Jeff Cox has over 39 years of experience in tissue banking and is a Certified Tissue Bank Specialist. He currently serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the AATB Board of Governors and is a member of the AATB Executive Committee. Throughout his career, he has held various roles within AATB, including serving on the Certification, Ethics, Accreditation, Standards, Finance, and Program Committees, as well as the AATB Tissue Policy Group. He has served as AATB Secretary-Treasurer, Chair of the AATB Board of Governors, as well as former Secretary of the Accredited Tissue Banks Council and the Donor Suitability Council. He has also contributed as a coach to the AATB Emerging Leaders Program. 

In addition to his work with AATB, Jeff is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals, the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses. He holds a master's degree in biochemistry and a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology.

Currently, Jeff Cox serves as the President and CEO of United Tissue Resources.

Diana H. Buck, M.Ed., MBA, CTBS, is the Principal Consultant at D Buck Consulting Group, a niche consulting practice she launched following her 2022 retirement from New England Donor Services (NEDS). Diana joined NEDS, then known as New England Organ Bank, in 1999 after a successful career in education and nonprofit administration, beginning a more than two-decade career in tissue banking, organizational leadership, and operational excellence.

Diana has been an active and engaged member of the AATB community since 2001. She served on the AATB Board of Governors for 10 consecutive years, including as Board Chair. During a pivotal period for the Association, Diana stepped into the role of Interim CEO and, working alongside Lou Barnes, Ronda Hortsman, and Jeff Cox, helped stabilize the organization and establish a foundation for AATB's continued growth and evolution. In 2024, Diana was honored with AATB's Jeanne C. Mowe Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her significant contributions and longstanding service to the Association and the tissue banking profession.

Through D Buck Consulting Group, Diana works with executive leaders and organizations across the donation, biotechnology, and healthcare communities to translate strategic priorities into practical, sustainable results. Her consulting work includes organizational and operational improvement, quality and regulatory systems, leadership development, performance improvement, and strategic facilitation. She is particularly passionate about strengthening workplace performance through the identification, preparation, and development of current and emerging leaders.

Throughout her career, Diana has been known for bringing a practical, collaborative approach to complex organizational challenges and for helping leaders build systems, teams, and cultures capable of sustaining excellence.

Dr. Thompson has been medical director at AlloSource for over 17 years.  He is actively involved with the Physician's Council and was chair for two 2 year terms. He has served on other AATB committees including the Standards committee and the emerging infectious subcommittee of the STAC.  His primary role at AlloSource is reviewing donor records to determine donor eligibility.  

Dr. Brian L. Peterson, MD is a board-certified forensic pathologist with more than four decades of experience in pathology and medicolegal death investigation. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed specialized training in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, and forensic pathology, including fellowships at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Throughout his distinguished career, he has served in both military and civilian forensic medicine roles, earning recognition for his contributions to the field of forensic pathology.

Dr. Peterson has been affiliated with the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office and  provides forensic pathology services for multiple Wisconsin counties, including Walworth County. He is board certified in Anatomic & Clinical Pathology and Forensic Pathology and is widely respected for his expertise in death investigation, autopsy practice, forensic education, and public service. In addition to his casework responsibilities, he has contributed to professional publications and initiatives aimed at advancing the practice of forensic pathology.

Francisco Martinez Flores es Medico-Cirujano y Doctor en Ciencias por la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Investigador en Ciencias Médicas de la Secretaria de Salud desde hace 19 años, Profesor de Pregrado y Posgrado en la Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM desde 1998. Su experiencia científica en el área de la biología celular y la terapia molecular aplicada a procesos de trasplantes, criobiótica y recuperación de tejidos le ha valido para ser el fundador del primer Banco de Piel y Tejidos en México clase 100, con certificación ISO9000 en su tipo. Ha sido profesor visitante y conferencista en la Universidad Libre de Holanda, la universidad Birmingham en Alabama EEUU, la Universidad de Oviedo y de la Universidad de Barcelona en España. Es Profesor del Programa de Certificación de Coordinadores de Donación y Trasplante, que imparte la UNAM y el CENATRA. Es el Director del Programa de Investigación en Criobiótica en el Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra y fue Director del Registro Nacional de Trasplantes del CENATRA durante 2014-2015. Actualmente es el Jefe de División del Banco de Piel y Tejidos del Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación que se considera el centro de referencia nacional en materia de Bancos y recuperación biológica de tejidos en México. Miembro de las Asociaciones Europea y Americana de Terapia Génica y Celular, Miembro de la Asociación Europea y Latinoamericana de  Bancos de Tejidos y Miembro de la Academia Mexicana de Cirugía. El Dr. Martínez Flores ha participado en más de 162 publicaciones como autor principal en libros, artículos científicos y comunicados de prensa. 

Josh Brennan spent six years as an EMS professional and was an educator for the Red Cross. Josh has been with New England Donor Services since 2008 in various roles in the Tissue Operations Department. He is currently the Director of Donor Legacy at Donor Network of Arizona. He has published three abstract articles with the Association for Advancing Tissue and Biologics and was part of the creative development team for the Hopes Heroes - Donor Family Program. 

He has been invited to speak at multiple workshops/conferences/webinars on various topics, including Electronic Tissue Authorization, Call Center Scheduling, Algorithmic Tissue Screening, Electronic Tissue Allocation, DRAI competency & training, and Grief Concepts. 

Alyssa Harrison serves as the VP of Tissue Operations at LifeShare Network. She has been in the donation industry for over 10 years, starting at United Tissue Network, a non-transplant domination organization.  In her current role, she oversees all aspects of Tissue Recovery and Donation Services, including day-to-day management, donor assessment and evaluation, organization policy, procedure protocol application, training, strategic planning, and administrative duties. She reviews and evaluates all performance metrics and key performance indicators with a primary focus on identifying opportunities for improvement and growth for both departments.  She works as an executive leader to develop and execute strategic plans and annual operative and capital budgets.

Alyssa is a Certified Tissue Banking Specialist and is an active member of AATB, having served on numerous committees, councils, and the Board of Governs. 

She has earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Adult Education and a Master of Business Administration.

Amanda joined the tissue banking industry over 13 years ago, she started her career speaking with families to offer the gift of tissue donation. Amanda then transitioned into the Quality department where she currently serves as Director, Quality Assurance at New England Donor Services. Amanda has led and participated in projects covering all aspects of the tissue donation process. She received a BS degree in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has hold the CTBS certification since 2014 and have been a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt since 2017.

Samantha Golden is the Director of the Donor Resource Center and Tissue Authorization Departments at Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network in the Chicago, Illinois, suburbs. She is responsible for overseeing referral intake, eligibility screening, donor logistics, and telephonic authorization conversations for tissue and eye donation. Samantha's teams work 100% remotely and are dispersed across multiple states.

 Samantha has been with Gift of Hope since late 2018. Before joining Gift of Hope’s life-saving mission, she had a varied career path, including 911/police/fire/EMS dispatch, paramedic, disaster program manager with the American Red Cross, and Executive Director of Call Center Operations at Medcor, Inc.

Taylor Knapp has over six years of experience in tissue banking, starting as a Donor Referral Coordinator where she screened medical histories of potential donors and guided families through the donation process. In 2022, she was promoted to Supervisor of the Donor Referral Center, focusing on employee training, fostering professional growth, and ensuring an empathetic experience for donor families. Before her career in tissue banking, Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and gained experience in whole body donation at two medical schools with a focus in the process of Plastination. She is also an active member of AATB's Donor Family Services Council.

Benjamin Schelke is Manager of the Donor Operations Center at Gift of Life Michigan.  He joined Gift of Life Michigan in 2022 after a decade with Eversight working in the eye bank’s Donation Support Center, including a six-year stint as co-manager of the Ann Arbor center.  Benjamin has a bachelor’s in Health Fitness Preventative and Rehabilitative Programs from Central Michigan University and a master’s in Healthcare Administration from Eastern Michigan University.  Benjamin is passionate about the work he does to support donation and donor families at the nation’s 10th-largest organ procurement, based in Ann Arbor.   He diligently honors Gift of Life Michigan’s core purpose of honoring life through donation by ensuring his team has what it needs to succeed.

Mark Hoffman is a CTBS and instructional designer with 23 years’ experience in tissue donor screening, approach/authorization/DRAI, and tissue recovery. Prior to beginning his career in donation, Mark worked as a clinical laboratory tech and autopsy assistant. He has been with LifeGift of Texas since 2016 and currently serves as their Manager of Donation Communication Training. Mark holds a certificate in E-Learning Instructional Design from the UC Irvine Department of Continuing Education, in addition to his previous Paramedic certification, earned at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City. Mark is a former member of AATB’s Quality and Donor Suitability Workshop Task Force. He served as a plenary session moderator at the 2012 QDSW meeting and presented a case study at that meeting as well.

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.

Kimberly Elliott is the VP of Sales for Eurofins DPT. She brings over 25 years’ experience in the human cell and tissue industry. Kimberly’s knowledge and expertise in HCT/P services span regulated testing, business development, effective application of regulations and customer support for the recovery, testing and transplantation of organs, tissues, and tissue and cell-based products. Prior to joining Eurofins, Kimberly has held leadership roles supporting HCT/P establishments in the tissue banking, cell therapy and regenerative medicine space. Kimberly is an active member of the American Association of Tissue Banks. She is a graduate of Arizona State University with a BS in Exercise Physiology.

Dr. Slawski is from Gift of Hope in Itasca, Illinois. He is a Clinical Trainer at The Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network. He has over 18 years of experience within the organization encompassing tissue recovery, quality assurance, and training. Most recently in 2014, Gregory joined the newly instituted Research & Development Department within Gift of Hope. Gregory received his doctorate from Scholl College of Podiatric medicine in Chicago and his bachelor's degree in biology from Loyola University in Chicago.

Walter began working with LifeCell in 2003. He currently holds the position of Sr. Regional Field Manager. In this capacity, Walter works with a number of tissue banks and organ procurement organizations throughout the Central and Southern United States. He is responsible for the coordination of tissue procurement, on-site training, technical and material support, and manages and oversees the LifeCell National on Call Coordinators.  Walter is a Certified Surgical Technologist, Certified Tissue Banking Specialist, and an active member of the American Association of Tissue Banks.

Sara Ham is a dedicated healthcare professional with over 12 years of experience in the medical field. Currently serving as a Tissue Supervisor at Mid America Transplant, she has spent the past three years overseeing tissue recovery operations, ensuring compliance with industry standards, and leading teams to enhance donation outcomes. Prior to this role she held the role of Tissue Team Lead and Tissue Ocular Procurement Coordinator.

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.

Kristen Osada-Ayd is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of specialized experience in aseptic tissue processing and medical device manufacturing, currently serving as Associate Director of Quality Systems. She has a diverse background in quality, operations, engineering, operations training and compliance, and facilities management. At MTF Biologics, Kristen leads the development and continuous improvement of Quality Management Systems aligned with FDA, AATB, ISO, MDSAP, and other global regulatory standards.

Recognized as a subject matter expert in aseptic tissue processing, Kristen has driven significant advancements in operational compliance, training programs, and manufacturing excellence. She holds Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (C.T.B.S.) credentials from the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) and has successfully led initiatives that reduced deviation rates by over 50% through targeted process improvements and robust compliance strategies.

Kristen holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Leadership from Capella University and an Associate of Arts in Biology from Union County College. With a strong foundation in Lean Manufacturing and regulatory compliance, she combines technical expertise with strategic leadership to ensure product quality, patient safety, and operational efficiency.

Katie Hanzlicek is the Operations Manager at JRF Ortho where she supports supplier relationships, balances osteochondral allograft supply and demand, and manages the company quality systems. Katie began her career in tissue banking in 2012 as an Operations Technician at AlloSource and became CTSB certified in 2013. She gained hands-on experience in allograft tissue production, cleansing, and packaging, as well as product development, quality management, and technical writing. Katie co-authored two patents (currently pending) on rapid allograft treatment. She completed her Master of Business Administration degree with a specialization in Change Management in 2020 at the University of Colorado, aligning her passions in science and business.

Michelle Tomiuk is a Director for Shared Health Provincial Coordinated Health Services.  She is a certified Cytogenetic and Molecular Genetic Technologist, as has been with the same organization for 26 years. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Manitoba, and a Certificate from Red River College in Health Services Management. She is relatively new to Tissue Banking, with only 3 years experience with Tissue Bank Manitoba, however her extensive background in Diagnostic Laboratory Services and autopsy supervisory experience provides her with an excellent basis in which to develop her tissue banking skills. Michelle is currently an active member of the AATB Education Committee as well as the Webinar Committee. 

Emmitt A. Savannah, III serves as the Manager of Tissue Recovery and Research Training at LifeGift Organ Donation Center, where he provides leadership, supervision, development and implementation of training programs for LifeGift in all its Texas regions that reinforce accepted industry practices and comply with organizational operating procedures, AATB standards, and FDA regulations. Emmitt has worked in the donation industry for over 14 years, and is passionate about leading, training, educating and developing people and teams as well as developing the programs in which they work to achieve goals efficiently.

With an educational background in Health Information Management, Kathy began her career with the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA), where she quickly developed a passion for the mission and has never looked back. Her early work focused on various tissue quality audits before transitioning into leadership within the Clinical Support Center (CSC).  

After more than a decade of leadership experience, Kathy progressed from CSC Manager to Director of the Clinical Support Center, where she leads her team focused on referral management, family support, tissue donation opportunities, and operational excellence. She is passionate about developing people, improving processes, and using data and innovation to create meaningful improvements that ultimately support the mission of donation.

Kayla Fayard serves as Director of Performance Excellence at the LouisianaOrgan Procurement Agency (LOPA), where she leads the development andimplementation of the agency’s Performance Excellence system. She partners withcross-functional teams to evaluate complex processes, identify opportunities,and design sustainable improvements through Value Stream Analyses, RapidImprovement Events, A3 problem-solving, and daily management practices.

With a background in healthcare process improvement and project management,Kayla is passionate about building problem-solving capability acrossorganizations and helping teams translate strategy into meaningful operationalresults. Her work focuses on reducing waste and variation, improving quality,and creating more effective processes that ultimately support LOPA’s mission ofsaving and healing lives through organ and tissue donation.

Dr. Gregory Ray is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist with more than two decades of experience in tissue banking and donor eligibility. He has served as Medical Director for Evergen since 2022 and previously served as Medical Director for Artivion (formerly CryoLife) for 19 years. Prior to entering the tissue banking industry, Dr. Ray was Laboratory Medical Director and Staff Pathologist at four community hospitals in the Atlanta metropolitan area. He also serves as Laboratory Director for the Eurofins DPT Laboratory in Atlanta.

 Dr. Ray earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia and completed his residency training in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta. He has been actively involved with the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) for more than 20 years, serving on the Physicians Council, Board of Governors, Standards Committee, Accreditation Committee, and Credentialing Committee.

After earning a BS in microbiology from McNeese State University and finishing up 6 years as a special operations forward air controller in the Louisiana Air National Guard, Kip Hanks began employment with the FDA as a field investigator in 1997. After a few years as a generalist covering multiple FDA-regulated products, he became a district biologics specialist and then the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) biologics national expert. In this role, Kip was responsible for providing regulatory and guidance interpretation and application to ORA staff, training and mentoring new investigators, serving on policy and document workgroups and advising ORA senior leadership on biologics-related matters. In July 2021, he joined the American Association of Tissue Banks as its first director of regulatory and governmental affairs. In this role, Kip establishes and communicates the AATB official position regarding regulatory issues that may impact AATB member organizations to the FDA and other applicable governmental and standard-setting organizations. He provides expert interpretation, guidance, strategy and counsel on existing laws, regulations, standards, and guidance that impact AATB members.

La Dra. Astrid Malagón es una experta con más de una década de trayectoria en la Dirección técnica, implementación y certificación de Buenas Prácticas en bancos de tejidos, abarcando componentes oculares, piel, membrana amniótica, dermis acelular y tejido osteomuscular. Además la Dra. Astrid Malagón ha liderado proyectos de investigación, desarrollo e innovación en medicina regenerativa y terapias tisulares. Su perfil combina liderazgo técnico, experiencia regulatoria y una sólida contribución académica, que la ha llevado a ser consultora internacional en normativa y buenas prácticas para bancos de tejidos en Latinoamérica.

 Actualmente es la vicepresidenta de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Bancos de Tejidos ALABAT, La Dra. Astrid Malagón ha sido reconocida con el premio Make a difference otorgado por la WUTBA World Union of Tissue Banking Association. Cuenta además con una amplia experiencia en la industria farmacéutica, especializada en la implementación de Buenas Prácticas de manufactura y Sistemas de Gestión de Calidad.

La Dra. Astrid Malagón es Bacterióloga (Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca), Magíster en Ciencias y Microbiología (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) y cuenta con posgrados en Gerencia de la Calidad (Universidad Santo Tomas).

Kevin Wheeler is a Research Microbiologist at AlloSource.  He has over thirty years of experience in microbiology and microbial ecology.  He earned his undergraduate degree at DePauw University and a Master of Science at the University of Dayton.  Kevin worked in clinical and environmental laboratories before joining the tissue banking community.  Kevin has been at AlloSource for over 19 years working on environmental monitoring, clean room design, microbial detection strategies and the development of novel methodologies for improving tissue quality.  He has collaborated with numerous private and university institutions with multiple publications.  He is a Certified Tissue Bank Specialist from AATB and a NRCM Pharmaceutical and Medical Device specialist from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).  He is a member of the NIST Rapid Microbial Testing Methods consortium and volunteers time training high school teachers and students through the Colorado Biosciences Association (CBSA).  He is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hikes, kayaking and the cool stuff growing on rocks and rotting wood.