Our Board of Directors manages the property, business and affairs of Gift of Hope. Members include hospital administrators, physicians, transplant surgeons, transplant recipients and donor family members. They are responsible for establishing and reviewing our policies, maintaining quality organ and tissue procurement systems and providing for organizational management and planning.
James B. Riley Jr. is a Partner with the law firm of McGuireWoods in Chicago. His practice encompasses general corporate and healthcare law, including transactions, regulation and policy, compliance, private equity and finance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.
Mr. Riley also counsels health care providers and companies on regulatory issues such as third-party reimbursement proceedings, fraud and abuse counseling, medical staff issues, corporate restructuring, managed care structuring issues, alternative delivery systems, and matters related to the Medicare ESRD (end-stage renal disease) program. His clients include hospitals and heath systems, ambulatory care providers, multispecialty and single-specialty medical practices, pharmaceutical companies and medical supply companies.
A recognized expert in his field, Mr. Riley has authored numerous articles and serves as legal editor for several national health care magazines, including Nephrology News and Issues. He has also spoken at programs sponsored by the America Health Lawyers Association, the Health Care Financial Management Association, the Renal Physicians Association, and various state and regional associations. Mr. Riley has been named to The Best Lawyers in America and “Illinois Super Lawyers” by Thomson Reuters.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his JD degree from The George Washington University Law School. He also holds a CPA certificate from the State of Illinois.
Harry Wilkins, MD is President/CEO of Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network. In that role, he provides overall leadership for the organization, guides its strategic direction and ensures that the organization stays true to its mission — to save and enhance the lives of as many people as possible through organ and tissue donation. Before joining Gift of Hope in October 2020, Dr. Wilkins served as Attending Acute Care Surgeon for Quincy Medical Group. Dr. Wilkins holds a Doctor of Medicine from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and a Master’s in Healthcare Management from Harvard.
Before joining Gift of Hope in 1987, then known as the Regional Organ Bank of Illinois, Mr. Anderson was executive director of administration at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association in Chicago. He has held officer and board positions with numerous local and national organizations in the donation and transplant field — including positions as president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations and officer and board member of the United Network for Organ Sharing. Mr. Anderson is also a founding board member and past chairperson of AlloSource, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit providers of bone and soft tissue allografts; a board member of the Illinois Transplant Society; and a member of the American Association of Tissue Banks.
He holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago and completed additional graduate training at the University of Michigan.
Juan Carlos Caicedo, MD, is a solid organ transplant surgeon and the director of the Hispanic Transplant Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He also is an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Organ Transplantation at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
A graduate of the National University of Colombia (Universidad Nacional de Colombia) in Bogota, Colombia. Dr. Caicedo completed a three-year clinical fellowship in transplant surgery, including pediatric and adult kidney, pancreas, liver and small bowel transplantation, as well as hepatobiliary surgery. He also has studied laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and vascular access for adults.
Dr. Caicedo developed the Hispanic Kidney and Liver Clinic to focus on providing patient and professional education regarding Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s solid organ transplant needs of the Spanish-speaking community.
He is an active member of the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Transplant Surgeons and International Pediatric Transplant Association, and he is a founding member of the Colombian Transplant Society, Colombia Surgical Society, as well as the Bogota Transplant Network.
Lori Linton Chana is the owner of Money Mailer of Eastern DuPage County. Her business provides direct-marketing services for local, regional and national companies. As owner, Ms.Chana manages all aspects of her business and has special expertise in developing and designing marketing plans and project management. She previously served as area director for Norrell Corporation in Los Angeles.
Ms. Chana earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Diego State University and studied international business at Richmond College Extension in Kensington, England.
A tireless philanthropist and community volunteer, Ms. Chana has served as a Gift of Hope Advocates for Hope volunteer in honor of her son, Cameron, who died in 2009. The donation of Cameron’s organs provided great comfort to Ms. Chana and her family. Cameron’s heart, lungs, liver and kidneys saved the lives of five people, and his tissue gifts have enhanced the lives of 54 other people. Ms. Chana lovingly shares her son’s story on behalf of Gift of Hope and educates the public about registering to become an organ and tissue donor.
Ms. Chana has also volunteered with the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago, AYSO Region 210 Soccer and School Districts 181 and 86.
Julie Lynn Fitzgerald, MD, FAAP the Division Director of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and the Vice Chairman of Pediatrics for Administration at the Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, IL. She is also Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Loyola Stritch School of Medicine.
Dr. Fitzgerald graduated from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine. She then completed a Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency and a Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship at the University of Chicago Hospitals. She is board certified in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Additionally, she is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
As a pediatric critical care specialist, Dr. Fitzgerald provides care to critically ill and injured infants and children. Her practice encompasses both medical and surgical subspecialty care. Dr. Fitzgerald has developed a Pediatric Moderate and Deep Sedation Service, providing sedation and pain management for children undergoing radiologic imaging studies or invasive procedures outside of the operating room setting.
As a member of the Gift of Hope Critical Care Advisory Group, Dr. Fitzgerald is committed to educating medical care teams about pediatric organ donation, pediatric death by neurologic criteria, and pediatric donation after circulatory death. She is focused on improving the relationship and communication between critical care units and organ procurement organizations, working towards improving the donation process for families, medical care teams, and organ donation teams.
Marc Garfinkel, MD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. He is fellowship trained in liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation from the University of California at San Diego. His practice includes general surgery and he has a special interest in kidney, liver and pancreas transplantation and dialysis access. He will be the first in the area to offer laparoscopic donor nephrectomies.
Before joining SIU, Dr. Garfinkel was director of the Islet Transplant Program and Islet Isolation at University of Chicago Medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery. His professional affiliations include the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, American Diabetes Association, and Association for Academic Surgery.
Dr. Garfinkel earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed a research fellowship with his mentor, Emmanuel C. Opara, PhD, at Duke University. He served his surgery residency training at the University of California at San Diego.
Dr. Garfinkel has published numerous articles and book chapters and has multiple research interests including islet replacement therapy for Type 1 diabetes and maximizing donor organ utilization. He has held multiple positions on boards affiliated with his surgical interests.
Anne Gulotta is Senior Vice President of Trading at Northern Trust Securities Inc. in Chicago, where she has worked since 1991. In her position, she is instrumental in trading institutional and retail fixed income with special expertise in mortgage and related asset-backed securities, as well as transition management liquidation. She’s also involved in the marketing of Northern Trust Securities products and has appeared on financial radio and TV programs to discuss market trading activity.
Ms. Gulotta is passionate about organ and tissue donation and takes personal time away from her career and family to serve as a volunteer speaker and advocate on the subject. Since 2002, when her husband, Jay, passed away and became an organ and tissue donor, she has spoken to thousands of people of all ages about the importance of organ donation and how it has changed her life.
An active volunteer for Gift of Hope since 2003, Ms. Gulotta has remained committed to sharing her story with the hope of creating even greater awareness. She has been featured in several publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, the Mason County Democrat, the Daily Herald, Barrington Quintessential Magazine, the Barrington Courier and the Peoria Journal-Star. She also collaborated with WLS radio on a special presentation that highlighted her story as part of a larger feature on organ donation.
Ms. Gulotta’s other professional affiliations include serving as a board member for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and co-chair of its High School Outreach Committee. She also serves as a board member of Barrington, Ill.-based H.E.R.E., an organization committed to preventing teen suicide. She is a regular contributor on the topic of teen suicide prevention for Living 60010 and is active in the Military Appreciation and Assistance Resource Council of Northern Trust Company in Chicago.
Ms. Gulotta regularly teams with other Gift of Hope volunteers to speak at engagements and programs throughout the year. And in recognition of her outstanding achievement in initiating and developing programs that persuade people to become organ and tissue donors, Gift of Hope awarded Ms. Gulotta the Echo of Life Award in 2005. She represented Gift of Hope in the 2010 Rose Bowl Parade, riding on the Donate Life float. Ms. Gulotta has been a member of the Gift of Hope Board of Directors since 2009 and a member of the Gift of Hope Finance & Administration Committee since 2014. Previously, Ms. Gulotta was a member of the Gift of Hope Quality Committee.
Beverley Ketel, MD, FACS, is a general surgeon at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill., one of the largest Catholic hospitals in the United States with 731 beds. In addition, she is a transplant and general surgeon with RenalCare Associates, S.C., in Peoria.
Dr. Ketel’s previous positions include associate professor and chief of transplant surgery at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, and University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria. She is a past board chairman of the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency, a past medical director of the Central Illinois Organ Donation Program, and a past board member of the End Stage Renal Disease Network. A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Ketel is a member of the Illinois Transplant Society, the United Network for Organ Sharing and the Association of Women Surgeons.
She completed fellowships at the University of Chicago and Ohio State University, and completed her residency and holds a medical degree from the University of Chicago.
Jeffrey Schwartz, MD, FACS, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. He also serves as Surgical Director of Heart Transplant and Mechanical Assist Devices and Surgical Director of Lung Transplant.
Dr. Schwartz completed his general surgery residency at University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago and his cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles. He holds board certifications in general surgery and thoracic surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians. He earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Dr. Schwartz specializes in heart transplant, lung transplant, aortic valve surgery, mechanical circulatory support, heart surgery, familial aortic disease, aortic aneurysms, adult cardiac surgery, mechanical cardiac assist and Marfan syndrome.
He holds memberships in the American Medical Association, Illinois State Medical Society and Society of Thoracic Surgeons. A noted researcher, Dr. Schwartz has published on left ventricular assist devices, aortic aneurysms and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.
In December 1994, Deborah Sims was elected to serve as Commissioner of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. As Commissioner of the Fifth District of Cook County, she is responsible for preparing budgets for elected officials, coordinating employment, ensuring health care and safety, as well as providing resources options for financially challenged constituents; she works diligently to provide services for those who need them the most. She is determined to serve all of her constituents by participating in various programs and events including hosting and participating in Ministerial meeting to engage the faith community, family–oriented events.
Commissioner Deborah Sims provides astute leadership while currently serves as the President Pro Tempore, Vice Chairperson for the Finance Committee, President of the Illinois Counties Association (ICA), Chairperson for the Transportation and Highway Committee, Chairperson of the Tax Delinquency Subcommittee and Vice Chairperson of the Capital Development Committee of the Forest Preserve District.
Because of her dedicated and focused service to the community, Commissioner Sims has received an Honorary Associate of Arts degree from South Suburban College and has served as past President of the National Association of Black County Officials (NABCO), member of the National Association of Counties Deferred Contribution and Retirement Advisory Committee (DCR). She also served as a former member of the City of Chicago NeighborSpace Board. As a Commissioner, her mission is to ensure that all residents have a clear understanding of how their tax dollars are spent and how County government works.
Since 1986, Mr. Wright has been a partner with such firms as McGladrey, BDO Seidman and Coopers & Lybrand, serving in accounting and audit leadership roles. He retired from McGladrey in 2014 with more than 45 years of overall advisory experience; his expertise has been mainly in the health care industry. Mr. Wright is a recognized authority in his field and has been called on to provide expert testimony in six major litigations covering multi-state jurisdictional law since 2000.
Over the years, Mr. Wright has provided services to hospitals, clinics and other small health care providers across the country. He’s also served manufacturers, distributors and privately owned businesses throughout the Midwest. A leading expert in the field of health care auditing and accounting, Mr. Wright coauthored the AICPA Accounting and Auditing Guide for Health Care Organizations for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He also served on the AICPA’s Health Care Expert Panel for more than seven years to set national health care accounting standards.
Mr. Wright holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.