Medical Administration
Keith Carter, MD, FACS
Dr. Carter is the Lillian C. O'Brien and Dr. C.S. O'Brien Chair in Ophthalmology and has served as the Chairman and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa since 2006. He is also a Professor of Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, as well as a Professor of Otolaryngology.
Click here to view Dr. Carter’s department web page.
Email: keith-carter@uiowa.edu
Mark Greiner, MD
Dr. Greiner is Medical Director and researcher for ILEB. He is also Associate Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and Robert and Joell Brightfelt Professor of Cornea Research at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. As a clinician-scientist, his practice specialty is Cornea and External Diseases. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Eye Bank Association of America.
Click here to view Dr. Greiner’s department web page
Email: mark-greiner@uiowa.edu
Matthew Rauen, MD
Dr. Rauen received a Bachelor of Science degree in biological research from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and completed his medical degree, ophthalmology residency, and cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery fellowship from the University of Iowa. He serves on the EBAA Accreditation Board and on the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) content committee in the field of cornea surgery and serves on the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Government Relations Committee.
Click here to view Dr. Rauen's Wolfe Eye Clinic profile page
Email: mrauen@wolfeclinic.com
Administration
Esther Baker, BA, MA, MBA
Esther joined Iowa Lions Eye Bank as executive director in January 2019. Esther has a background in non-profit management and program administration, strategic planning, external relations, communication, change management and program evaluation. Previous roles include executive director of Girls on the Run of Eastern Iowa, external relations director of the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, deputy director of the Iowa Tobacco Research Center/Quitline Iowa, and public relations director of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in telecommunications and Master of Communication. She has also received a Master of Business Administration from the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa.
Email: esther-baker@uiowa.edu
Carol Kempf
Carol joined the Iowa Lions Eye Bank in September 2003. Her administrative responsibilities include special mailings and correspondence, support to staff members, assistance to the executive director, and coordination of a variety of eye bank operations. She greets and assists all visitors, including couriers, Lions relay volunteers, delivery personnel, special guests, and various other professionals.
Email: carol-kempf@uiowa.edu
Compliance & Quality Systems
Oscar Perez, BS
Oscar received his Bachelor of Science in business administration, with an emphasis in management, from Rockford College in Illinois. He has served as the quality systems coordinator of the Iowa Lions Eye Bank since 2009 and is primarily responsible for quality and regulatory eye banking procedures through review, tracking and revision. Oscar’s career began as a process engineer and then quality engineer for a manufacturing company.
Email: oscar-perez@uiowa.edu
Clinical Operations
Adam Stockman, MBA, CEBT
Adam graduated with his Master of Business Administration degree and is the Director of Clinical Operations for ILEB. He oversees both the donor eligibility and processing departments as well as ILEB’s recovery operations. Adam is a skilled technical trainer and was an active member of the Eye Bank Association of America’s (EBAA) Technician Education Committee for several years including four years as faculty for the annual technician education seminar. In addition to his service on the Technician Education Committee, Adam has also served on the Exam Committee and the Statistical Reporting Committee. Adam currently serves as a member of the Constitution & Bylaws Committee and is an active inspector as a member of the Accreditation Board. He began his work with Iowa Lions Eye Bank in 2003 as a recovery technician.
Email: adam-stockman@uiowa.edu
Monica Freiburger, BA, CEBT
Monica graduated from Coe College with a Bachelors of Arts degree in biology. She serves as the donor eligibility manager where she is responsible for the coordination and support of the daily operations. Monica began her journey at the eye bank in 2008 as a recovery technician, and then transferred to a full-time position in donor eligibility. She was awarded the Jachin Misko Memorial Scholarship for Technical Advancement in Eye Bank in 2014 and is CEBT certified. Monica is currently serving on the EBAA Technician Education Committee to collaborate by improving the technical aspects in eye banking.
Email: monica-freiburger@uiowa.edu
Carissa Robertson, BS
Carissa is a Wisconsin native and graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in health science from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2014. She began her eye banking journey in February 2016 as an on call recovery technician before transitioning to a full-time role in March 2019. In her position as the recovery services lead, Carissa facilitates all didactic, laboratory and field training for the recovery technicians in both Coralville and Des Moines. Prior to working in a full time capacity at the eye bank, she worked in the acute dialysis unit at UIHC and is a certified clinical hemodialysis technician.
Email: carissa-robertson@uiowa.edu
Kay Jandik, BS, ASCP
Kay graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a chemistry minor, along with a Bachelor of Science degree in clinical laboratory sciences from the Carver College of Medicine. She is also a certified laboratory medical technologist (ASCP.) She joined the eye bank in 2017 and is currently a donor eligibility specialist where she screens donor charts along with completing various lab duties. Prior to her work at ILEB, Kay was a laboratory technologist for ten years and then an ophthalmology technician for ten years at the Iowa City Veteran’s Hospital.
Email: kathryn-jandik@uiowa.edu
Jen Johnson, BSN
Jen graduated from Grand View University with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She began her eye banking journey in July of 2017 as a recovery technician, and then transferred to a full-time position in donor eligibility in May of 2019. Jen is responsible for screening donor charts and completing various lab duties. Prior to working at Iowa Lions Eye Bank, Jen worked in an emergency department.
Email: jennifer-l-johnson@uiowa.edu
Scott Van Oss, COA, CEBT
Scott began working for ILEB in 2015 as a donor eligibility specialist and is responsible for screening donor charts and completing various lab duties. He was awarded the Jachin Misko Memorial Scholarship for Technical Advancement in 2017 and completed his CEBT certification the same year. In the past, Scott worked as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant for a pediatric ophthalmologist in addition to working as a clinical technician with the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Email: robert-vanoss@uiowa.edu
Rashmi Mallik, BS
Rashmi is originally from Nepal and moved to the United States in 2012 where she graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. She joined the eye bank in 2018 as a tissue processing specialist. Currently, she is a tissue circulator in the processing department.
Email: rashmi-mallik@uiowa.edu
Jamie Reinhardt
Jamie is a Processing Services Specialist with ILEB and is currently circulating for tissue processing. Jamie joined the ILEB team during the summer of 2019. Prior to this she worked in the Operating rooms of the Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Ambulatory Surgical Center and the Main Operating Rooms at the UIHC.
Email: jamie-reinhardt@uiowa.edu
Chelsea Green, BA, BS
Chelsea graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with her bachelor’s degrees in psychological research, minority studies, and a minor in pre-med. She joined the eye bank in 2017 as a tissue processing specialist. Chelsea operates as a tissue processor as well as a tissue circulator for the eye bank.
Email: chelsea-green@uiowa.edu
Research & Business Development
Greg Schmidt, MBA, CEBT
Greg is a graduate of Mount Mercy College with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. He is the director of research and business development where he oversees the research program, supervises distribution, and is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with local and national corneal transplant surgeons. Greg began working for the eye bank in March 2000.
Email: gregory-schmidt@uiowa.edu
Ben Aldrich, PhD
Research Scientist
Ben received his PhD from Kansas State University. His position at ILEB is to engage in research activities that will improve our understanding of corneal tissue. The overarching goal of this research is to improve the quality of tissue utilized in sight restorative surgery and help reduce vision loss. He joined the eye bank as a research associate after holding positions in the Department of Biology and Department of Anesthesia at the University of Iowa.
Email: benjamin-aldrich@uiowa.edu
Jessica Skeie, PhD
Research Scientist
Jessica graduated from the University of Iowa with her PhD in Biomedical Engineering in 2010. She has been conducting research with the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa since 2005. Her research interests have included endothelial cell changes in the choroid of patients with age related macular degeneration, bioinformatics of proteomic shifts in retinal diseases, and potential use of genetic engineering for curing inherited retinal diseases. She joined the Iowa Lions Eye Bank in 2016 where she now uses bioinformatics to study the impact of diabetes on corneal endothelial cells.
Email: jessica-skeie@uiowa.edu
Tim Eggleston, BBA, BSE
Tim graduated from the University of Iowa with Bachelor degrees in economics and biomedical engineering. Tim has been working in research at the university since 2001. He has worked in Anatomy and Cell Biology, Pharmacology, Radiology, and most recently in the Department of Pediatrics. Tim joined the ILEB in 2019.
Email: timothy-eggleston@uiowa.edu
Darryl Nishimura, BS, PhD
Darryl holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Rochester and a Doctor of Philosophy in genetics from the University of Iowa. His major research interests have included the study of various eye disorders including glaucoma, retinal degeneration and corneal dystrophy. These studies have utilized genetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics and proteomics to identify a number of genes involved with eye disease as well as to study their function within the eye. Darryl joined the Iowa Lions Eye Bank in 2018 where he now uses a similar research approach with a goal of reducing vision loss.
Email: darryl-nishimura@uiowa.edu
Laken Pins, MBA
Laken graduated with her Master of Business Administration degree. She is the distribution manager for ILEB and is part of the business development team where she is responsible for daily distribution tasks and maintaining relationships with our surgeons. Laken previously worked at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as a nursing assistant on the Internal Medicine floor as well as the Burn/Trauma Unit, and a secretary for the GI Hepatology department. She joined the eye bank in January 2017.
Email: laken-pins@uiowa.edu
Constituent Relations
Ashley Dockendorf, BA
Ashley graduated from The University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s degree in communication studies. She is currently constituent relations coordinator and works closely with hospitals, funeral homes, and other donation constituents in Eastern Iowa to promote awareness about eye, tissue, and organ donation. Ashley has worked in the non-profit sector throughout her career and joined the Iowa Lions Eye Bank in 2017.
Email: ashley-dockendorf@uiowa.edu
Deb Schuett, BA
Deb is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the family service coordinator for the eye bank and has a passion for creating a variety of opportunities, programs, and events to honor all cornea and eye donors, compassionately serves to support and assist grieving donor families, and actively educates and encourages the grateful recipients of the gift of sight. Deb has worked in the healthcare profession throughout her career and initially joined the Iowa Lions Eye Bank staff in 2002 as an education coordinator.
Email: debra-schuett@uiowa.edu
Ellie Engelbrecht, BA
Ellie is an alumna of The University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s in health and human physiology and psychology. She is constituent relations coordinator and is responsible for working with our constituents in Central and Western Iowa. She joined the eye bank in February 2016 as a recovery technician and a part time research assistant before transitioning into her current position.
Email: ellie-engelbrecht@uiowa.edu