ORGAN DONATION AND TRANSPLANTATION ALLIANCE - Key Persons
Abdulwahab Al-Saleh, is a critical care RN with experience in pediatrics, adults and critical care transport. He serves as a senior member of Organ Recovery Services and the Clinical Education Supervisor for Donor Network of Arizona. Abdulwahab has been involved in providing all on-boarding education for new Organ Recovery Coordinators. He has also sought to empower existing senior staff members with continuing education via scholarly journal review, involvement with organizational education committee and monthly case reviews covering challenging clinical case studies. He is an active member of the The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO). He continually seeks opportunities to learn and grow both personally and professionally.
Amanda Habermehl started her career at ConnectLife in 2007. She has worked in multiple roles including Clinical Recovery Coordinator, Clinical Donation Coordinator, and Hospital Development Supervisor, and her current role as Manager of Hospital Development.
Amanda has experience and responsibility for directing daily operations of all services provided by the hospital development team who is responsible for organ and tissue donation outcomes in the region's 26 acute care hospitals.
Prior to joining ConnectLife, Amanda was a Funeral Director.
A psychiatrist by training, Dr. Hands is a skilled healthcare professional with over 25 years of experience. Since joining Ochsner in 2005, she has been responsible for overseeing all strategic planning, business development and operational components of the International Health and Multi-Organ Transplant Services. Dr. Hands has a distinguished career creating and operating new revenue programs for hospitals. She has had a crucial role in the post Katrina restructure of the Ochsner Multi-Organ Transplant Institute, leading with exceptional dedication assuring a multidisciplinary commitment to safety, quality, and the most current evidence-based practices making the Ochsner Transplant Program one of the top programs in the country. She has also served as member of the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation- ACOT and is a member of the board of directors for the Alliance. Additionally, she serves on the board of the Legacy Donor Foundation in New Orleans and is a State of Louisiana representative for the Donate Life America Collaborative.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Communications and Strategic Initiatives
Corey Bryant leads The Alliance's communications, marketing and strategic efforts for unique national events, programming, partnerships and business development. With extensive corporate and non-profit experience, Corey has served in communications and public relations roles for Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Cruise Line and TransLife (now OurLegacy), the OPO serving East Central Florida. He has also been an active board member of Donate Life Florida, having served as state team leader for Driver License Outreach. Corey is a proud alum of The University of Alabama and serves on the board of directors for Come Out With Pride Orlando as well as Five Horizons Health Services, a not-for-profit organization providing access to progressive HIV testing, prevention and LGBT+ focused healthcare throughout West Alabama and East Mississippi.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager, Educational Program Development and Operations
Deanna is a knowledgeable and versatile professional with diverse experiences in healthcare, client relations, marketing, project management and demonstrated skills in leadership and advocacy. Prior to joining The Alliance, she worked in Hospital Development at her local OPO in the state of New Jersey where she served as the clinical liaison to a number of Level 1 Trauma & Neuroscience centers as well as community hospitals. Her personal connection as a donor family and friend fuels her passion to support her colleagues across the donation-transplantation continuum through the development of valuable educational resources that ultimately boost performance and improve outcome measures. Deanna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor degree in Public Health from Montclair State University. In her spare time, Deanna enjoys visiting vineyards, spending time with her family, and traveling in hopes of visiting all seven wonders of the world.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Professor
- Surgical Director, Liver Transplant Program Director, Enterprise Transplant Quality and Compliance / Mayo Clinic Transplant Center
Dr. Amit Mathur is a Professor of Surgery and Consultant in the Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona and the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He serves as the Surgical Director of Liver Transplantation at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and as Enterprise Director for Transplant Quality and Compliance, and an Associate Medical Director for Contracting and Payer Relations (Transplant) at Mayo Clinic.
His clinical interests are in liver, kidney, and pancreas transplantation, and utilization of extended criteria donor organs. His academic interests focus on clinical outcomes and health care utilization after transplantation and complex surgery, barriers in access to deceased donor and living donor transplantation, and quality of transplant care delivery. He serves as the Program Evaluation Specialist for the National Living Donor Assistance Center. He is dedicated to transplant surgical education, research, and financial issues in transplantation.
Dr. Mathur is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of several professional societies and has received a number of honors and awards for his scholarly and research activities, including the 2022 American Society of Transplant Surgeons Rising Star in Transplantation Award. Dr. Mathur has published extensively in peer-reviewed publications, books, and other publications related to his expertise.
Dr. Sumit Mohan is an associate professor of medicine & epidemiology at Columbia University, the director of clinical research in the Division of Nephrology and the director of quality and outcomes research for the transplant initiative at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. Mohan's clinical and research career has been focused on improving access to care and outcomes for patients with kidney disease - especially those with end stage kidney disease and kidney transplantation. His research funding has come from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the American Society of Transplantation among others.
Dr. Mohan's research findings have directly informed public policy at the federal level related to patients with kidney disease including access to outpatient dialysis for acute kidney injury, elimination of early outcomes as a regulatory measure for transplant center recertification as well as the ongoing efforts to lower the discard of deceased donor kidneys in the United States. His work on the inappropriate discard of deceased donor kidneys has helped bring significant attention to this problem nationally. He serves on multiple committees for UNOS, SRTR, ASN and NKF among others. In addition, he has contributed to several Technical Expert Panels (TEPs) for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) and has been invited to present his research to the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
Emma O'Riley has over twenty years of experience as a marketing and communication professional, gaining experience and expertise through varied industries. She is a data-driven, operations-focused, creative marketing and brand strategist with a proven track record of success in new media and magazine publishing, advertising, product marketing and brand experience and design. As the head of marketing operations and brand experience for the American College of Healthcare Executives, she is managing and directing integrated marketing, editorial and design teams in creating effective, on-brand communications for all channels (print, web, email, mobile and podcast) for the organization. Additionally, Emma works to plan, lead and execute branding and creative strategies across multiple platforms and formats to support the organization's communication and marketing initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Program and Operations Administrator
Felicia joins The Alliance with more than 20 years of health care experience - 18 of those directly carried out in an organ transplant program. Throughout her time in transplant, she has served as a transplant financial coordinator, database administrator and transplant business office supervisor in both pediatric and adult kidney transplant, heart transplant and liver transplant programs. She has also been an active member of the Transplant Financial Coordinators Association. In her spare time, Felicia enjoys spending time with her family, fishing, coaching and serving on the board for a local youth organization in the San Antonio Area.
Hedi has been a critical care nurse for over 26 years, gathering experience in three different countries. She has a Bachelor of Arts Honors degree in intensive care nursing and a Masters of Science in Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. After working as an ICU Educator, she transitioned into the organ, eye, and tissue donation field. She worked for two different Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO), OneLegacy and Donor Network West, where in her last position she was the Donation Process Improvement Manager.
During her time in the OPO field, Hedi served as faculty for the North American Transplant Coordinator Organization (NATCO) and chaired the national Association of Organ Procurement Organization's (AOPO) Hospital Development Council. After working for the OPO, she took a leadership role with the national organization the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance where she became the Senior Director of Programs, leading various national initiatives, councils and workgroups.
After many years of providing consultations, trainings and speaking engagements, she founded her own business in 2018, called Fundamental Roots. Fundamental Roots offers various customized soft skills trainings, including topics surrounding managing one's sphere of control, general communication and collaboration skills, and physician communication and partnership. Leveraging her life-experiences in growing up internationally and having lived on four continents and in 7 different countries, Hedi also provides trainings on cross-cultural communication.
Job Titles:
- Board Chair for the Alliance
Finn currently serves as the Board Chair for The Alliance, an independent nonprofit committed to increasing organ availability and eliminating deaths on the organ transplant waitlist; on the Board of Trustees and as the Chair for the Donation Board of Trustees for MTF Biologics; as a member of the Missouri Governor's Organ Donation Advisory Committee; and offers service to the community as a board member for Friendship Inn of Kansas City and the Gift of Life Foundation in Overland Park, Kansas. Her recent national tenures as the President of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations and the President of the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization helped shape her commitment and leadership ability as well as an appointment to Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation; UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing Board of Directors and numerous other leadership roles.
Job Titles:
- Communications & Creative Consultant
From multimedia presentations, print and digital design to environmental graphics and photo displays - from New York City to Athens, Georgia - Janet has worked for a wide variety of Fortune 500 companies, newspapers, non-profits, and universities using her experience and love of design to tell her client's stories. She was named Georgia Illustrator of the Year by the Associated Press for her award-winning news designs at the Banner-Herald in Athens, Georgia and received a number of CASE awards during her 20-year career at the University of Georgia for print publications, environmental graphics and web design. Janet holds a BA in science education from the University of Connecticut and is currently enrolled in the graduate certificate program for non-profit leadership and management at the University of Georgia.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Role at Donor Network West
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Donor Network West
Janice Whaley is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Donor Network West, with headquarters in northern California and northern Nevada. Donor Network West is the third largest OPO in the U.S., joining the organization in January 2019. Four months after her arrival, the organization moved well above the national average in recovery metrics. Her leadership, advocacy, and operational efforts in the state(s) of California, Nevada, and the nation overall serve as evidence of her passion.
Prior to assuming the Chief Executive role at Donor Network West, Whaley held leadership and clinical roles in three other OPOs, achieving similar results. From 2014-2018, Whaley served as Chief Operating Officer of LifeShare of Oklahoma, essentially doubling the number of organ donors early on in her five-year tenure. Prior to her arrival at LifeShare, Whaley attended Harvard Business School in Boston. Whaley held the role of Managing Director of Clinical Operations at LifeGift in Houston, TX from 2003-2013. While in Houston, the fourth largest U.S. city, Whaley managed the complex processes involved in working with 5 transplant centers and 24 transplant programs, leading the region to record setting numbers of donors recovered. Whaley started her career and honed her skills in organ and tissue recovery at the University of Alabama, gaining expertise in numerous arenas, including organ preservation. Whaley is dually certified in organ and tissue recovery through ABTC and the AATB, respectively.
A committed advocate for donation, Whaley has served in multiple capacities on several national boards and committees related to organ and tissue donation and recovery. Most recently, she was appointed to serve a four-year term as a member of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' Advisory Council on Transplantation (ACOT). Whaley is a member of the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation (AMAT) and served as president in 2003. She currently serves as an elected officer on the Board of Directors for AMAT. Whaley is also a member of the North American Association of Transplant Coordinators (NATCO), the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and the American Association of Tissue Banking (AATB). She was appointed by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to serve as a faculty member for the National Learning Congress (NLC) in 2012. Whaley served as the Representative for OPTN/UNOS Region 4 OPO Committee (2015 -2017).
Whaley received a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a post graduate certificate from Harvard Business School, Executive Management Program. She graduated from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Chemistry.
Job Titles:
- President and CEO of Donor Alliance
With a tenure of more than 25 years in the organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation, Jennifer is the President and CEO of Donor Alliance. While there are organ procurement organizations in every state, Donor Alliance, under Jennifer's leadership, stands out as a leader in the field and has improved the climate for transplant patients in Colorado and Wyoming. Jennifer has been instrumental in raising Coloradans' and Wyomingites' willingness to sign up as organ and tissue donors. Last year more than 950 thousand residents added their names to the organ, eye and tissue donor registries. Colorado's donor designation rate has climbed over six percent in her tenure, (to 68%) and now is the highest in the nation. Also, despite the pandemic, she was able to lead Donor Alliance to a record number of organ recoveries, and lifesaving transplants in 2020. Thanks to Jennifer's leadership, Donor Alliance has achieved outstanding clinical and operational outcomes, culminating in a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2018. As both a donor and recipient family, Jennifer and the Donor Alliance team continue to focus on maximizing donation and transplantation in Colorado, Wyoming, and across the country.
John Magee, MD, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. He completed his General Surgery residency at the University of Michigan in 1996. During his residency, Dr. Magee spent three years as a research fellow in the Department of Surgery at Duke University Medical Center. He also completed the Post-Doctoral Research Training Program at the University of Michigan. Following General Surgery training, he completed a two-year Multi-Organ Transplant Surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan. He joined the faculty in 1998.
Job Titles:
- Director of Transplant Epidemiology for the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute
Jon Snyder, PhD, MS, serves as the Director of Transplant Epidemiology for the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) in Minneapolis, MN. In his role as a solid organ transplant epidemiologist for HHRI, Dr. Snyder serves as the Director of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, a federal contract with the Health Resources and Services Administration. In addition to his work with HHRI, Dr. Snyder serves as Treasurer of the Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance, Secretary of Donate Life America, and he is a member of the Clinical Policy Board of LifeSource, the organ procurement organization serving Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and portions of Western Wisconsin. Dr. Snyder is a Statistical Editor for the American Journal of Transplantation and an Associate Editor of the journal Transplantation. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. He holds a doctoral degree in epidemiology and a master's degree in biostatistics from the University of Minnesota.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Alliance
Karri Hobson-Pape serves as Executive Director of The Alliance and is a seasoned strategic executive with a strong track record of building unique brands that produce results. She is deeply committed to investments in professional development and learning solutions that drive broader industry innovation and transform an individual's personal trajectory. Prior to The Alliance, Karri was Vice President of Marketing & Communications at the University of Georgia. Serving on the Cabinet and Senior Advisory Group, she was charged with sharing the flagship institution's comprehensive story of research, instruction and service and assisted with the $1.45B capital campaign. Karri has held a variety of leadership positions throughout her career, including corporate, consulting and entrepreneurial roles. Previously, she served as Executive Director of External Affairs for Emory University, overseeing the Marketing, Communications, Corporate Relations, Development and Alumni Relations activities at the business school. In addition, for more than 10 years, she was Executive Director of the Sheth Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to serving the development of the marketing academy. Karri received her BA from Vanderbilt University and MBA from the Emory University's Goizueta Business School. An active member of her community, she has authored two Arcadia Publishing local history books and other historic preservation publications, been active on multiple boards and served on numerous industry roundtables.
Myer joined LifeGift in 2013 from the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), where he was the business director for the Center for Transplant System Excellence. Previously, Myer was the assistant director for the UNOS Department of Evaluation and Quality, where he oversaw policy compliance auditing, organ allocation analysis and led special projects in patient safety. Before his tenure at UNOS, Myer held the positions of executive director and vice president of LifeNet Health, an organ procurement organization (OPO) and biomedical implant agency based in Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Director of Transplant Solutions for Specialist Direct Inc
Kristina Wheeler RN, MBA began her nursing career nearly 30 years ago working in both pediatric and adult trauma/critical care medicine. In 2004, Kristina joined her local OPO as a procurement transplant coordinator (PTC). Over the next 17 years, Kristina held several progressive leadership positions including Clinical Operations Manager, Administrator on Call (AOC) and as the OPO's Transplant Administrator. In that role, Kristina facilitated the development of collaborative relationships between the OPO and the local and regional transplant programs they served.
Kristina also served on the Region 5 UNOS/OPTN Transplant Administrators Committee in 2020-2021 and was a member of the UNOS Transplant Management Forum (TMF) Planning Committee.
Currently, Kristina is the Director of Transplant Solutions for Specialist Direct Inc., a telehealth company providing solutions for OPOs and Transplant Programs nationwide. Kristina also holds a per-diem, on-call kidney transplant coordinator position at Providence St. Joseph's Hospital.
Job Titles:
- President & CEO of LiveOnNY
Achan was appointed President & CEO of LiveOnNY in November 2021. Having started his career as an ICU Nurse in 1999 at Mount Sinai Hospital, he is a veteran healthcare executive with over 20 years of leadership experience. He previously served as the President of the Hospital for Special Surgery's Innovation Institute. His leadership roles have spanned clinical, operational, marketing, communications, crisis management, digital transformation, branding, and innovation and he has served in several C-suite roles.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor in Anesthesiology
Dr. Kirschen is an Assistant Professor in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Pediatrics, and Neurology, and the Associate Director of pediatric neurocritical care at CHOP. His research focuses on detecting and preventing brain injury in critically ill children. He is the vice-chair of the Ethics, Health, Law and Humanities Committee, a joint committee of the American Academy of Neurology, Child Neurology Society, and the American Neurological Association, and is a member of the AAN Brain Death Workgroup.
As Chief Executive Officer, Dr. McBride directs the efforts of 450 UNOS staff to ensure that the nation's donation and transplant network efficiently and fairly serves the needs of transplant candidates and recipients, living donors and donor family members, and professionals in the field. She reports to the UNOS Board of Directors.
Job Titles:
- Medical Director, Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Quality
Nancy Foster is the Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety Policy at the American Hospital Association, serving in this role since 2004. She advocates for the nearly 5,000 hospitals and health system members of the American Hospital Association and shapes national policy on health care quality and safety. She leads efforts to improve quality and safety through collaboration with key national health care organizations; advises CMS on quality measures and their application in various public programs; works with the AHA Committees on Governance and Equity of Care; collaborates with experts to translate safety research into improved policies and practices; and coordinates with leaders working on information technology, workforce development, organizational culture, and other issues affecting quality of care.
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Director of the Transplant Center
Paul currently serves as the Senior Administrative Director of the Transplant Center, Division of Transplant Surgery, and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, MA. The MGH Transplant Center is the largest center in New England by total transplant volume, and the only center to offer the full range of services in kidney, pancreas, Islet cell, liver, heart, and lung transplants, including pediatric kidney and liver transplants. In close collaboration with key clinical leaders Paul is administratively responsible for the transplant service line, including hospital and ambulatory operations, finances, regulatory compliance, clinical research, business development, and overall strategic direction for the transplant service line. Paul is also the Chair of the MGH Organ and Tissue Donation Committee, a member of the MGH Ethics Committee, and serves as the Region 1 Representative on the OPTN/UNOS Transplant Administrators Committee.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Surgery / University of Michigan
Renee Ellan Bennett, RN, BSN, MSN, is an accomplished and dedicated healthcare professional with a wealth of experience in the field of transplantation. Currently serving as the Senior Director of Enterprise Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic since 2017, Renee plays a pivotal role in overseeing and managing transplantation programs. Her extensive journey in healthcare began with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bowling Green State University in 1987. Over the years, she has furthered her education, completing Masters' of Health Science coursework from Cleveland State University in 2009, followed by a Masters' of Science in Nursing Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2019.
Throughout her illustrious career, Renee has held key leadership roles, currently serving as the Senior Director of Enterprise Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic since 2017. Prior to this, she served as the Director of Transplant at Cleveland Clinic Florida from 2013 to 2021. Her journey at the Cleveland Clinic began in 1987 as a Staff Nurse in the Cardiothoracic Step-down Unit, and she has progressively climbed the ranks, displaying her commitment to excellence in transplant care. Renee is a licensed nurse in both Ohio and Florida and holds various certifications, including CNOR, CCTN, and CCTC.
In addition to her clinical expertise, Renee is an active member of numerous professional organizations such as AORN, ISHLT, NATCO, ITNS, AST, ASTS, The Alliance and more. She has received certifications for Professional Achievement in Perioperative Nursing Practice and has been recognized for her outstanding contributions, including Preceptor of the Year and various leadership roles in transplant-related committees and boards, including her local Organ Procurement Organization. Renee's extensive list of publications and presentations underscores her commitment to advancing knowledge in the field of transplantation, making her a distinguished leader in the healthcare community.
Rick has more than 25 years' experience in organ and tissue donation and has served on numerous national leadership committees for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), most recently on the UNOS Data Advisory Committee and Data Element Review Workgroup (DDR). Rick holds membership in the North American Transplant Coordinator's Organization, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the American Association of Tissue Banks and served on the Executive Committee for the Association for Organ Procurement Organizations. Rick is a past President of the American Board of Transplant Certification and holds certifications as Certified Procurement Transplant Coordinator (CPTC) and Certified Transplant Preservationist (CTP). Rick has delivered lectures and educational sessions for over 60 organizations and professional societies in the U.S. and internationally. He has also contributed to over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals to improve the science of donation and transplantation. Rick obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Pennsylvania State University and a Master's degree in Forensic Science from George Washington University.
Richard K. Gilroy, MD, is a hepatologist and medical director of the Liver Transplant Program at Intermountain Medical Center. Prior to his current role, Dr. Gilroy worked as a Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. He maintains active membership in the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, United Network for Organ Sharing, International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS), and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD). Among his many honors, he holds the position of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Medical Director of Liver Transplantation and sits on the US Food and Drug Administration Gastrointestinal Drug Advisory Committee. He has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, and presentations. He has also been a principal investigator or sub-investigator for various studies in the areas of short bowel syndrome, liver transplantation, hepatitis C and other liver diseases. He currently holds a research grant from the National Institutes of Health Liver Failure Studies Group and is a mentor for an AASLD Nurse Practitioner Training Grant.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor / University of Michigan
Susan A. Stuart began her career in healthcare as a registered nurse, witnessing first-hand the comfort that donation offers donor families and the second chance at life that it offers recipients.
Today, as President & CEO of The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), Susan is honored to lead a staff of more than one hundred employees who, like herself, believe that donation is the right choice for every grieving family as well as for the recipients who receive those precious gifts of life.
Susan has served on several boards of directors, including Donate Life America and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). Susan is the past president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO).
In 2016, Susan completed the year-long Baldrige Executive Fellows Program - nationally recognized as one of the top continuing education programs in leadership development worldwide.
Thomas Strukl is currently the Project Director in the Department of Standards and Survey Methods at The Joint Commission. In this role, he serves as a subject matter expert for the development of laboratory accreditation standards, including the standards related to tissue safety and transplantation safety in the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Laboratory. He is The Joint Commission's representative with the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) and provides support for The Joint Commission's Patient Blood Management certification program. The Joint Commission accredits over 21,000 organizations across the entire continuum of health care.