Dr. Collins serves as a forensic pathologist with Newberry Pathology Associates and is a Medical Director for SharingHope SC, the Organ and Tissue Donation Services for South Carolina. After receiving her BS in microbiology, magna cum laude Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Georgia, Athens, Dr. Collins earned her MD from the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta. Following medical school, Dr. Collins completed an anatomic and clinical pathology residency at Wake Forest University/Bowman Gray School of Medicine. After residency, she completed a forensic fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina where she remained on faculty as a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Director of Forensic and Autopsy Pathology, and Chief Medical Examiner. Dr. Collins is a Diplomat of the American Board of Pathology, board-certified in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, and forensic pathology. She is a member of the College of American Pathologists and past Chair of the Autopsy Committee. She is past President of the South Carolina Society of Pathologists, and past Chair for the Pathology/Biology Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She serves on the Board of Directors and is past-President for the National Association of Medical Examiners.

Emily L. Carter, CTBS, CEBT, is the Senior Account Manager for Donor Services at LeMaitre, Inc. Based in Salem, Massachusetts, she has steadily advanced her career in tissue recovery since 2015. Emily is an active member of the AATB community, contributing to the AATB RADE council and Education Committee, with a focus on providing diverse educational resources. Her current role spans the nation, where she oversees cardiovascular field training, tissue partner webinars, and serves as a vital link between tissue leaders and recovery teams. With a diverse medical background, Emily excels in communication with all stakeholders in the organ, eye and tissue donation industry.

Stefan Bernal is the Manager of National Recovery Network at LifeNet Health - he joined the team in 2018. Since his onboarding, his focus has been fostering healthy relationships with organizations and their front-line staff all throughout the United States. He has been an advocate for the highest standards and quality that LifeNet Health represents. Prior to LifeNet Health, Stefan worked at Nevada Donor Network, where he served as the Clinical Training and Development Coordinator. He is proudly from the Midwest, specifically a small town called Peru, Illinois. Stefan received his Certified Tissue Banking Specialist (CTBS) certification in 2016. He genuinely wants to change the world. Lastly, he likes long walks on the beach and gets frustrated writing his own bio.

Dr. Bruce Rosenfeld is currently the Medical Director for LifeNet Health.  He attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and received his MD from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA (Virginia Commonwealth University). Following two years of general surgery, he completed his urology training at SUNY Buffalo and is a diplomate of the American Board of Urology and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He enjoys teaching at all levels and has been an Assistant Professor of Urology at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine and Eastern Virginia Medical School. Most notably, Dr. Rosenfeld is a high school varsity basketball assistant coach where he enjoys teaching the game to young players emphasizing how basketball can prepare one for a future well beyond their time on the court.

Kimberly Monroe is the Business Development Manager for Tissue Services at South Texas Blood & Tissue, responsible for the strategic direction and growth of STBT’s Hospital Development program. Kimberly started her career in donation and transplantation in 2001 and has experience in donor screening, family consent and aftercare, hospital development, and community relations in the eye and tissue donation arena. She has served on the AATB Donor Family Services council since 2020.

Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Florida, a Graduate Certificate in instructional design from Rollins College, and an AATB Certified Tissue Banking Specialist designation.

Heather Hoog is the Donation Program Manager at the Lions Eye Institute for Transplant and Research in Tampa, Florida. She manages a team that serves as donation educators and liaisons between the Lions Eye Institute ocular and musculoskeletal recovery teams, administration, and the partner facilities. Heather and her team partner with four different Organ Procurement Organizations, over 200 medical centers, 25 medical examiner and coroner offices, and numerous hospice and funeral home directors in multiple states. During the merger of RTI Donor Services and Lions Eye Institute for Transplant and Research in 2018, Heather was instrumental in combining two large Florida-based non-profit tissue banks with a seamless continuum of service. Previously, Heather was a career firefighter paramedic, a team member on multiple international medical and malnutrition clinics, and got her start as a CTBS certified recovery technician for Southeast Tissue Alliance, Regenerative Biologics, and RTI Donor Services. Heather's valued leadership style focuses on flexible communication with an emphasis on self-awareness. Credibility and the cultivation of relationships are earned through trust and respect - remain open to new ideas, inquiry, and constructive criticism. She believes an organization that values self-awareness gains the most respect amongst the community.

With more than 25 years of experience in grief support, Susan has worked with children, adults, individuals, and families in a variety of settings to include 2 children’s hospitals, a grief support center, a hospice liaison, and currently as a tissue donor aftercare specialist.  Susan joined the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center’s tissue services team in 2015 as the Grief Support Programs/Services Manager. She is responsible for overseeing the Grief Support & Life Legacies Program/Services for tissue donor families. 

Susan has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and sociology from the University of California at Davis, and a Masters of Science in Child Development/Child Life from the University of La Verne in California.

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.

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. 

Irma Sison, MD, MBA, CTBS, is the Director of Tissue Quality Assurance at LifeNet Health. Prior to joining Quality Assurance, Irma was the Manager of Donor Center.  Irma brings over 14 years of experience in organ and tissue donation. She began her career as a Donor Center Coordinator at LifeNet Health in 2008.  She has also held the positions of Manager of Hospital Services and Manager of Donation Services at Nevada Donor Network, Inc. She is actively involved with the AATB Education Committee and the Recovery and Donor Eligibility Council.  Irma received her BS in Biochemistry from Old Dominion University, her MBA from Longwood University, and her MD from De La Salle University College of Medicine. In addition, Irma is also a LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt and leads various process improvements at her organization.

Diane Bickford has a master's degree in social work and has maintained her ASQ certification in Quality Management and Organizational Excellence since 2000. She received her Six Sigma Black Belt in 2010.  She has over 20 years of  quality management and operations experience in a variety of healthcare settings including adult MH/MR, skilled nursing facilities and children's psychiatric care. Diane received her training in Professional Coaching from Duquesne University and is certified through the International Coaches Federation.

Diane's leadership experience has been in both for and non-profit organizations. At the Center for Organ Recovery and Education, Diane oversees regulatory affairs, human resources/organizational development and all process improvement functions. Diane has developed and implemented quality management and process improvement programs throughout organizations. She has designed and presented numerous training courses to include: advanced level leadership training, communication skills, time management, team building, supervision, quality management and process improvement. Diane also functions as an internal professional coach. Diane is actively involved in several quality initiatives in the OPO community and is currently serving as member of the UNOS Operations & Safety Committee.

Michael leads the organization that provides pharmaceutical consulting service solutions to our clients including GMP and Quality Management services, validation services, business transformations, risk analysis, resource management, quality compliance audits. Michael has nineteen years of Quality Management experience within pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing to support company and client leadership including development, implementation and management of core Quality Management Systems (QMS).

Prior to joining IQVIA, Michael was a Sr. Consultant at Sequence Inc. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan University and an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Cuyahoga Community College.

Jessica Pelletier, known to her colleagues and family as Jess, is a Tissue Operations Team Leader at New England Donor Services where she began her work in the tissue donation field in 2018. Starting off as a Tissue Donation Coordinator, Jess dedicated much of her time to training and peer mentorship, becoming a member of the preceptor team and a subject matter expert in both tissue screening and the conduction of the DRAI. She has been a member of many project teams within NEDS, including the Tissue Screening Tool Redesign project which successfully incorporated an algorithmic screening method into the design of the Tissue Screening Worksheet. Before joining at NEDS, Jess worked at a medical second opinion company and also in the funeral industry. When she is not furthering the mission of tissue donation, Jess can be found spending time outdoors with her husband, two young children and beloved cats.

Caitlin Riordan, CTBS is a Team Lead in the Tissue Operations Department at New England Donor Services. She started at NEDS, then Lifechoice Donor Services, in 2013. Caitlin has a degree in Chemistry and Biology. Prior to Donation, she spent six years working in the Hospital Setting as a CNA and ED Tech. Throughout her career as a Donation Professional, Caitlin has spearheaded many Donation Development projects and initiatives in the Police, Fire, EMS, and Hospital Communities. She is currently a part of many improvement initiatives at NEDS and serves as a member of the AATB Donor Family Services Council.

Deborah has been with LifeNet Health since 2011 beginning her career as a Family Support Coordinator, working with families in the hospital at the time of their loved one’s death. She approached families for donation, provided education on donation, completed all necessary paperwork, and supported the family until their loved one went for procurement. In 2014 Deborah became the Manager for Donor Family Services and was promoted to Director of Donor Family Services in 2015. Prior to coming to LifeNet Health, Deborah served as Director of Children’s Ministries Family Ministries at two local churches and led a team of consultants in direct sales as an Advanced Director. Prior to that, she was an elementary guidance counselor with Norfolk Public Schools implementing the guidance program, writing curriculum, and securing grants to provide additional services to students within the school.

Deborah earned her Master of Science in Education from Old Dominion University and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Radford University. She is an active member of the AATB Donor Family Services Council and the AOPO Donor Family Services Council. 

Sinead serves as the Manager of Donor Eligibility and Logistics at BioTissue since 2021 in Miami, Florida. She oversees all donor eligibility and tissue suitability aspects, tissue procurement policies, training, and management of critical supplies for acquisition. She reviews and evaluates performance metrics of tissue acquisition partners and is a seasoned AOC responsible for screening potential birth mother donors.

This New Jersey native is passionate about stewarding the gift of life and providing education about birth tissue donation. A Surgical tech by trade, Sinead is a Certified Tissue Bank Specialist and has been in tissue banking since 2013. She has a mixed bag of experience in both living and deceased donation.