Who We Are - Children's HeartLink

Our Mission

To save the lives of children with heart disease, we partner with organizations to train medical teams, provide education and transform health care in underserved parts of the world.

We got our start in 1969, when a young doctor serving in Vietnam asked his father in Minnesota to perform lifesaving surgery on Vietnamese children with heart disease.

Children’s HeartLink has thrived in Minnesota, a world leader in heart surgery, medical device development and global philanthropy.

We were once a medical mission organization. Now we train local medical teams in the countries where we work, making it possible for children to be treated in their own country. This is how we make a lasting impact.

Our approach has changed over the years but our commitment to helping children with heart disease has never wavered.

Meet Our Staff

Our team is hardworking, friendly and resourceful. We share a passion for making high-quality care a reality for more kids with heart disease.

Jackie Boucher
President
Bistra Zheleva
Vice President of International Programs
Walter Abramson
Director of Leadership Giving
Chandra Gruber
Director of Corporate and Foundation Giving
Faith Adams
Communications Director
Barb Simonson
Finance Director
Andreas Tsakistos
Country Director
Adriana Dobrzycka
Country Director
Bobbi Morris
Events Manager
Veeralakshmi Rajasekhar
In-Country India Consultant
Rajashree Panicker
Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant
Sarah Lovern
Clinical Data and Quality Improvement Analyst
Ann Odens
International Programs Assistant
Kate Grzywacz
Executive Assistant and Office Manager
Cathy Huizar
Development Support Coordinator

Jackie Boucher

President

Jackie has a passion for improving lives and has spent her entire career in health care. She was named president of Children’s HeartLink in 2015. She previously held leadership positions at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation and HealthPartners, the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the U.S. Jackie has an M.S. in nutrition from the University of Minnesota.

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Bistra Zheleva

Vice President of International Programs

Bistra leads the direction and strategy for our international programs. She also serves on the steering committee of the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Surgery in Developing World Countries. A native of Bulgaria, Bistra has an M.B.A. in nonprofit management from the University of St. Thomas and has studied global health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

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Walter Abramson

Director of Leadership Giving

Wally advances our mission through charitable giving from individuals and families. He cares deeply about connecting with people who are passionate about saving the lives of children with heart disease. Wally has worked in fundraising for 25 years, for the United Negro College Fund and Minnesota Land Trust, among others. He joined our team in 2015.

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Chandra Gruber

Director of Corporate and Foundation Giving

Chandra has a wealth of experience in corporate philanthropy. She worked at St. Jude Medical for 12 years, where she last served as Senior Manager of Corporate Giving. More recently she was Senior Manager of Global Philanthropy and Corporate Giving at General Motors. Chandra has leadership experience in corporate citizenship through Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and a vast network of peers who share her passion for this work.

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Faith Adams

Communications Director

Faith has worked in marketing communications her entire career, primarily in the medical and health care field. She worked at the University of Minnesota Foundation after a career as a consultant and writer working with a diverse group of nonprofit and for-profit clients. Health equity is a cause she cares deeply about.

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Barb Simonson

Finance Director

Barb believes that providing sound financial management and advice strengthens organizations like ours, and she gets great satisfaction from helping us do a world of good. An independent consultant and an expert in nonprofit finance, Barb advises many nonprofit organizations in addition to Children’s HeartLink.

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Andreas Tsakistos

Country Director

Andreas leads our programs in Brazil, China and Malaysia. Before joining our team in 2006 he worked with humanitarian aid programs in sub-Saharan Africa. He has a master’s degree from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Andreas has had wanderlust since he was a child, when he moved with his family from London to Nairobi and points in between.

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Adriana Dobrzycka

Country Director

Adriana leads our programs in India and Vietnam. Earlier in her career she worked for organizations focused on human rights, cultural competency and engaging diverse communities. Adriana has a Polish father and an Italian mother and was raised in Warsaw and Florence. She has master’s degrees in international development and public health from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Bobbi Morris

Events Manager

Bobbi is happiest when she’s planning and producing fundraising events, conferences and meetings. She’s been doing this work for a variety of organizations for 25 years. Bobbi leads the strategy and execution of our large annual fundraising event, HeartLink Gala.

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Veeralakshmi Rajasekhar

In-Country India Consultant

Based in Coimbatore, Veera is a consummate connector and trusted colleague who develops and strengthens relationships with our program partners in India. She has worked as a social work educator and practitioner, and she has a postgraduate degree in social work from the University of Madras and a predoctoral degree in psychiatric social work from NIMHANS in Bangalore.

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Rajashree Panicker

Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant

Rajie assesses and reports on the impact of our pediatric cardiac programs in the developing world. Based in Coimbatore, India, she has worked with the Public Health Foundation of India and Karnataka Health Promotion. She has an MPH degree from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she specialized in international health systems and health priorities.

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Sarah Lovern

Clinical Data and Quality Improvement Analyst

Sarah divides her time between Children’s HeartLink and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, where she works as an intensive care nurse. Her first-hand experience caring for children after heart surgery equips her to offer guidance to our partners working to improve their quality of care. Sarah has an M.S. in nursing from East Carolina University.

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Ann Odens

International Programs Assistant

A former Spanish teacher, Ann’s friendly manner, efficiency and organizational skills are key to the smooth running of our programs. She handles the numerous logistics related to our training visits and medical conferences.

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Kate Grzywacz

Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Kate grew up in Poland and moved to Minneapolis with her family when her physician husband accepted a medical research position. She provides support for Jackie, our president, and keeps our busy office running smoothly. Kate has an M.A. in German studies.

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Cathy Huizar

Development Support Coordinator

Cathy ensures that donors’ gifts are recorded accurately and acknowledged promptly, and she manages donor records. She has been worked for and volunteered with nonprofit organizations since was a young girl. Cathy’s father leads a large local organization focused on reducing global hunger.

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Meet Our Board of Directors

They ask hard questions and give us the guidance we need. They’re our best ambassadors. And they regularly go above and beyond to support our ambitious goals.

Officers

Joseph Kiser, MD, Founder

Jackie Boucher, President

Children's HeartLink

John Finnegan, PhD, Chair

Professor and Dean, University of Minnesota School of Public Health

Geoff Martha, Vice Chair

Executive Vice President and Group President, Restorative Therapies Group, Medtronic, Inc.

Susan Gebelein, Secretary

Founder and President, Savannah Consulting LLC

Joseph Dearani, MD, Medical Director

Chair of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Mayo Clinic and Professor of Surgery, Mayo College of Medicine

David Overman, MD, Medical Director

Cardiovascular Surgeon and Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Directors

Guillaume Bastiaens

Cargill, Retired

Mary McMahon Busch

Senior Vice President Emerging Markets and Australia/New Zealand, St. Jude Medical, International Division

Jeff Evanson

Managing Director and MedTech Practice Lead, Life Science Practice, Navigant

Jeff Haan

Audit Partner and Professional Practice Partner, KPMG’s Northern Heartland Business Unit

Jannie Herchuk

Audit Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Tom Jollie

Senior Vice President, Padilla

Andrew Nelson

Senior Advisor, HealthPartners, Inc, and Senior Research Fellow HealthPartners Institute

Heather Hudnut Page

Medtech Consultant

Robert Rosenbaum

Partner, Corporate Group, Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Janet Schutz

Community Leader

Dannette Smith

Secretary to the Board of Directors, UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Kenneth Stein, MD

Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Rhythm Management and Global Health Policy, Boston Scientific

Patrick Stoneking

Attorney, Robins Kaplan LLP

Elizabeth Sweeney

Community Leader

Directors Emeriti

David Andreas

Community Leader

Thomas A. Keller III

Principal, Gray Plant Mooty

Meet Our International Advisory Board

They are advocates for children's health. Their expertise in global health and cardiology are matched by their compassion and passion for a more humane world.

James A. Rice, PhD, Chair

Managing Director & Practice Leader, Governance & Leadership, Gallagher Integrated

Aldo Castañeda, MD, PhD

Founder, Pediatric Cardiac Surgical Unit of Guatemala; Professor Emeritus of Surgery, Harvard Medical School

Christopher Hugo-Hamman, MD

Paediatric and Congenital Cardiologist, Windhoek Central Hospital, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Namibia; Roman Catholic Hospital, Windhoek, Namibia