Meet our boards

Jackie Boucher has spent her entire career working in medicine and health and has a background in fundraising.  

Before her role as President of Children’s HeartLink, Ms. Boucher served as Chief Operating Officer at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, the nonprofit partner of the Minneapolis Heart Institute, recognized as one of the premier heart institutions in the US. She also served as the director of programs and operations at HealthPartners, the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit healthcare organization in the US. 

Taryn Lynch is an audit partner at Deloitte and its leader in the health and sciences sector. Ms. Lynch has spent nearly 30 years serving all sectors in the health care industry. In addition to coordinating international audit teams, she has served as the lead client service partner for some of the nation’s largest health plans and providers.

Elizabeth Sweeney has spent nearly 30 years promoting health and wellness, in both nonprofit and for-profit settings. She is a past president of Children’s HeartLink and recipient of the 2023 Children’s HeartLink Founders Award. She also serves as a director of the Penny George Institute Foundation, which supports the institute as a national leader in holistic medicine and serves on the board of the Minnesota PKU Foundation, which provides support for children and families living with phenylketonuria. Elizabeth has also co-founded and operated Vita, a lifestyle management company, and has served as a director of the University Pediatric Foundation at the University of Minnesota. 

MyLinh, adjunct professor with the University of Minnesota, brings extensive leadership experience in finance, operations and human resources. A former senior vice president of operations and Human Resources in retail she currently consults with Korn Ferry and lectures at the Carlson School of Management and serves on its Women’s Global Network advisory board.

Dr. Mark Lewin is co-director of the Seattle Heart Center and director of the Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment Program at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Lewin is professor and chief in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Dr. David Overman is a cardiovascular surgeon at The Children’s Heart Clinic and chief of the division of cardiovascular surgery at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Dr. Overman is chair of the audit committee of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database Taskforce and chair of the resource and development committee of the Congenital Heart Surgeons Society. His clinical interests include the surgical management of neonates, children, and adults with congenital heart disease.

Tom Armitage completed his second term as chair of the Children’s HeartLink Board of Directors in 2024. He previously served our board from 1997-2013 and in 2014 served as interim president for five months and led the organization through the final stages of a strategic planning process. An engineer and MD, Mr. Armitage is retired after a 25-year career with Medtronic, last serving as the vice president of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs for the Medtronic Structural Heart Disease Business. He is also a past president of the Camp Odayin Board of Directors. Tom and his wife Eileen are long-time donors and volunteers and great champions of Children’s HeartLink’s work and mission. 

John Babitt is a life sciences partner at the EY Minneapolis office. Over his career Mr. Babitt has advised both strategic and private equity life science clients on a variety of areas, including M&A, operational matters including integration/separation, commercial assessment, and supply chain engagements.

He has nearly 30 years of experience in the life sciences and health care sectors, including medical technology, pharma, biotech, and life sciences instrumentation/consumables.

Karim Bandali is the President of the Cardiac Surgery business at Medtronic. Prior to Medtronic, Karim has held several academic appointments at the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences, University of Toronto and has consulted with Med Tech firms across the globe. Karim holds a Ph.D. in pediatric surgery, neonatal development, and physiology from the University of Toronto. His interests focus on disease state and care pathway management to improve patient outcomes and the financial health of hospitals. 

Bailey Bassett currently serves as Vice President of Strategy & Solutioning within the OptumHealth division of UnitedHealth Group (UHG). Bailey has over a decade of experience in leadership roles across product, operations, and growth throughout her career at UHG. Bailey holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of St. Thomas and is actively engaged with the Carlson School of Management as a mentor and former alumni board member.

Mark Bastiaens, co-owner of multiple Crisp & Green restaurants in Denver, Colorado, brings extensive entrepreneurial and financial expertise to the Children’s HeartLink board. His involvement continues his family’s longstanding support of our mission.

In 2023, Mark traveled to Brazil, witnessing firsthand the transformative impact of our work. A 2020 graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Mark’s background in data-driven decision-making and strategic planning positions him to help guide our mission and expand our impact on the lives of children worldwide.

Connie Delaney serves as professor and dean of the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing and is the Knowledge Generation Lead for the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education.  

Ms. Delaney was an inaugural appointee to the USA Health Information Technology Policy Committee, Office of the National Coordinator, and Office of the Secretary for the US Department of Health and Human Services. She is an active researcher in data and information technology standards for nursing and health care. 

The founder and president of Savannah Consulting LLC, Susan Gebelein consults with business leaders to accelerate growth, align and build leadership teams, develop leadership capabilities, and lead change and business initiatives. Ms. Gebelein is the primary author and editor of books about leadership in business.

Maria Macuare Gorden is a cardiac electrophysiologist and global vice president for Patient Safety – Rhythm Management (RM) at Boston Scientific Corporation. Dr. Macuare Gorden is responsible for patient safety oversight for the RM business and the Medical Officer for Preventive Solutions.  

 Prior to Boston Scientific, she was the CoDirector of the Electrophysiology Department in Centro Medico de Caracas Private Hospital and Clinica Santa Sofia Private Hospital in Caracas Venezuela. Maria was co-founder and director of the Electrophysiology Fellowship Program where she trained cardiac electrophysiologists and a large group of nurses and technicians. 

Betsy Moran-Johnson served as CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Northern Plains Alliance until retiring in March 2019. Ms. Moran was also president and chief operating officer for ClearStone Solutions, which provides consulting services to organizations participating in government-funded Medicare and Medicaid programs. Prior to those appointments, she served in several leadership roles throughout her career, managing legal support for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, UnitedHealth Group, and UnitedHealthcare.

Emeka Ohadike is a seasoned finance leader with 29 years of experience in corporate finance, strategic planning, and performance management, including senior finance roles at Medtronic. Mr. Ohadike’s career spans leadership positions in a variety of industries, including financial services, consumer retail and telecommunications. Emeka has emphasized positioning finance as a strategic partner within organizations. He encourages finance teams to operate as internal consultants, using data-driven insights to identify risks and opportunities, and to deliver innovative and practical solutions. Emeka has lived in thirteen cities across seven countries on three continents.

Abhi Patangay is a partner at McKinsey and Company, a global management consulting firm, whose primary expertise is in growth strategy, M&A transactions, and commercial excellence transformations for medical devices. At McKinsey, Mr. Patangay has worked on a broad spectrum of medical technologies ranging from imaging capital equipment to spinal implants. Prior to McKinsey, he was a product manager at Boston Scientific, where he worked on market entry strategies for new therapies and diagnostics, and launched new diagnostics for heart failure, arrhythmias and coronary artery disease. Abhi holds several patents related to technologies in cardiac, renal, pulmonary, and neurovascular conditions.

Fernanda Kattar Petto is vice president of Finance, Supply Chain & Logistics for UNFI. Ms. Petto has broad experience across several global finance areas including financial planning and analysis, corporate finance, sales finance, supply chain and operations finance, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations. Prior to UNFI, she was vice president of Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis at CWT (Carlson Wagonlit Travel). Fernanda has extensive international experience and multiple language skills and has been recognized for her ability to build strong relationships and high-energy level teams. 

James Powell is the Managing Partner of KPMG’s Minneapolis office and the Audit Head of Markets for the North Central Business Unit which includes the Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines and Omaha/Lincoln offices. Previously, he served as the Office Managing Partner for KPMG’s Nashville office and National Partner in Charge- University Talent Acquisition. His wide variety of audit clients specialize in consumer markets, pharmaceutical and life sciences, and retail companies. Brian’s non-profit service includes The Minnesota Opera and the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Katie Reddy is a results-oriented professional with nearly 20 years of experience in the cardiac industry and has a personal passion for addressing the needs of children born with congenital heart disease. She brings extensive expertise in cardiac electrophysiology, international commercialization and strategic planning. Currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives for PrepMD, her career includes leadership roles at Boston Scientific, Eli Lilly and MedTech, where she earned recognition for her exceptional sales abilities, management experience and relationship-building skills. Her dynamic approach to advancing heart care aligns seamlessly with our mission to improve patient outcomes on a global scale. 

Alicia has more than 25 years of experience in governance the legal and healthcare industries. She serves as Chief Legal Officer at Medica and on the board of the Academy of Holy Angels.

Sandra L. Staveski is an assistant professor in the Family Health Care Nursing Department at the University of California, San Francisco, and a longtime medical volunteer with Children’s HeartLink. With more than 30 years of clinical and teaching experience in cardiac critical care, Sandra’s research focuses on improving outcomes for children after cardiac surgery by preventing harm during hospitalization and at home.

Sandra played a pivotal role in developing and launching the Children’s HeartLink Nurse Residency Program in 2015 and has been instrumental in evolving it into a virtual program, ensuring its continued success and global reach.