the board of Elation Health. Dr. Park also serves on the Compliance and Compensation Committees of CareAbout.

Dr. Park received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Our Team

Duwain Robinson

Duwain Robinson

Partner, CFO & CCO
Bonnie Lance

Bonnie Lance

Head of Fund Administration
Gabriel Oriente

Gabriel Oriente

Principal
Joshua Zenilman

Joshua Zenilman

Principal
Hailey Salito

Hailey Salito

Vice President
James Cassidy

James Cassidy

Vice President
Arielle Eacho

Arielle Eacho

Vice President
Adam Taitz

Adam Taitz

Associate
Jennifatu Crowther

Jennifatu Crowther

Assistant Vice President - Finance, Tax, & Compliance
Lindsay West

Lindsay West

Investor Relations & ESG Associate
Melanie Carr

Melanie Carr

Investor Relations & Administrative Associate
Diana Prilepsky

Diana Prilepsky

Executive Assistant

Duwain Robinson

Partner, CFO & CCO

Duwain Robinson is a Partner of Ascend Partners, serving as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to joining Ascend, Mr. Robinson served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of BRS. Before BRS, he was an audit manager at PwC New York, where he worked in the Asset Management practice for over six years. Mr. Robinson is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK). He serves on the board of CareAbout, and is a member of CareAbout’s Compliance and Audit Committees.

Mr. Robinson holds an M.B.A. from the Edinburgh Business School of Heriot Watt University.

Bonnie Lance

Head of Fund Administration

Bonnie Lance joined Ascend in 2020. Prior to joining Ascend, Ms. Lance was employed by Warburg Pincus for 15 years.  During her tenure at Warburg Pincus, she aided senior management in the formation and organization of both the financial services and healthcare and consumer groups and was a team member of the LBO and energy groups.  Previously, Ms. Lance worked at Bear Stearns in the Wealth Management Group.

Ms. Lance graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration, and honors in International Business from Hofstra University.

Gabriel Oriente

Principal

Gabriel Oriente is a Principal of Ascend Partners. Prior to joining Ascend, Mr. Oriente was a Principal with Onex Partners and a Senior Associate with Clayton Dubilier & Rice. He has extensive private equity investment experience in healthcare, software, and business services, having invested $2 billion of equity capital across five companies. Before starting his investing career, he worked in the investment banking division of Evercore. He currently serves on the board of Medical Specialists of the Palm Beaches.
Mr. Oriente holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Joshua Zenilman

Principal

Josh Zenilman joined Ascend in 2019. Prior to joining Ascend, Mr. Zenilman worked at Cain Brothers, where he focused on M&A, capital raises and strategic advisory for healthcare services companies.  While at Cain Brothers, Mr. Zenilman executed over 15 transactions, totaling in excess of $2.5 billion of aggregate enterprise value. He currently serves on the boards of Consensus and ilumed.

Mr. Zenilman holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Hailey Salito

Vice President

Hailey Salito is a Vice President at Ascend Partners. Ms. Salito previously worked at Oak Street Health, Frazier Healthcare Partners, and Deloitte where she gained extensive healthcare and technology experience, focusing on digital enterprise transformations and corporate growth initiatives.

Ms. Salito holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

James Cassidy

Vice President

James Cassidy joined Ascend in 2020. Prior to joining Ascend, Mr. Cassidy worked in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Jefferies.  During his tenure at Jefferies, Mr. Cassidy worked on a variety of M&A, restructuring and capital markets transactions.  Previously, Mr. Cassidy worked in the Private Capital Advisory group at Lazard.  During his tenure at Lazard, Mr. Cassidy worked on primary fundraising assignments and secondary private equity transactions.

Mr. Cassidy holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.

Arielle Eacho

Vice President

Arielle Eacho is a Vice President at Ascend Partners. Prior to joining Ascend, Ms. Eacho worked in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Goldman Sachs after graduating from business school. Previously, Ms. Eacho worked at Deloitte, where she focused on strategy and innovation within healthcare services.

Ms. Eacho holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Adam Taitz

Associate

Adam Taitz is an Associate at Ascend Partners. Prior to joining Ascend, Mr. Taitz worked at Cain Brothers, where he focused on M&A and strategic advisory for healthcare services companies, with an emphasis on healthcare providers. During his tenure at Cain Brothers, Mr. Taitz executed a wide variety of transactions on behalf of private equity, corporate and founder-owned clients.

Mr. Taitz holds a B.S. in Finance and Operations & Supply Chain Management from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Jennifatu Crowther

Assistant Vice President - Finance, Tax, & Compliance

Jennifatu Crowther is an Assistant Vice President of Finance, Tax, & Compliance at Ascend Partners. Prior to joining Ascend, Ms. Crowther worked at the Beekman Group, where she focused on oversight of the management company, investment funds, and tax compliance. Prior to Beekman, Ms. Crowther worked for five years in the Asset Management Practice at EisnerAmper, primarily focusing on private equity, hedge funds, management companies, and venture capital.

Ms. Crowther holds a B.S. in Accounting from the Silberman School of Business at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Lindsay West

Investor Relations & ESG Associate

Lindsay West is an Investor Relations & ESG Associate at Ascend Partners. Prior to joining Ascend, Ms. West attended Colgate University, where she played for the Division 1 Colgate Women’s Lacrosse program. Ms. West holds a B.A. in Political Science from Colgate University.

Melanie Carr

Investor Relations & Administrative Associate

Melanie Carr is an Investor Relations & Administrative Associate at Ascend Partners. Prior to joining Ascend, Ms. Carr worked as a Brokerage Assistant in the Commercial Real Estate Brokerage division at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Ms. Carr holds a B.A. in Communications and Business Management from Tulane University.

Diana Prilepsky

Executive Assistant

Diana Prilepsky is the Executive Assistant to Dr. Richard Park. Ms. Prilepsky has worked closely alongside Dr. Park since 2017, when they first began working together at CityMD.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from American University’s School of International Service, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Ritsumeikan University’s College of International Relations.