Amanda Beck | Supervisor Rocovery Services

• Remarkable performance in generating innovative ideas for CI huddle board.
• Submitted yellow belt project to two difference national conferences, and it was accepted by both.

Wen Dai | Research Scientist II

2023, in addition to being first author of two publications in prestigious journals (Science and Journal of Thrombosis and Hemostasis) and second author in a publication in Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Dr. Dai showed leadership to his team and within the larger VBRI.

Marisela Marchan

• Asked to present about Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (NAIT) at AABB this year.
• Nominated and inducted into the Invitational Conference of Investigative Immunohematologists (ICII).
• Asked to present about Blood Banking in Spanish at the International SCABB (South Central Association of Blood Banks) conference.

Megan McShea | Manager Regulatory

• Took on an interim role in 2023, in addition to her role.
• Effectively unified the team, fostered organization and efficiency.
• Deveoloped a reputation of working collaboratively across Versiti always executing with excellence.

Ashley Minor | Regional Manager Donor Services

• Remarkable leadership skills by effectively managing the largest team comprising 10 territories.
• Led her team collecting 109.77% of the regional goal.
• Leads by example, fosters open communication, and consistently demonstrates a strong work ethic and integrity.

Liz Parker | IBC Donor Services Training

• Developed and delivered an ADRP webinar on implementing a Spanish Language Program and a Master Class on implementing change through training.
• Earned her Green Belt and her project received the award for the highest cost savings of any project in 2023.

David Salentine | Operational Excellence Analyst

• Always putting quality first, working tirelessly to drive performance and inspire urgency in others.
• Pivots as needed to get things done, removing barriers for himself and others.

Zachry Vavra | Manager Quality Assurance

• Led a cross functional Focus Team in Blood Services.
• Mentored the team and taught them how to properly assess risk and perform root cause analysis.
• Continuous Improvement Ambassador and worked tirelessly to mentor those obtaining yellow and green belts.

Shantia Cocroft | Supervisor Donor Services

• In 2022 was promoted to Donor Services Supervisor after 16 years as a phlebotomist and Team Leader
• Her elevation of standards and expectation for staff performance resulted in improvements across the board
• She took every opportunity to increase collections by borrowing unused equipment for other locations and adding appointment slots when possible

Alex Fike | Supervisor Tissue Recovery

• Earned a yellow belt and is coaching several YB teams
• His co-workers have seen all the work he has put in, especially adapting to different communication styles, which has resulted in an increase in trust and respect

Andrea Gill | Supervisor Donor Care Operations

• Completed Yellow belt for mentorship in Contact center and accepted for Green Belt focused on Versiti's customer service platform, Donorcare
• An authentic, driven, dependable and fun person who gets the job done and is growing her knowledge daily

Jennifer Nelson | Director Transportation

• Managed the Ohio operations for 5 months without a director of donor services for AVP while leading her team to win the first Beacon Battle with 97.6% employee participation rate and a total of 1,630 units collected.
• She was influential in starting the OSU Medical Student Honors Program partnership where she successfully retained all student works that applied.

Renee Pittman | Manager Blood Production

• OH 2022 PLT Exp. Rate average 0.2% and contributed to the Versiti 2022 PLT Exp. Rate average 4.0%
• Member of the Ohio Leadership Advisory Board, Community Advisory Board, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and SWAG Committee.

Mia Sullivan | Principle Scientist Hematology

• Despite being an independent coordinator, is recognized as a strong leader in DL, and is often sought after by co-workers, peers and Versiti leadership for her assistance and advice.
• Major contributions to improving how we report genetics results as part of our Hematology Genetics Team.

Jessica Hirt | Supervisor Donor Services

Jessica leads a team of more than 60 phlebotomists who support mobile blood drives. An active participant in staff engagement activities, Jessica believes that teamwork makes the dream work. “A successful team beats with one heart,” she says. “I have created special bonds with donors and their families, which reminds me why our mission is so important.”

Dana Knight | Director, Quality Assurance

Dana has taken the lead on multiple high-profile projects across Versiti, which have allowed her the opportunity to learn more about the organization, develop key relationships and ensure Versiti’s success. “The Versiti mission of enhancing lives is what drives me to show up as my best self on good days and bad,” Dana says. “Knowing that I help to save lives through my role is truly motivating.”

Allyson Malczewski | Supervisor Specialized Production

As a production supervisor, Allyson oversees a team responsible for quality control of blood products and platelet production—an essential step in providing safe blood products to local patients. “Versiti allows me to utilize my expertise to support organizational initiatives and provide lifesaving products for our patients,” she says.

Jaclyn McKay | Manager Transfusion Services

Prior to transitioning to her new role as a technical and innovation analyst, Jaclyn led the transfusion services team located inside Children’s Wisconsin, which provides testing services and compatible blood products to hospital patients. “I appreciate working for Versiti, an organization that first and foremost promotes patient care through science, medicine and service, while simultaneously valuing my contributions,” she says. “I know that I will grow at Versiti and aspire to help Versiti achieve our mission.”

Neal Mehta | Senior Director Finance

• Significant contributions to planning activities like forecasting, the "buy-up" process, budgeting and development of the 3-year plan financials.
• Provided clear insights and good business cases, especially around Blood Operations.

Karen Smith | Manager Production Distribution

Karen leads a team that facilitates training and worked with multiple departments across Versiti to get the blood establishment computer system (BECS) up and running. “I’ve been with Versiti for 15 years and have grown up in our organization,” Karen says. “I have always had a strong desire to help people, and this organization allows me to save lives every day, which is humbling and rewarding.”

Kevin Stevenson | Supervisor Donor Services

Kevin’s strong work ethic and drive to make results happen help him oversee staff, collections and operations at mobile blood drives. “I came to Versiti because of its vital mission,” he says. “Being part of a team that provides lifesaving blood products to patients in need is what drives me. To work in a profession that enables you to impact the communities we serve and the lives of those in need is an important role we should all embrace.”

Latoya White | Contact Center Operations

Latoya is passionate about cultivating a strong team and established a mentoring program to help others succeed. Over the last two years—in the middle of a global pandemic—her team helped Illinois exceed its blood collections goals, ensuring patients had the lifesaving blood they needed. “Knowing that the work my team and I do today will help save someone in need tomorrow is rewarding,” she says.

Nick Brown | Supervisor Donor Services

• Implemented the Elite Extra application
• Cross functional collaboration, and high performing
• Improved service to customers and lowering costs

Liz Collver | Supervisor Donor Services

• Rising Star Award for rookie of the year in 2019
• Downtown territory coming in over 1000 units, being #1 in Michigan and ranking #3 across Versiti
• Ownership of New Rep Connect Mento Program leading

Lori Eggert | Supervisor Donor Services

• Coordinated all (COVID) Convalescent Plasma donations in Wisconsin
• Outstanding leader in Special Patient Services and MSI Quality
• Led efforts in standardizing policies and procedures for coordination of HLA/HPA matched platelets

Bailey Heiting | Supervisor Donor Services

• Led the new Family Services Department (FSD)
• Grew our Donor Aftercare Program
• Successfully complete AOPO and UNOS audit

Lisa Kendall | Supervisor Donor Services

• Exceeded platelet collection goal, collecting 22,110 platelet products
• Exceeded budget by 976 unites, our platelet porgram grew 6% from 2019
• Helped ROMO platelet collections established in Ohio

Nichole Miller | Supervisor Donor Services

• Launch of Pathogen Reduced Platelets for Versiti
• Launch 7 Day LVDS platelets for Versiti
• Led Versiti Enhanced Safety of Platelets Project form all aspects (customers, production and inventory managememt).

Joanna McCoy | Supervisor Donor Services

• "Top 5 Contributor" spot on the IL AVP list
• Improved/standardized the close process across our affiliate states
• Results driven

Sean Overton | Supervisor Donor Services

• LB coach, and was the 4DX coach of the year
• Involved in some close process work, helping shorten the close process.
• Membership on D&I including extending that into Finance team (cultivating community).

Monaal Barakat | Manager Histocompatibility

• Natural ability to bring people together.
• Cross functional collaboration.
• Significant increased responsibility, since becoming a member of the laboratory's on-call management staff.

Heidi Seitz | Regional Donor Manager Supervisor

• Achieved 112% to goal with 60% Drives in Range.
• Bookings over 120% to ensure overachievment.
• 2019 Donor Recruitment Manager of the Year!

Kelli Sopzynski | Director Blood Operations

• Awarded a grant to fund new beds for Bay City Michigan.
• Championed service initiatives.
• Leads the Staff Advisory Council.

Irina Vasilev | Senior Analyst Finance

• Key player in financial support for the biomaterials implementation team.
• Bookings over 120% to ensure overachievment.
• PBCS Reporting Development Team.
• Results driven.

Kelli Rai Smith | Director Training and Customer Experience

• Key player in Versiti Way of Service
• Implemented the One Versiti Volunteer Team, delivering over 42 classes to more than 551 learners within seven months.

Landon Smith | Senior Manager Callibration

• Member of Employee Engagement Committee
• Developing a "green initiative".
• Developed an equipment racking database in Title21.

Nichole Muenchow | Manager Clinical Trials Projects

• Drove improvements in the Clinical Trial Client onboarding.
• Realized synergies working with Cenetron.
• Enabled DL to execute testing in the highest degree of quality.

Joe Bailey | Manager Pharmacy and Drug Distribution

• Contributed to record pharmacy revenue, exceeding the max = $28.9 million in 2018 with 16% growth over 2017.
• Places great emphasis on quality and patient/customer satisfaction with the services we provide.

Bryan Chappell | Manager LIS

• Allied superior technical expertise, project management and leadership skills to complete strategically important projects for DL
• Impact extended well beyond Versiti DL as he worked tirelessly to complete tasks for the Oracle ERP implementation.

Leanne Deptula | Director Diagnostic Laboratories Operational Excellence

• Employee of BCW/Versiti for over 12 years serving in many different roles.
• Consistently high performance and unique perspective.

Bob Diol | Manager Enterprise Systems

• Key person in the success of the ERP project.
• Adjusted his schedule to work in the middle of the night to sync up real time with off-shore team, and personally taught and debugged the work of the vendor resources working in India.

Nicole Helzer | Manager Supply Chain Analytics Systems & CI

• Instrumental in ERP rollout.
• Automated a previous manual data collection process of vehicle costs, uptime and bus collections through her excellent interpersonal and analytical skills.

Nicole Matthiesen | Manager Content Strategy

• Incredibly successful brand launch at the annual AABB conference.
• Provided a robust comprehensive marketing plan to our B2B clients and has strengthened the team's skills and best practices in tradeshow.

Jessica Droulliard | VP and Chief Quality Officer

• Demonstrated strong leadership in first year.
• Transformed the culture, attitude and impact of the Versiti Illinois IRL laboratory.
• Helped reinvigorate the staff, worked through difficult staffing issues.

Molly Duffy | Principal Fin Analyst/Treasury

• Demonstrated strong leadership in first year.
• Transformed the culture, attitude and impact of the Versiti Illinois IRL laboratory.
• Helped reinvigorate the staff, worked through difficult staffing issues.

Mike Schanen | Senior Director Lab Operations

• Led the implementation of the Pk/Ro screening project that has been a tremendous success.
• Believes in the work we do at Versiti and he is extremely passionate about making sure we are doing everything possible to serve our patients.