Meet the Leadership Team

The Gift of Life Biologics leadership team has decades of cell therapy supply chain knowledge and experience to support biopharmaceutical companies around the world in developing their life saving therapies.

Jay A. Feinberg

Chief Executive Officer and President
A transplant survivor, Jay started Gift of Life searching for his own match in 1991. Since then, he has been responsible for all aspects of organizational growth and development, building Gift of Life into a $17m/revenue/year non-profit saving hundreds of lives annually.

Bruce A. Lenes, M.D.

Medical Director
Dr. Lenes oversees Gift of Life’s Donor Center, Collection Center and Laboratory. He has been deeply involved in transfusion medicine for the 35 years and serves as a professor at the University of Miami and has published over 40 scientific articles.

Rafi Freudenberger

Chief Information Officer
Rafi has been with Gift of Life for 20 years. Under Rafi’s leadership, Gift of Life has developed Cellect, a powerful and flexible supply chain software system that manages all facets of the organization’s daily operations.

Francesca Gullo, Ph.D.

Scientific Director
Dr. Gullo has a broad background in regenerative medicine, with expertise in the clinical application of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Hematopoietic Stem Cells. Fran earned her Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine from the University of Aberdeen.

Elizabeth Crews, MT(ASCP), CTBS, CQA(ASQ)

Chief Quality and Compliance Officer
Liz has 20+ years of experience working in operations, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance at non-profit blood and tissue banks. Liz is a Licensed Medical Technologist, Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (AATB), and a Certified Quality Auditor (ASQ).

Omardeen "Dee" Woodley, RN

Director, Adelson Gift of Life - Be The Match Collection Center
Dee has a decade of apheresis experience as a nurse in extracorporeal therapies. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Keiser University, and is a 14-year veteran of the United States Air Force.

Alec Burkin, MBA

Director of Business Development
Alec joined Gift of Life in 2012 after donating his stem cells to an anonymous 59-yr-old woman. He has 10 years experience building both non-profit and for-profit businesses and earned his MBA from Tel Aviv University.

Richaele Nichiporenko, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

Associate Director, Medical Services
Richaele Nichiporenko, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, serves as the Family Nurse Practitioner for Gift of Life Marrow Registry. She is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and licensed in Florida. She has been practicing nursing for over 11 years and has a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and health care industry.

Blayne Thompson

Cell Therapy Operations Manager
Blayne Thompson serves as Cell Therapy Operations Manager at Gift of Life Biologics. She brings over seven years of experience in the blood banking and biotechnology industries, ensuring cell products are collected and distributed to biopharmaceutical partners around the world.