Ascend Learning Appoints New CEO

BURLINGTON, Massachusetts—Ascend Learning LLC, a learning technology company, announced the appointment of Lissy Hu as its new CEO. Hu will assume this position as Greg Sebasky, former CEO, is retiring after 10 years and transitioning to the role of Ascend board of managers chairman.

“Over the last 10 years, we have grown the Ascend family of brands thoughtfully, building a market-leading provider of data-driven online learning tools,” Sebasky said. “As we sharpen our focus on developing and delivering tailored solutions across the health care ecosystem, Lissy’s wealth of market experience and track record of driving positive outcomes through leading-edge technology makes her the perfect fit to lead Ascend forward. With Lissy at the helm, I am confident that Ascend will continue to grow, innovate and find new and better ways to help make communities across the U.S. healthier. I look forward to working with her and continuing to support the Ascend team and mission in my role as chairman beginning in January.”

Hu has experience in building and leading health care technology companies. Previously, she held the role of CEO of CarePort Health, a care coordination technology company that she founded in 2012, which aims to improve patient transitions by connecting hospitals and post-acute care providers. CarePort Health was acquired by WellSky in 2020, wherein Hu served as president of connected networks and worked with providers and payers in an effort to optimize post-acute care outcomes across hospitals, physician groups, risk-bearing entities and post-acute, home- and community-based providers. She earned a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School, a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in pre-medical studies and sociology from Columbia University.

“Fundamental to improving patient care is investing in our health care teams, and I am excited to further drive Ascend’s success in enabling clients to achieve elevated learner and educator outcomes and to support workers as they progress through their careers,” Hu said. “Ascend’s innovative learning solutions are needed now more than ever before, and I am honored to join a best-in-class organization and team that have such a significant, positive impact on the entire lifecycle of learning. I look forward to leading Ascend’s next chapter of scalable growth.”

Ascend seeks to deliver learning solutions to the health care industry. As communities across the U.S. continue to face shortages of health care professionals, aging populations and rising health care costs, Ascend intends to provide technology, content and analytics to help train, develop and retain health care teams empowered to address these challenges.