Leadership

Kirk J. Zimmer, Chief Executive Officer

Kirk provides the executive leadership for DAKOTACARE and its subsidiary companies. Having been involved with the company since its inception, Kirk has held the positions of Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President before being promoted to his role as Chief Executive Officer in June, 2005.

In his years with DAKOTACARE, Kirk has been active in every area of the company. His current activities involve strategic planning, corporate structure and direction, physician and shareholder relations, legislative affairs and organizational effectiveness.

Kirk is a magna cum laude graduate of St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives, the Health Care Financial Management Association and the South Dakota CPA Society. He has served on a Managed Care Advisory Council for a national pharmacy benefit management company, and several committees related to health care benefits for the State of South Dakota.

Kirk and his wife Trisha reside in Sioux Falls, and have five children.

E. Paul Amundson, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

Paul began employment with DAKOTACARE in July, 2007 as its Medical Director after fifteen years as a family physician in Sioux Falls.  Paul is a graduate of the University of South Dakota (BA, Chemistry) and the Indiana University School of Medicine (MD).  He is board certified in family practice and serves as a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota.  Paul is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, The South Dakota Academy of Family Physicians, the National Academy of Managed Care Physicians, the American Medical Association and the South Dakota State Medical Association.

Paul travels annually to Nicaragua for medical mission work and was honored as the 2010 recipient of the SDSMA Community Service Award. He has three sons and enjoys numerous outdoor activities with all of them, including pheasant hunting with their yellow lab Indy.

Rich Jones, Vice President of Medical Management

Rich leads the Medical Management division for DAKOTACARE, which includes Medical Services, Provider Services, Pharmacy Services, and Health and Wellness Programs. He joined DAKOTACARE in 2006 and has implemented a cadre of medical services and programs that take a proactive approach to enhancing the health and wellness of DAKOTACARE'S membership.

A graduate of South Dakota State University, Rich holds both a Bachelor and Masters’ degree in nursing. He has held various clinical, teaching and administrative positions since entering the health care industry. During his administrative tenure with a large tertiary care hospital, he was an instrumental member of a team that designed and implemented one of the first acute care nursing case management programs in the country. He now lends his experiences and expertise to implementing similar programming at DAKOTACARE.

Rich and his wife Christine live in Sioux Falls with their eight children.

Thomas Nicholson, Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

Tom has been involved with DAKOTACARE since the company was founded in 1986 and leads the Sales and Marketing teams for both DAKOTACARE and its third party administrative subsidiary, DAKOTACARE Administrative Services, Inc. (DAS). He specializes in consulting with self-insured clients in all areas of benefits, as well as building substantial blocks of premium with key reinsurance partners.

A graduate of Black Hills State University, Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He also serves on the advisory boards of two prominent reinsurance carriers, as well as a prominent national PPO network.

Tom has been in the health care industry since 1981. He has been very active in industry affairs, legislative affairs and is licensed in 14 states. He also takes an active role in the Sioux Falls community, having both served and chaired many local non-profit boards, as well as involvement in statewide fund-raising activities for numerous organizations.

Tom resides in Sioux Falls and has two sons, Adam and David.

Rhonda K. Mack, Director of Operations

Rhonda joined DAKOTACARE as a State of South Dakota Account Manager in 2001. Prior to employment at DAKOTACARE, she was the Claims and Enrollment Director of a locally owned TPA. She was promoted to Director of Government Programs, responsible for both federal and state operations, in 2005 when DAKOTACARE entered the Medicare market. In 2009, Rhonda was promoted to Director of Operations, managing operations in both the Sioux Falls and Webster offices. Rhonda's insurance career spans over 28 years, including management positions in a large regional life and health insurance company, as well as a hospital based billing office.

John D. Graham, Director of Finance

John began employment with DAKOTACARE in August, 2008 as the Director of Financial Analysis and moved into the Director of Finance position in June, 2010. John graduated with honors from the University of South Dakota in 1975. John is a Certified Public Accountant and former partner with a national accounting firm spending 33 years in public accounting with significant experience in the audit, tax and consulting areas. John is a member of the American Institute of CPA's, the South Dakota CPA Society and the Institute of Management Accountants where he has served on various committees. Most recently John served as a member of the South Dakota Board of Accountancy, which he chaired for two years.

Ann Ellis, Director of Underwriting

Ann joined DAKOTACARE in March, 2005 as a Senior Underwriter. She was promoted to Underwriting Supervisor in June, 2007 and to Director of Underwriting in June, 2010. Ann is a graduate of Buena Vista University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. She also earned a Master's degree in Health Care Administration from Des Moines University School of Osteopathic Medicine in May, 2008. Ann was previously employed by a large, national health insurance company where whe was a lead underwriter, serving in a consulting capacity for both self-funded and fully-insured plans.

Roy Newcomb, Director of Information Technology

Roy joined DAKOTACARE in November, 2000 as an Application Developer. He was promoted to Director of IT in April, 2007. Roy is a veteran of the U.S. Army Signal Corps and a cum laude graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the IEEE Computer Society, and the IEEE Communications Society. Roy has previously been employed by a medical billing software company as a Programming Supervisor.

Teresa Gevens, Director of Human Resources

Teresa is in charge of the Human Resource functions with DAKOTACARE. She oversees all areas of DAKOTACARE’s Human Resource department, including benefits, compensation, training, recruiting, employee relations and employee and organizational development. Teresa has been with DAKOTACARE since 2003 and has been involved with the ongoing growth and structural changes at DAKOTACARE.

A graduate of Mount Marty College, Teresa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in Health Care Administration and also a Master of Science degree with an emphasis in Human Resources from the University of South Dakota.

Teresa is a member of both the local and National Society of Human Resource Management and is involved with nonprofit organizations as a volunteer and committee member.

Teresa and her husband Ryan reside in Sioux Falls with their two daughters.