Patty Malone, MBA, BS, MT ASCP), CTBS, is the Dayton Director of Quality/Regulatory Affairs Director for Solvita, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.  Patty has a sincere passion for and commitment to the gift of human tissue and the assurance of quality, safety and availability of cells and tissue grafts.  After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from Wright State University in 1987, Patty began her career in a clinical Microbiology Laboratory.  She began my career at Solvita, formerly Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services, in the HLA Laboratory in June 1990.  She held a Medical Technology position in the Stem Cell Laboratory and subsequently became the Supervisor of both Stem Cells, Hematology, and Microbiology before moving to the Quality Assurance department in 1996 and subsequently becoming the Director 1998.  Patty earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2019 and also holds a CTBS certification.  She has been an active member of AATB for many years and is currently the Secretary of the Accredited Tissue Banks Council and Vice Chair of the Standards Committee. She serves on the AATB Tissue Policy Group (TPG) and is a member of the TPG Quality/Regulatory Workgroup.

Melissa has 20+ years of experience in medical device, combination product, and human tissue new product development research, engineering, and commercialization. She has experience in Quality System design, implementation, maintenance, and compliance. Melissa has held Quality leadership positions serving as the Management Representative, Head of Quality and official FDA correspondent for prescription eye-glass lens manufacturer QSpex Technologies, Inc., and Chemence Medical Products, Inc, a global manufacturer of adhesive-based Class II medical devices for would closure. During an 11-year tenure with Kimberly-Clark Health Care, Melissa held positions in Regulatory Affairs, Product Development, and Process Engineering. In addition to Quality Systems expertise, Melissa is skilled at developing comprehensive regulatory strategies to support new product development, including pre-market approval requirements for U.S. and E.U. She is a member of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS) and holds an active RAC certification. Melissa holds a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Georgia and an MS Degree from the University of Georgia School of Pharmacy in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs. Melissa is a founding member and currently serves as the Chief Quality and Regulatory Officer for StimLabs, LLC based in Roswell, Georgia. In her current role, Melissa is responsible for all aspects of Quality and Regulatory Affairs for StimLabs including Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Quality Engineering, Quality Management Systems, Donor Services, and global regulatory affairs. Melissa is a member of the AATB Quality Counsel and has been serving as a member of the AATB program committee for the last three years and is the chair of the committee this year. In collaboration with AATB council membership and AATB Liaisons, Melissa was responsible for development of the agenda and speaker content for this year’s meeting.

Andrew Vogt joined Hart Health Strategies in September 2022 after more than eight years of combined experience lobbying and working in the U.S. Senate. Prior to joining the Hart Health team, in April 2021, Andrew founded Andrew Vogt Strategies LLC to help businesses and nonprofit organizations more effectively navigate Congress and the federal government.

Andrew's time on Capitol Hill included more than four years as a Health Professional Staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). In that role, he planned more than 20 hearings and drafted or negotiated approximately 50 health policy provisions that were signed into law with bipartisan support.

Among the significant laws Andrew worked on are policies related to maternal health, childhood cancer, substance use disorders, regenerative medicine, the healthcare workforce, and community health centers. His proudest achievement was leading the Senate's work on the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271), the 2018 "landmark" legislation to confront the opioid and substance use disorder crisis.

Juniper Fedor, MS, PA (ASCP)CM, D-ABMDI is the Lead Pathologists' Assistant at the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office in Atlanta, Georgia. Juniper is a pioneering advocate for the collection and documentation of gender diverse information in medicolegal death investigation. He was awarded the 2023 National Association of Medical Examiners Susan P. Baker Public Health Impact Award for his presentation in transgender decedent reporting and advocacy, and the 2025 Eckert Memorial Award for his subsequent publication. He also promotes the utilization of pathologists’ assistants in forensics to help combat the ME/C workforce shortage. Juniper started as an autopsy technician and death investigator at the University of Michigan, and was even a funeral professional in a previous life. He spends his free time playing music, including bass and mandolin.

Bravin Herring, CTBS, CEBT, is the technical trainer for Artivion Inc, based in Columbus, OH. He comes with a strong recovery background from his time at both Lifeline of Ohio and We Are Sharing Hope SC. Bravin has over 10 years of operating room and tissue banking experience. He holds a bachelor's degree in health information management from WGU and is currently working on a master's degree in education technology and instructional design. Bravin is also a member of the RADE council and an active member of the Education Committee.

Lesly Gatton is a Recovery Partner Director at Solvita. Prior to this role, she served as the National Trainer for tissue recovery. She is a Certified Tissue Banking Specialist and has more than 10 years of experience in tissue banking. Lesly earned her Master of Science degrees in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Louisville School Of Medicine and attended Wake Forest University for her undergraduate education. She is committed to improving the quality of tissue recoveries and maximizing tissue donors’ gifts to improve and save the lives of recipients.

TBD

Noelle Edwards, MD, FAAP is an Associate Medical Director for LifeNet Health and member of the Physician’s Council since 2022. She is a Pediatrician and has been passionate about tissue donation since being introduced to the industry as a tissue recovery technician prior to medical school. Noelle serves as the current Physician's Council Secretary and has been an active member of AATB Physician’s Council, participating in educational talks on Allograft Cancer Transmission, Adequate Medical Records, Sepsis case reviews, and a Tuberculosis panel discussion. She has also been an active contributor in the AATB Tuberculosis and Sepsis Working groups, and has been the Physician’s Council Track Representative in the planning committees for the 2024 and 2025 Annual Meetings. Dr. Edwards hopes to continue to progress the tissue banking industry by serving the AATB and its Physician Council members in striving for the advancement of evidence-based decision-making and providing forward-thinking educational opportunities. She seeks to align tissue banking Medical Directors through the shared goal of utilizing the most recent scientific and medical knowledge to optimize donor gift utilization and safety.  

Dr. Alrabaa completed internal medicine residency at the New York Medical College-Saint Vincent Hospital in Staten Island, New York in 2004, then Infectious Disease Fellowship at the University of South Florida and was inducted Alpha Omega Alpha member with the university in 2010. She is currently a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and the medical director of LifeLink Tissue Bank of Florida, Georgia and Puerto Rico. Dr. Alrabaa is an attending physician at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) where she actively sees patients and teaches medical students, residents and fellows. She is Co-Director of Organ Transplant Infectious Diseases and a member of Infection Prevention committee at TGH. Dr. Alrabaa is affiliated with the Florida Department of Health as a supervising attending physician for tuberculosis services.  Her areas of expertise include preventing and treating infections in solid organ transplant recipients, preventing and treating healthcare associated infections, travel related infections, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and tissue transplant donors screening and selection. She is a member of the American Society of Infectious Diseases (IDSA) and a member of the physician council at the American Association of Tissue banking (AATB).

Melissa Greenwald, MD, FAST is an internationally recognized expert in cell, organ and tissue safety and policy.  Dr. Greenwald is a graduate of the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine who spent 25 years on active duty in the US Public Health Service with over 14 years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulating human tissues for transplantation.   Dr. Greenwald also spent four years at the Health Resources and Services Administration where she retired as the Director of the Division of Transplantation.  Dr. Greenwald then directed her own consulting business specializing in safety management and regulatory affairs for cell, organ and tissue products.  She now proudly serves as Chief Medical Officer of the American Association of Tissue Banks. 

Leah began her career in donation in 2006 as a Tissue Recovery Coordinator for Connect Life, previously CNY Eye & Tissue Bank. She continued her career as a Tissue Recovery Coordinator at MTF Biologics and helped manage birth tissue acquisition programs with several hospitals in Upstate New York.   

In 2019, Leah relocated with her family to Nashville, Tennessee, to join DCI Donor Services, as the Birth Tissue Program Director. In this role, she is responsible for establishing new birth tissue donation contracts, program development, personnel training, and maximizing acquisitions over multiple hospital programs. Leah had roles within the medical community as a paramedic, medical and pharmaceutical sales, and Donor Coordinator throughout her career.  They all lead to her unique insight into relationship building with all levels, from patient to provider.

Jackie Warn is a seasoned leader with nearly 30 years of experience driving quality, regulatory compliance, and performance excellence across diverse sectors, including biotechnology, tissue banking, healthcare, and laboratory operations. Renowned for her strategic vision, she has led the development and implementation of enterprise-wide regulatory affairs and quality management systems, ensuring strict adherence to top-tier standards while advancing operational efficiency. An active contributor to the field, Ms. Warn serves on multiple committees and councils within the American Association of Tissue Banks. She holds an MBA, a BS in Business Administration, and an AAS in Medical Laboratory Technology. Her professional certifications include CMQ/OE from the American Society for Quality and MLT from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.

Jennifer Drago has over 15 years of combined experience in Quality and Regulatory Affairs in blood banking, medical devices, and tissue and organ procurement. She has served as the AATB Quality Council leadership since 2017 and has participated as a member of the Quality Council Change Control Subgroup. Jen is a CTBS, Certified Quality Auditor, a Certified Manager of Quality and Operational Excellence, and has her Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification.

Laurie Agle, BS, CTBS, has been in Tissue Banking for over 20 years working in call centers, recovery, training, and is currently the Senior Director of Quality Systems at Vivex Biologics.  Laurie is on the Quality Council and is the Vice-Chair of the Certification Committee with previous service on the Ethics Committee and several AATB task forces.

Jennifer Drago has over 15 years of combined experience in Quality and Regulatory Affairs in blood banking, medical devices, and tissue and organ procurement. She has served as the AATB Quality Council leadership since 2017 and has participated as a member of the Quality Council Change Control Subgroup. Jen is a CTBS, Certified Quality Auditor, a Certified Manager of Quality and Operational Excellence, and has her Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification.

Laurie Agle, BS, CTBS, has been in Tissue Banking for over 20 years working in call centers, recovery, training, and is currently the Senior Director of Quality Systems at Vivex Biologics.  Laurie is on the Quality Council and is the Vice-Chair of the Certification Committee with previous service on the Ethics Committee and several AATB task forces.

A founding member of the Education Team at Infinite Legacy in 2019, Kai brings his expertise in teaching, material development, and facilitation to HR. As a trans man and member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Kai’s work centers on what it means to be included and how to reflect that in company culture from the onboarding of new team members, to tenured staff and leadership.

His credentials include the following:

18 Years of teaching experience as a karate instructor, English as a second language teacher, and a language tutor for students studying English or Japanese
BA: Asian Studies
MA: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Certifications: TESOL, Instructional Design, DEI, JLPT 4

 
Kai enjoys keeping active. When he isn’t spending time with his family, he enjoys playing video games, doing art of many kinds, studying foreign languages, and preparing for performances with his belly dance troupe.