The Alliance Presents Sixth Annual Leadership Awards to Six Outstanding Honorees

Today, The Alliance team proudly announced the recipients of its sixth annual leadership awards, recognizing individuals who have been invaluable in their contributions to Alliance programs that advance the national community of practice. This year, honorees were celebrated during a special in-person ceremony, sponsored by Strata Critical, at The Alliance National Critical Issues Forum on September 15 in New Orleans. The Alliance team is proud to recognize and celebrate each honoree’s achievements below.

The Glenn Matsuki Excellence in Mentorship Award honors a leader in the community of practice who supports the future of organ donation and transplantation by providing outstanding mentorship to the future professionals in our field. Glenn, whom so many in our community were honored to know, was a 25+ year heart recipient and longtime member and advocate of the donation and transplantation community. He had a true passion for mentorship and was deeply committed to sharing his insight and professional experience with others growing in the field.

This year’s recipient is Jenna Lawson, MS, Program Director of Pediatric Transplant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A 2025 honoree of The Alliance 40 Under 40, Jenna is an active member of The Alliance Mentorship Program, having served in the rare dual role of both mentor and mentee. She also serves on The Alliance National Transplant and Donation Quality Collaborative and Quality Corner Workgroup, sharing her expertise on transplant quality metrics with peers nationwide.

Those Jenna mentors describe her as an insightful and patient guide who turns even the most complex regulatory challenge into a clear, practical lesson. Colleagues say her generosity as both mentor and mentee reflects exactly the spirit this award was created to honor.

The Alliance Rising Leader Award recognizes an outstanding member of our national workgroups and committees. Through proven commitment to advancing the national community of practice, this individual establishes themselves as an emerging leader in the field of organ donation and transplantation.

This year’s honoree is Ashley Cardenas, MAS, MBA, FAST, Transplant Administrator at Renown Transplant Institute. A 2025 honoree of The Alliance 40 Under 40, Ashley helped co-found The Alliance’s National Transplant and Donation Quality Collaborative — now serving on its Steering Committee — after identifying a need for shared standards across the transplant quality profession. She is also a member of The Alliance Quality Corner Workgroup.

Colleagues describe Ashley as a builder in the truest sense: someone who sees what’s missing in the field, brings the right people to the table, and does the work to make it real.

The Alliance Committed Leader Award recognizes a leader in the community of practice who commits significant time and expertise to the many bold initiatives underway at The Alliance. By activating the “All Teach, All Learn” approach, this leader directly impacts a wide variety of relevant, targeted and scalable learning solutions in the bold pursuit to save and heal lives.

This year’s honoree is Aninda Dutta, MSCS, FACHE, Senior Vice President of Data and Organizational Strategy at Donor Network West. Aninda serves on The Alliance National Innovation Leadership Council and co-chairs The Alliance Artificial Intelligence Transplant and Donation Resource Collaborative, helping the field catalog AI-related initiatives across organ procurement organizations and transplant centers nationwide.

Aninda often reminds colleagues that “behind every number we talk about, there’s a story” — a philosophy that grounds his push for a truly socially responsible approach to AI in donation and transplantation.

The Alliance Visionary Leader Award recognizes a leader in the community of practice who guides The Alliance’s vision to ignite bold advancements in organ donation, transplantation and overall patient survival. As a valued thought leader, this individual has introduced important innovations to catalyze meaningful change for donation and transplantation.

This year’s recipient is Dr. Mark Hobeika, Professor and Chief of the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplantation, Department of Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth-Houston, and Director of the Abdominal Transplant Center at the Memorial Hermann Transplant Institute. A longtime member of The Alliance National Innovation Leadership Council, Dr. Hobeika was a driving voice on the workgroup that brought The Alliance DCD Educational Guide to life, and in 2022 delivered a T&D Talk on the transformative power of liver perfusion devices.

“If you want to be great, you have to innovate,” Dr. Hobeika has said — a belief that has defined his advocacy for DCD liver transplantation and advanced organ preservation throughout his career.

The Alliance Transformational Leader Award is our most prestigious award, recognizing lifetime career achievement. This award honors a leader in the community of practice who has generated the greatest results through their volunteer efforts at The Alliance. This year, The Alliance is honored to recognize two extraordinary leaders with this award.

Jan Finn, recently-retired President and CEO of Midwest Transplant Network, has been a member of The Alliance Board of Directors since 2018, serving as Board Chair in 2023 and on the Executive Committee from 2022 to 2025. Her leadership has guided The Alliance and the community through national meetings, policy development, and strong partnerships with AOPO, NATCO, and national donation and transplantation leaders.

Colleagues say Jan’s career reflects a consistent ability to build high-performing teams, use data to drive improvement, and inspire others toward meaningful change — always centered on doing right by donors, donor families, recipients, and communities.

Kevin Myer, President and CEO of LifeGift, has been a member of The Alliance Board of Directors since 2018. He led the hiring committee that brought Karri Hobson-Pape to The Alliance, served as Board Chair in 2021, and continued to guide strategy as a member of the Executive Committee from 2021 to 2025. In 2023, he initiated The Alliance’s national collaboration focused on Normothermic Regional Perfusion, helping advance innovation and shared best practices across the field.

Kevin’s path to this work began as a firefighter and paramedic, after caring for a patient who was a kidney donor. That experience, he has said, taught him that this field is fundamentally about “bringing goodness from badness” — offering hope to donor families even in their hardest moments.

The Alliance team congratulates all six honorees and thanks them for their immeasurable contributions to the field of organ donation and transplantation. Together, their leadership, mentorship, and vision embody the mission of The Alliance and strengthen our national community of practice.