Community Chat: DEI in Eye Banking – Continuing the Conversation Among New Laws and Restrictions

As Vice President of Operations, Mike is responsible for developing long-term strategies, creating lean and efficient operational processes, improving customer relationships and monitoring the successes of each operational department.

Mike started his career in the organ, tissue and eye donation industry more than 20 years ago as a recovery technician, where his skills and attention to detail helped him routinely win the coveted Technician of the Month award. His calm demeanor, excellent interpersonal skills and industry knowledge make him an outstanding and successful leader. He later moved to Carolina Donor Services as Tissue Recovery Manager where he led the department to win the Golden Quill and Golden Scalpel Awards for minimal errors in both documentation and surgical technique. Mike came to Miracles In Sight in 2006, where he quickly was able to use his skills to forge many process and procedural improvements and lead the company to become one of the top eye banks in the world. Mike is an advocate for donation. He is active on multiple EBAA committees, leads technician education trainings, and lectures on eye banking domestically and abroad.

After graduating high school, Mike enlisted in the US Army as a laboratory technician and worked towards completing a diploma in surgical technology. He received his Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration from Mt. Olive College and his Master of Business Administration from Winston-Salem State University.

Alyssa Hernandez began her career in eye banking in 2020 at Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank. As the Director of Marketing and Development, she implements and executes branding and business development growth strategies along with marketing campaigns. Alyssa currently serves as a member of the EBAA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the EBAA Donor Partner Community Relations Committee.

Alyssa resides in Sacramento, CA with her husband and 3 young boys. She dedicates her passion for eye, organ, and tissue donation to her son who is a liver transplant recipient.

Collin Ross is Vice President of Global Development for Eversight, a leading network of non-profit eye banks. Collin is passionate about sight restoration and eye bank development. Over his 27-year career, Collin has been privileged to work with physicians and transplant professionals in many countries to combat blindness through transplantation and medical education. Collin is especially proud of Eversight’s work to restore sight in the Middle East, Pakistan, and South Korea. Collin holds the EBAA Certified Eye Bank Technician (CEBT) credential, as well as a Masters degree in International Security and Economic Policy and a Bachelors degree in Political Science.

April joined Advancing Sight Network in July of 2008 as a Certified Eye Bank Technician. April received her Bachelors and master’s degrees in chemistry from the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Prior to joining the Advancing Sight Network, April worked for the University of Louisville Lions Eye Bank as a recovery coordinator and earned her CEBT while there. Over the years, she has been involved in all aspects of clinical eye banking from recovery, global placement, and laboratory services. Today, as the Processing Senior Team Lead, April oversees the clinical processing aspect of Advancing Sight Network, from performing tissue processing itself to developing new processing procedures to assist surgeons in the care of their patients.