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Rita Michaels

MA
In 2026, I am answering the call to... strengthen the path from transplant survival to lifelong stability.
Job Title: Executive Director
Organization: Georgia Transplant Foundation
Age: 39
Years in Donation and Transplantation: 18
What makes your career in organ donation and transplantation special?

What makes my career in organ donation and transplantation special is that I have had the privilege of growing up professionally inside a mission that changes lives in real time. I began at the Georgia Transplant Foundation as an intern in 2008, and nearly 18 years later, I now serve as Executive Director. That journey has allowed me to understand this work from every angle—patient services, fundraising, operations, communications, program development, board leadership, community partnerships, and long-term strategy.
What makes this field so meaningful is that transplant is not just a medical event. It is a life-altering journey that affects every part of a person’s life: their finances, family, employment, housing, emotional well-being, and sense of hope. My career has been centered on helping patients and families navigate the parts of transplant that happen outside the hospital walls—the practical, financial, and emotional realities that determine whether someone can not only survive, but thrive.
Being able to build and strengthen programs that meet those needs, and to serve as a resource for leaders in other states working to replicate this model, is what makes this work my life’s purpose.

Biography

Rita Michaels, MA, serves as Executive Director of the Georgia Transplant Foundation (GTF), a statewide nonprofit dedicated to providing financial, educational, and emotional support to organ transplant candidates, recipients, living donors, and their families. Her leadership journey with the Foundation began in 2008 as an intern, and over nearly 18 years she has grown through multiple roles, gaining a deep understanding of the transplant community, nonprofit operations, patient services, development, and organizational strategy.

Under her leadership, GTF has increasingly been recognized as a model for holistic transplant support. Rita oversees a multi-million-dollar annual budget and has modernized and strengthened core programs such as Direct Financial Assistance, the Transplant Fundraising Program, JumpStart employment support, peer mentoring, and the Trends iN Transplant educational conferences. Known for combining compassion with practical innovation, she has led a comprehensive rebranding and strategic planning process that reflects her commitment to bridging the gap between medical necessity and human dignity.

Beyond Georgia, Rita has become a respected resource for leaders in other states seeking to build or replicate a model like GTF’s, and a valued voice in national conversations on transplant support, patient advocacy, and community-based innovation. Her career reflects a rare combination of lived organizational history, strategic vision, and deep commitment to ensuring that transplant patients and their families have the resources to not only survive, but thrive.