Leadership and Governance

Building capacity and vision

Memorial Blood Centers has been saving and sustaining lives since 1948 as an independent nonprofit blood center and is a vital community resource that provides quality blood and biomedical services to our customers and partners.

  • Metro Advisory Board

    Tom Whelan 
    Chair
    Wheels Brewing Company 

    Rebecca Blaesing
    Past Chair
    Vizient

    Damon Fitzgerald
    Community Leader

    Steve Heintze 
    Alpha Source, Inc.

    Phillip Kibort, M.D.
    Children's Minnesota (retired)

    Timothy Kuck
    Crest Healthcare Supply

    Erik Lindell 
    U.S. Bancorp

    Madison Thelen
    University of Minnesota, Class of 2021

  • Northland Advisory Board

    Gary L. Doty
    Chair
    Doty Development Group

    Dave Beattie
    Cenovus

    James Cherveny 
    Senior Community Representative

    Sara Clark
    Enbridge Energy

    Carl Crawford
    City of Duluth

    Courtney Edwards-Johnston
    Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College

    Greg Grell
    WDSE

    Matt Harrold
    Lamar Advertising

    Jesse Hurtig
    United Healthcare

    Shelly Moen
    Essentia Health

    Justin Pederson 
    Minnesota Judicial Branch

    Gina Pudlick
    University of Minnesota-Duluth

    Brandon Skaudis
    Minnesota Power

    Stephanie Sklors
    The College of St. Scholastica

    Gayle Taylor
    LHB

    Keith Turner
    Lake Superior College

  • Leadership Profiles

    Kathy Geist, MBA, Senior Executive Director
    Bringing over two decades of experience in healthcare leadership and customer relations, Kathy oversees Midwest Operations for New York Blood Center Enterprises, including Innovative Blood Resources and its divisions, Memorial Blood Centers, Nebraska Community Blood Bank, and Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City. With a background in managing recruitment efforts, effectively maintaining lean processes, and forging collaborative relationships, her focus is on growing our presence in the community while expanding partnerships with businesses and organizations. She aims to ensure a positive experience for all who sponsor blood drives and donate at blood drives in the community. Kathy previously served as Director of Hospital Services for LifeSource, and held leadership roles with Hu-Friedy and Baxter Healthcare. 

    Jed Gorlin, MD, MBA, Medical Director and Vice President, Medical and Quality Affairs
    A leading authority in transfusion medicine, Dr. Jed Gorlin oversees Quality and Regulatory Affairs and Physician Services, provides medical education and transfusion support to hospital partners, and carries the organization’s mission and expertise to national blood centers, worldwide healthcare organizations, and prospective hospital and laboratory clients. He serves as Medical Director for Memorial Blood Centers, Nebraska Community Blood Bank, and Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City. In addition, he acts as a consultant for the Minnesota Department of Health and is Co-director of Transfusion Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. 

    Previously on the boards of AABB and the National Blood Foundation, Dr. Gorlin has been a consultant to AABB-PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) projects in Rwanda and Tanzania and to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on national blood development programs in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. He also has presented on a variety of topics in Armenia, Peru, China, and Korea. 

    Dr. Gorlin was formerly acting medical director for transfusion services at Children’s Hospital in Boston where he held various positions at Children’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Board certified in pediatrics, and blood banking and transfusion medicine, he received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, a doctor of medicine degree from Yale University, and a M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business.

    Mark Janzen, Ph.D., Vice President, Laboratory Services
    A member of the organization since 2003, Dr. Janzen is responsible for donor testing, manufacturing, and the organization’s industry-leading Immunohematology Reference Laboratory. Over his tenure, Janzen has overseen the redesign and relocation of the organization’s advanced testing laboratories, the transition to automated testing equipment, and the upgrade of the laboratory information systems. Prior to joining Memorial Blood Centers, he was with the National Marrow Donor Program.

  • Key Management

    Wendy Capetz
    Director, Marketing and Development 

    Angela Engblom
    Senior Manager, Duluth Operations

    Lindsey Garfield
    Director, Component Laboratory

    Aelgifa Kehr
    Senior Manager, Donor Testing

    Kendra Reynolds 
    Director, Quality and Regulatory Affairs

    Rick Teeter
    Director, Finance and Controller

    Nancy Van Buren, MD
    Medical Director

    Cheryl Warholoski
    Director, Nebraska Operations

    Jen White
    Director, Hospital Services