Our Leaders

LEADERSHIP
Leading to save lives

Each of our leaders plays a valuable role in making our mission possible.

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Leadership

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Merlyn H. Sayers,
MBBCh, PhD.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Veronica Moore
Vice President of Marketing & Operations Support

B. J. Smith
Vice President of Operations & Information Services

Nancy Ausman
Chief Quality Officer

Jeffrey Centilli
Director of Analytics

Gus Cortes
Director of Applications

Stephen Eason
Director of Foundation

Scott Gastorf
Director of Finance

Shankar Goudar
Chief Information Officer

Terrie Henderson
Chief Human Resources Officer

Nancy Jones
Chief Financial Officer

Lavetta Kennedy
Technical Director

Clint McCoy
Director of Mobile Donor Recruitment and Regional Operations

Damon Nirode
Director of IT

Brandye Norman
Director of Collection Operations

Darlene Ramos-Garcia
Director of Human Resources

Jeff Ryan
Director of Facilities & Fleet Services

Andrea Sign
Director of Marketing, Communications and Donor Relations

Sandy Wortman
Director of Reference and Transfusion

Vince Zost
Director of Cellular Therapy Laboratory

Medical Directors

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Geeta Paranjape, MD
Medical Director of Clinical Services

Dr. Geeta Paranjape is the Medical Director of Clinical Services. Dr. Paranjape received her M.D. from the B. J. Medical College in Pune, India, and completed residency training in clinical pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, as well as specialty training in Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking. Dr. Paranjape is board certified by the American Board of Pathology. She joined the medical staff at Carter BloodCare in 2003.

 

Frances Compton, MD
Medical Director of Patient Services

Dr. Frances Compton is the Medical Director of Patient Services at Carter BloodCare. Dr. Compton received her M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School, where she stayed to complete her anatomic and clinical pathology residency training. Her specialty training in Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking was completed at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Compton is board certified by the American Board of Pathology. She joined the medical staff at Carter BloodCare in 2020.

 

William Crews, MD
Medical Director of Laboratory Services

Dr. William S. Crews Jr. is the Medical Director of Laboratory Services. Dr. Crews graduated from Ross University School of Medicine, where he completed a pathology residency at East Carolina University and completed a transfusion medicine/blood bank fellowship in Philadelphia at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Prior to pursuing his medical degree, Dr. Crews worked five years as a clinical laboratory scientist in North Carolina with ECU Health. Dr. Crews is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in clinical pathology and blood banking/transfusion medicine. He joined Carter BloodCare in 2013.

 

Debra Smith, MD
Medical Director of Cellular Therapy Services

Dr. Debra Smith is the Medical Director of Cellular Therapy Services. Dr. Smith received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She completed residency training in Clinical Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas followed by fellowship training in Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking at Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Smith is board certified by the American Board of Pathology. She worked for six years as an Associate Medical Director at the Oklahoma Blood Institute before joining Carter BloodCare in 2022.

 

Nicole De Simone, MD
Medical Director of Clinical Apheresis Services

Dr. Nicole De Simone is the Medical Director of Clinical Apheresis Services. She received her M.D. and Master of Public Health degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and then spent the next two years in an obstetrics and gynecology residency. She then decided to switch fields and moved back home to Dallas to complete an anatomic and clinical pathology residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She stayed on at UT Southwestern initially as a fellow in Transfusion Medicine and then as faculty. Dr. De Simone is board certified by the American Board of Pathology. She served as Medical Director of Clinical Apheresis and the Coagulation Laboratory at UT Southwestern University hospitals before joining Carter BloodCare in 2022.

 

Laurie J. Sutor, MD
Vice President of Medical Services & Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Laurie Sutor is Vice President of Medical Services and Chief Medical Officer. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Colorado College, her M.D. from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and then completed residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, as well as specialty training in Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking.  Dr. Sutor is board certified by the American Board of Pathology. She also has an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas. She has been with Carter BloodCare since 1994 and she oversees the Department of Medical Services, which consists of seven medical directors, all of whom are specialty trained in Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine. Dr. Sutor is also currently Professor of Pathology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Board of Directors

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Mr. Mark Hood
Chairman

Dr. Brian Becker

Mr. Jonathan Cromer

Ms. Karanae Duane

Mr. Craig Florence

Mr. Bobby Grigsby

Mr. John Huck

Mr. Ellison Hurt, III

Mr. Patrick Kinder

Ms. Anette Landeros

Mr. James Louis

Dr. David Mack

Dr. Anju Nair

Ms. Jeannette Papadopoulos

Mr. John Pardue

Mr. George Roberts, Jr.

Dr. Karen Roush

Ms. Natalie Wilkins

Foundation Board

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Mr. Mitch Clarke
Chairman

Mr. Glenn Able

Mr. Sal Afridi

Mr. Sam Brooks

Ms. Crissie Fortmeyer

Mr. Charles Kurtzman

Mr. Andy Polanco

Ms. Judy Stubbs

Mr. Randy Talley

Central Texas Advisory Council

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Monica Bryant

Kelcie Griggs

David Guyer

Becky Hardie

Taina Maya

Matt Meadors

Robin Michell

Rhiannon Settles

East Texas Advisory Council

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Rachel Barber

Dr. Lane Brunner

Dr. Bruce Carter
Smith County Medical Society, 2021 Representative

John Gaston

Jennifer Hines

Nikkie Hodges

Dr. Mike Jenkins

Anne Pileggi

Beth Powell

George Roberts

Lauren Tyler

Donald Warren