I am a first-generationCuban American born and raised in Florida.  After earning my bachelor’sdegree in chemistry from the University of South Florida (Go Bulls!), I spent 7years in a pharmaceutical Microbiology QC lab and 3 years in New Product Developmentat a medical device manufacturer. As soon as I interviewed at LifeLink TissueBank, I knew the tissue arena was where I wanted to build my foreverhome.  That was 19 years ago and I’ve loved every minute of supporting thewonderful mission of tissue donation.

 In my current role, I am theDirector of Quality Control and I also oversee our Supplier Quality Managementprogram. I am CTBS certified and an ASQ Certified Manager of Quality andOrganizational Excellence (CMQ/OE).  In my spare time, I exercise thecreative part of my personality with more crafts than any single person shouldever try to master, spending time with my family and friends, and visiting theDisney parks as often as I can.  (I love Disney so much that I married aman named Mickey.)

Kai Sprando, MA TESOL, is the Instructional Designer at Infinite Legacy. In addition to 16 years of teaching experience for both language studies and Kenpo Karate, he also has a BA in Asian Studies, a certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Instructional Design from UMBC, a certificate in DEI from Cornell, and has spent time studying at Takushoku University in Tokyo, Japan.

He is a passionate advocate for Trans Rights and Invisible Disabilities, and seeks to make space for voices at the table that might otherwise not get an opportunity. He seeks to educate around intersectionality and provide meaningful context around what it means to be included.

 When not teaching, he can be found playing video games, practicing belly dance with his dance troop, drawing, running his small crafting business, and spending time with his chosen family.

Michael Reeney is a Massachusetts Certified and Nationally Registered Paramedic with over 34 years of experience in pre-hospital emergency care and critical care transport medicine. For the past 17 years, Michael has served as a Tissue Donation Coordinator, working closely with clinicians to screen potential donors and guiding families through the opportunity of tissue donation.

In the last four years, he has played a key role in expanding donor potential by collaborating with the State of Maine EMS system to develop referrals for scene deaths — an effort that has strengthened the connection between emergency medical services and donation programs.

Most recently, Michael was promoted to Tissue Development Lead, where he continues to drive innovation, education, and growth in the field of tissue donation.

Kelli James is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Southwest Transplant Alliance, where she leads the team responsible for PR, media, branding, and messaging. She plays a key role in educating Texans about the importance of organ and tissue donation and inspiring them to join the donor registry. In addition, Kelli oversees the Donor Family Support team, helping families navigate resources and programs after the loss of a loved one. With over a decade in the donation community, including roles at Nevada Donor Network and Donate Life Nevada, she brings deep experience and a strong public health background to her work. Kelli holds a Bachelor of Science in Community Health with a focus on Human Biology from Western Oregon University and is passionate about the lifesaving mission of donation.

Katie Sauce is the Director of Community Engagement and Foundation Relations at Southwest Transplant Alliance. She leads fundraising initiatives and community engagement programs, building relationships with partners across STA’s service area to amplify the organization’s mission. Katie also directs STA Foundation efforts, supporting innovation and donor programs, while developing strategies to create a sustainable funding pipeline and educate the community. With over a decade of experience in Texas non-profits and government, she brings expertise in strategic planning, donor stewardship, event management, and public policy. Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government with a business certification from the University of Texas at Austin.

Matthew Niles grew up in Pennsylvania. He went to The Center for Executive Education at the Fox School of Business at Temple University; the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; and Mansfield University of Pennsylvania.

As a former emergency room and critical care nurse, Niles has had the opportunity to care for donors and their families at the bedside. Inspired by the power of organ, tissue, and eye donation, he’s chosen to make it his life’s work. As a donor family, transplant recipient friend, and friend of someone whose gift of an organ transplant did not come in time, Niles is passionate about the Donate Life mission and doing all we can to honor donors and their families, and work to eliminate the national transplant waitlist.

Under Network for Hope’s legacy organization, LifeCenter Organ Donor Network, Niles was the Chief Operating Officer, and previous to that, he was the Director of Clinical Services at the Washington Regional Transplant Community. Overall, Niles has been in healthcare for 25 years.

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.

Haydee Barno is the Director of Education at the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), where she oversees the management and execution of educational programs, including the AATB Annual Meting and Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (CTBS) program. Prior to joining AATB, Haydee served as the Director of Education at the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, a professional society dedicated to advancing clinical pharmacology and providing educational initiatives for members, the broader clinical pharmacology community, and the public. In that role, she directed the planning and delivery of the society’s continuing medical and pharmacy education programs.

With over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Haydee has held a variety of leadership positions in continuing education and certification programs. She holds a law degree from Universidad Americana of Managua (UAM) and an MBA from Strayer University in Washington, DC, and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Chas MacKenzie is a member of the Tissue Donation Services (TDS) leadership team at New England Donor Services. Chas supervises the Hospital Development Strategist (TDS) team maintaining collaborative relationships with 105 smaller service area hospitals. Chas also supervises the funeral home & medical examiner manager for all New England states. Chas is responsible for planning, development, implementation and evaluation of strategic donation development activities in support of the vision, goals and objectives of New England Donor Services for maximizing organ and tissue donation.  Chas began his work in organ and tissue donation at Hartford Organ Procurement Organization as an organ and tissue recovery specialist in 1992.

Lauralee Brown has dedicated more than 30 years to the field of donation and transplantation, including the past 24 years specializing in tissue donation. She began her career as a critical care nurse caring for heart and lung transplant recipients, later serving over a decade in leadership and consulting roles at organ procurement organizations.

Currently, Lauralee is Sr. Director of Corporate Communications at MTF Biologics. She serves on the AATB Donor Family Council (since 2019) and the Donate Life America Advisory Council, and in 2022 received Donate Life America’s Quiet Giant Award for her exceptional contributions to increasing organ, eye, and tissue donation through service and commitment.

Lauralee holds a Master of Science in Health Administration from the University of Kansas and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. As a grateful tissue recipient, she is passionate about ensuring the highest level of care and support for donor families, using her own story to give voice to the many untold stories of lives saved and healed through tissue transplantation.

Juan Pablo holds a PhD in Biomedicine and Tissue Engineering and an MSc inBiomedical Engineering from the University of Barcelona, along with a BSc inBiomedical Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey. He is a Level I member ofMexico’s National System of Researchers (SNI-I) and a current member of the Scientificand Technical Affairs Committee (STAC) of the AmericanAssociation of Tissue Banks (AATB).

He brings over 15 years of international experience in translationalresearch, biomedical innovation, and regulatory science. He has led thedevelopment and scale-up of collagen-based medical devices, includingdecellularized tissues, heart valves, dermis, and peripheral nerves, securingregulatory approvals and national patents. His expertise spans the full productlifecycle under GMP and ISO 13485 standards, with a strong focus onquality-by-design and risk-based methodologies.

Currently, he leads the scientific pipeline at ITC(Instituto de Terapia Celular), driving the development of AdvancedTherapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) based on mesenchymal stromalcells (MSCs), extracellular vesicles (EVs), and biofunctional scaffolds. Inparallel, he serves as National Academic Director of BiomedicalEngineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey, fosteringinnovation-driven education and strategic collaboration between academia,industry, and clinical stakeholders.

Dr. Joaquim Vives is a biochemist with a PhD in Biochemistry and over two decades of experience in biotechnology and advanced therapy development. He leads the Research Group for ATMP Development at Banc de Sang i Teixits (Barcelona), where his work focuses on clinical-grade cell production, 3D tissue constructs, in vivo regeneration models, and biomarker validation.

Dr. Vives has authored 70+ peer-reviewed publications (h-index 27) and is the inventor of 3 patents. He has supervised 8 PhD graduates, with 4 more in progress, and actively lectures at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where he co-coordinates a joint Master’s program with Leiden University Medical Centre.

He is the coordinator of the COST Action BTCs4ATMP network, aimed at standardizing SoHO processing for ATMP production, and a leader in EU-funded education projects such as ASIA-TRANSMED Erasmus+. A recognized voice in the field, Dr. Vives is a TEDx speaker, former treasurer of ISCT’s European Committee, and editorial board member for Cytotherapy. He also coordinates ESACT’s annual training course on cell and gene therapy manufacturing.

Katy Krogstad brings a wealth of critical care expertise and a passion for advancing organ donation programs. She began her career in a medical-surgical trauma unit and progressed to the cardiovascular and trauma intensive care unit at a Level 1 trauma center in Phoenix. Katy later joined Donor Network of Arizona as an Organ Recovery Coordinator and now serves as a Clinical In-House Coordinator at a major acute-care and behavioral health hospital in Glendale, where she has played a key role in building and enhancing their organ and tissue donation program. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in Strategic Systems Leadership, both from Northern Arizona University, equipping her with the clinical insight and strategic expertise to drive meaningful improvements in patient care and organizational outcomes.

Patrick has served in various roles throughout his nursing career including ICU RN, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Quality Department Director, Clinical Standardization Administrator and VP of Nursing.  Currently Patrick serves as a Director of Quality at Thunderbird Medical Center.

Dannielle is originally from Northern California and moved to the Phoenix metro area in late 2019 when she began her career with Donor Network of Arizona. Dannielle has a Master of Public Health degree from Capella University and a B.A. in English from California State University, Chico. Dannielle is the grateful recipient of a living donor kidney transplant since 2006 and has a passion for the gifts of organ and tissue donation. Prior to joining DNA, Dannielle's healthcare background includes working for a regional blood center coordinating blood drives to meet hospital blood supply needs, and she was a leader at a Federally Qualified Community Health Center (FQHC) providing medical services to underserved populations in Shasta County. At DNA, Dannielle began her career in Tissue Donor Optimization and became inspired by speaking with donor families about the gifts their loved one can share with others. Dannielle transitioned over to DNA's Hospital Engagement and Strategy (HE&S) team to become more involved with organ donation and have front line experience while supporting hospital donation programs. Dannielle's time in HE&S provided additional growth opportunities, and now she is back in Tissue Donor Optimization as a Supervisor. 

Alysa Swiersk currently serves as an In-House Coordinator with Donor Network of Arizona at a major acute-care and behavioral health hospital in Glendale, Arizona. In partnership with her clinical colleague Katy, she supports and enhances the hospital's organ and tissue donation programs. WIth a background in Public Health from Northern Arizona University and extensive experience in healthcare administration and program management, Alysa brings a strong foundation of skills and expertise to promote best practices and advance donation initiatives.