Advanced Transplant Provider (ATP) Committee

Mission, Committee Activites & ATP Mentorship Program

ATP Award

ATP Committee Member Bios

Chair: Deborah Ann Hoch CCRN, ACNP-BC, DNP, practices in Portland Maine and came to transplant through critical care.  Debbie worked in flight trauma as a flight nurse/paramedic and by way of a family move, and ended up in transplantation! Debbie’s position includes peri-operative and post-operative care of renal and pancreas transplant patients with responsibilities in hospital and in transplant clinic. Debbie serves as a resource for health professionals, as her transplant program is the only solid organ program in Maine.  Debbie’s passion is translational research and pathway development in the management of transplant recipients.  Debbie’s dissertations include body mass index post-operative outcome and gastrointestinal effects in living donor nephrectomy patients.  Outside of work, Debbie enjoys sailing, running, skiing and life!

Email:  HOCHD@mmc.org

Co - Chair: Mark Burns, FNP, ACNP, lives in Arizona and completed a rotation in NP school on the transplant service, love it and took the job!  Mark sees patient on the liver, kidney, and pancreas service and covers pre to post, including procurement, first assist in the operating room and primary management in the ICU.  Mark’s passion is clinical pathway and immunology and is currently completing his doctorate in nursing.  For relaxation, Mark enjoys hiking, online gaming and his dog “Vandy”.

Email: burns.mark@mayo.edu

Amanda G. Dean, Acute Care NP, RNFA, practices in Memphis, TN and fell in love with the patient population while working in a surgical intensive care unit and decided that transplant was where she wanted to focus her advanced practice career. Currently, Amanda practices in Liver, Kidney and Pancreas transplant in peri and postoperative settings. Amanda's  passion is improving patient outcomes in all transplant settings and research on liver transplantation for non-hepatocellular type cancers. Fun is Scuba diving and hiking.

Email:  amanda.g.dean@gmail.com

Rebecca Duke, NP, practices in Chicago and began her career working with donors at a trauma ICU. Rebecca accepted a position as an organ recovery coordinator at the Gift of Hope and then moved into a liver transplant coordinator position and had the opportunity to do transplant research.  Rebecca has vast experience with all abdominal transplant patients, both pre and post transplant (liver, kidney, pancreas and small bowel). She is currently working on her doctorate and her area of research is quality of life in the low MELD population.  Rebecca has passion for education and care of the transplant population.  Interests outside of work include soccer, travel and anything outdoors!

Email: Rduke@nmh.org

Tracy Evans-Walker, RN, MSN, CNP, CCTC, is an Adult Nurse Practitioner (NP-C and ANP-BC) practicing in Cleveland Ohio. The nursing floor that Tracy  was working on was converted to a transplant special care unit. Tracy stayed and became a transplant nurse and worked as a coordinator in lung transplant for several years before moving below the diaphragm to and see's outpatient kidney transplants. Her passion is prevention and management of long-term complications and managing the older renal transplant patient. Interests:  skiing and growing orchids.

Email:  EVANST@ccf.org

Barry Friedman, RN, BSN, MBA, graduated with a bachelor in nursing in from Southern Illinois University and an MBA in health care administration.  His career in Solid Organ Transplantation began as a Staff Nurse in St Louis Missouri.  In 1986 he became an Organ Procurement Coordinator and later became a Pediatric Clinical Transplant Coordinator at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and subsequently took on the Administrative Director position.  In 2004, Barry assumed the Administrative Director for Solid Organ Transplant at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and is currently the Senior Administrative Director, Organ Transplantation Adult & Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.

Barry was an active member of the United States Air Force Reserves and served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom as Director of Operations for Aeromedical Services. He was decorated with an Air Combat Medal in January 2004. Barry retired from the United States Air Force Reserves after 30 years of service.

Barry is an active member of the transplant community and continues to lead the advancement of transplantation for over three decades.  Barry is a member of the American Society of Transplantation, American Society of Transplant Surgeons and UNOS. He is a past President of the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization, NATCO.  He has served on various committees’ including the Board of Directors of UNOS.   Barry has authored and co-authored several articles and organized several local and national transplant conferences. He loves family and sports

Email:  bfriedm3@Fairview.org

Gwen McNatt, FNP, practices in Chicago and considers herself a “lifer”!  Gwen started as a staff nurse on a transplant floor, knowing only at the time that 5 weeks vacation was offered and an opportunity to work with dialysis patients and ICU.  Gwen is now an administrator of a large transplant center—so everything is covered including clinically seeing living donors in long term follow up. Her passion is nursing in general and the role of the transplant coordinator and is currently doing dissertation research on this role.  Outside of work Gwen enjoys church and Iowa Hawkeye football!

Email:  Mcgmcnatt@nmh.org

Denise S. Morin, MSN, RN, CCTC, is a Living Donation Coordinator practicing at Lahey Clinic in New England. As in Denise's words " call me crazy, but I always had an affinity for the liver in nursing school and still do".   As a novice RN, on a surgical unit Denise lobbied for the surgical unit to become the transplant unit and the rest is history - that was in 1983 at the Deaconess in Boston, where the first liver transplant was performed. Current responsibility is caring for living liver and kidney donors during all phases of the process:  evaluation, pre-op, inpatient, post-op, and outpatient follow-up with continuity- one of her favorite aspects of the role.  Denise also has experience with renal and pancreas recipients.  Denise really enjoys outpatient direct care, but also enjoy research, and especially donor advocacy/ethics given my current responsibilities. Outside interests include Classical music (appreciating, not playing!), ice skating, and biking. 

Email:  Denise.S.Morin@lahey.org

Georgeine Smith MS, MHS, PA-C, practices in Philadelphia and landed in transplant by way of her job in surgery “dried up” and luckily for all of us – a transplant position was available. Georgeine is hired for procurement and goes out with the fellows as first assist for liver, kidney and pancreas procurement.  She is instrumental in the fellows training on the donor surgery and when not on procurement, Georgeine sees patients in clinic for evaluation for liver transplant as well as post-op visits for both liver and kidney.  Georgienes passion is “surgery” and enjoys running half marathons and exercise!

Email:  georgeine.smith@uphs.upenn.edu