News
Happy International Women’s Day
March 8, 2024
To all the trailblazing women who have paved the way for progress, and to those who continue to champion equality and justice, Happy Women’s Day! Your efforts are changing the world for the better.
Happy International Women’s Day! Celebrated every year on March 8, International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
This year we celebrate women in leadership at DCIDS that we admire, appreciate and respect. Thank you for all that you do for organ donation and helping to end the waitlist for good.
Jill Grandas, Corporate Executive Director, DCIDS/TDS
Jill Grandas is an organ procurement and tissue banking industry veteran with over 30 years of experience. In her role overseeing Tennessee Donor Services, Jill leads a team of selfless, hardworking employees who are committed to saving and improving lives.
In 1985, she began her nursing career in a Neurological Intensive Care Unit and became involved in several experiences where patients became organ and tissue donors. As a result of those experiences, she joined TDS in 1987 as an Organ Recovery Coordinator and has expanded her role over the years. She served in several positions within DCI Donor Services including Director of Hospital Services, Associate Director, and Executive Director for the Tennessee location. Since 2005, Jill has also been the Corporate Executive Director for DCIDS.
Deana Clapper, Associate Executive Director, TDS
Deana earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Lipscomb University and a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University. She was introduced to the organ donation process while working as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner for the Department of Trauma Surgical Services at Vanderbilt Medical Center. She has been an active member of multiple AOPO committees and councils over the years and looks forward to continuing her involvement throughout the industry.
Amy Bonser, Performance Improvement Director, DCIDS
Amy Bonser began her career over 20 years ago as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the Pediatric ICU. After her best friend received the gift of a life-saving double lung transplant in 2003, Amy refocused her career to work in organ procurement. She has held both clinical and leadership roles in the OPO industry and is professionally and personally committed to saving lives through organ and tissue donation.
Emily Bryan, Finance Director, DCIDS
Emily joined DCI Donor Services as a Staff Accountant in 2007 and was first promoted into a leadership role in 2014 as the Accounting Supervisor. In her current role as Director of Finance, she is responsible for all financial functions of the organization, including financial planning and analysis, fiscal and regulatory reporting, budgeting, and audits.
Emily is a licensed CPA in the state of Tennessee and earned a Bachelors of Science in Accounting from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
Gretchen Budde, Bridge2Life Director, DCIDS
Gretchen is a graduate of the Art and Science Leadership program at Wharton’s School of Business, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in both Public Administration and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, a Master degree in Counseling from Lakeland University. She is also a Certified Tissue Banking Specialist (CTBS) and Certification in Thanatology (CT). With over 18 years of progressive experience in the field of donation, Gretchen continues to foster development through team collaboration and the pursuit of incremental and continuous improvement.
Stephanie Cozby, Senior Director, Quality & Compliance, DCIDS
Stephanie Cozby has been in organ procurement and tissue banking for nearly 20 years, with extensive experience overseeing hospital development, organ recovery, business operations, and IT staff. Over the last eight years at DCIDS, her leadership knowledge and deep understanding of healthcare and operations management has been a significant asset in developing and integrating the company’s quality and compliance systems within operations.
Leah Morrell, Birth Tissue Program Director, DCIDS
Leah earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Quinnipiac University, then spent several years in Pharmaceutical Sales. However, she found her true calling in 2006, when she began her career in Tissue Banking. Leah is AATB certified and serves on the AATB Living Donor Council and Education Committee.
Since joining DCIDS in 2019, her focus has been to expand the Birth Tissue donation program, enabling more mothers to give the Gift of Life through placenta donation. Whether Leah is starting new hospital programs, managing her incredible team of Birth Tissue Coordinators, or speaking with potential donors, she strives to emanate passion for donation.
Michele Rosdahl, Aftercare Manager, DCIDS
Michele earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Rogers State University and a Master of Education in Counseling from Northeastern State University.
Michele Rosdahl and her team of Aftercare Coordinators are committed to supporting donor families in the months and years after their loved ones’ donation. Michele and her team have created a supportive program for donor families including scheduled mailings, access to DCIDS’s Caring for Families resource website, monthly live grief webinars, text-based grief support, and access to a wide range of grief-focused reading materials.
For the past two decades, Michele’s career has focused on helping and supporting families through life transitions, first in the behavioral health and social welfare sectors, and now in organ procurement.
Kelly Scott, Tissue Bank Executive Director, DCIDS
Kelly earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Loyola University Maryland, a Master of Science degree in Biotechnology from the Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University – Owen Graduate School of Management.
She has worked for DCI Donor Services for over 14 years, and continues to expand the tissue bank program year after year. The tissue bank had a record year in 2023, with more than 58,000 tissue grafts recovered across all of DCIDS from 3,355 tissue donors.
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”
– Sheryl Sandberg (COO, Facebook)