Our A Second Dance at Life Gala Raised $221,000 for the House!
About Lifebanc
Founded in 1986, Lifebanc is Northeast Ohio’s only nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization. They serve over four million people and work with 80 hospitals in a 20-county area of Northeast Ohio to provide lifesaving organs to two local transplant centers and others across the U.S. Their dedicated staff are essential to giving transplant recipients in Northeast Ohio a second chance at life.
Lifebanc CEO and Transplant House Board Member, Gordon Bowen, has been a dedicated supporter of our mission since we first opened our doors in 2014. We are grateful for all that Gordon and Lifebanc have done for our organization, including sponsoring apartments, providing financial gifts each year for our Family Assistance Fund, sponsoring many of our events, and collaborating with us on educational programming for our guest families. Lifebanc's support has made a positive impact on the lives of so many families who have called Transplant House home.
Meet Our Celebrity Dancers
Kate Borders
Kate is President of University Circle, Inc. She has been in the Place Management industry for almost twenty years. Kate's entry into this career was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Executive Director of East Town Association, a business membership-based organization. From there, she was the first CEO of the newly formed Downtown Fresno Partnership and subsequently the President & CEO for the Downtown Tempe Authority (DTA).
During her 19 years in Place Management, Kate has always been fortunate to be a member of the International Downtown Association (IDA), has served on multiple committees, had the privilege of co-facilitating the Emerging Leaders Fellowship, and is currently serving as the Board Chair. Kate was in the first group of place managers to receive the LPM credential in 2022.
Kate hails from South Carolina. She received her BA in Music from The University of Arizona and a Master’s Degree in non-profit Arts Management from Columbia College in Downtown Chicago. She has relocated to Cleveland with her two daughters, ages 14 and 16.
Tania Markarian-Skowronski, DDS, MSM
Tania is an Assistant Professor at CWRU School of Dental Medicine, Division Director of Pediatric Dentistry at Akron Children’s Hospital, and Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. She obtained her Master of Science in Management with emphasis in Healthcare and a certificate in Leadership Development from the Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management. Outside of her clinical practice and academic roles, Markarian-Skowronski is both a passionate ambassador for—and member of—the Board of Directors of Lifebanc. She dedicates her efforts to raising organ donation awareness in celebration of recipients, honor of donors and their families, and support of those waiting for the gift of life.
Silvia Perez-Protto, MD, MS, MBA
Silvia Perez-Protto is an anesthesiologist and intensivist originally from Uruguay, South America. She worked as an intensivist transplant coordinator in Uruguay, conducting more than 100 organ donation interviews. She was a scholar sponsored by the government of Spain at the “Fundación Carolina” spending three months at the Transplant Services Foundation, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona in 2005. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the Cleveland Clinic Learner College of Medicine. She practices as an intensivist at the Surgical Intensive Care Unit taking care of patients after liver, kidney, and intestinal transplant. She is the director of the Center for End-of-Life care at the Office of Safety, Quality and Patient Experience at the Cleveland Clinic. Most recently she became the Medical Director lead for Lifebanc.
Chase Wehrle, MD
Chase is a resident physician in surgery at Cleveland Clinic. Raised in Savannah, GA, Chase finished undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis before returning home to the Medical College of Georgia for medical school. He is now an adopted Clevelander, moving up here in 2021 to pursue his surgical training. Professionally, Chase is interested in Liver Transplantation and Hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery and has a passion for research in those fields. Personally, he loves spending time with his family, Maggie, and his dog Cricket. He is a huge sports fan, loves football (Go Dawgs), golf (watching and pretending to play), baseball, basketball, and snow and water skiing.
Melissa Zatek
Melissa is the transplant quality manager at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. She has spent the last 18+years as a nurse working in many aspects of transplant at UPMC, OSU and UH. Her roles have included inpatient transplant nursing, transplant coordination and clinical education. Melissa was a speaker at last year’s KFO renal symposium and is serving as the co-chair for the 2024 symposium. She is an active member and volunteer for the TRIO Greater Cleveland Chapter and is currently serving as the chapter secretary. On a personal note Melissa enjoys spending quality time with her husband Tim, 2 year old daughter Olivia and their dog Dave.
Thank you to our generous Gala sponsors for making this night celebrating the gift of a second chance at life possible!
