Phoenix, Arizona, United States, November 2025 — Ascend Healthcare Inc has announced the appointment of Samantha Strube as its new Director (Head) of Human Resources, strengthening its commitment to integrated behavioral and community health services across the United States. Known for her deep passion for mental health advocacy and people-centric leadership, Samantha joins at a pivotal moment as the organization continues to scale its telepsychiatry, substance use disorder treatment, and telecounseling solutions. Her alignment with Ascend’s mission, values, and purpose-driven culture reflects a powerful partnership to advance holistic well-being and compassionate care.
Before joining Ascend Healthcare Inc, Samantha Strube served as Director of Employee Experience at DriveTime for about a year. In this role, she strengthened employee engagement, internal communication frameworks, DEI practices, and organizational change initiatives. Her work contributed to building a cohesive and experience-driven culture while enabling leadership teams to elevate people practices during an important growth phase.
Prior to DriveTime, Samantha led US People & Culture as Head of People & Culture, US at air up® for around two years. There, she oversaw all HR operations for the US region of a global German food tech company and played a strategic role on the US Leadership Team. She drove global HR initiatives, supporting a diverse workforce across 40+ countries, and introduced scalable HR systems, leadership development programs, and culture-building mechanisms.
Before entering the consumer wellness space, Samantha held significant leadership roles at Encamp, where she served as VP of People and previously as Head of People for nearly a year. She built the People function from the ground up, establishing teams across talent acquisition, JEDI initiatives, learning and development, total rewards, and HR operations. Her leadership contributed to scaling the organization’s headcount while sustaining very low voluntary attrition during one of the toughest talent markets in recent years.
Earlier, Samantha spent close to two years at LogicGate as Director, Head of People, where she shaped HR strategy, employee engagement, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness. Prior to this, she served as Director, People (Head of People) at Eight Bit Studios, where she anchored the full HR lifecycle across the organization, including hiring, culture transformation, employee relations, and compensation frameworks.
Across the first decade of her career, Samantha held impactful roles at The Executives’ Club of Chicago, trivago, Eight Bit Studios, Wall Street English, and various institutions as a Learning & Development Specialist. These early experiences shaped her expertise across HR business partnering, global HR management, learning design, performance systems, talent forecasting, and culture-building across the US, Europe, and Asia.
About Ascend Healthcare Inc
Ascend Healthcare Inc is a leading behavioral and community health solutions provider specializing in telepsychiatry, substance use disorder treatment, and telecounseling. Through strategic partnerships with primary care physicians (PCPs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), specialty clinics, and Coordinated Care Management (CoCM) programs, Ascend delivers psychiatric medication management, specialized counseling, and psychiatric consultation services.
With a mission rooted in accessibility, compassion, and integrated care, Ascend Healthcare supports organizations across the United States in delivering high-quality, coordinated mental health services. Its commitment to innovation and community impact is reflected in its expanding suite of behavioral health solutions designed to meet people where they are, with dignity and care.
Read Also : When HR “Produces Nothing”: A Response to Jennifer Sey’s Anti-HR Vision
The Fine Balance: Navigating Work, Life, and Mental Wellbeing
Mind the Leadership Gap – From Learning to Real-World Impact
How the Adecco Group is empowering its employees for the future of work
