Every November, we observe Eye Donation Month —a time to honor the selfless individuals and families who give the gift of sight and to shine a light on the everyday heroes who make it possible. From donor services coordinators and recovery technicians to hospital partners and cornea donors, this month is about celebration, awareness and legacy. As part of this observance, we’re proud to recognize the everyday heroes of our team whose compassion, professionalism and daily dedication embody our mission of changing lives by saving sight Explore their stories and join us in celebrating the impact of every gift.
Stephanie Alba
Donor Services Coordinator
Every day at Saving Sight begins with someone like Stephanie, a Donor Services Coordinator who helps make the gift of sight possible through compassion, clarity, and unwavering dedication to our mission of changing lives by saving sight. In her two years with Saving Sight, she has played a vital role at the start of the donation journey, screening potential donors, coordinating with hospitals and funeral homes, and supporting families during some of their hardest moments. For Stephanie, no two days are the same, but her approach never wavers, lead with empathy, stay adaptable, and rely on teamwork. One meaningful moment was when a donor family, moved by their experience, chose to register as donors themselves. For Stephanie, it was a powerful reminder that her role not only impacts recipients today but can inspire future gifts of sight. This Eye Donation Month, we recognize Stephanie and all our Everyday Heroes whose commitment ensures every donor’s legacy shines and more people can experience the gift of sight.
Sarah Plattner
Donor Services Coordinator
For more than four years, Sarah has been a steady, compassionate presence at the heart of Saving Sight’s donation process. As a Donor Services Coordinator, she helps honor the wishes of those who have passed while supporting families with care and understanding during some of their hardest moments. Her days are a blend of clinical decision-making, logistical coordination, and human connection reviewing referrals, assessing eligibility with medical partners, guiding recovery timing, and collaborating closely with funeral homes and hospital staff.
Balancing compassion and professionalism, she approaches every call “carefully and respectfully with sensitivity.” She also relies on her team, “an amazing group” she says, who lean on one another’s strengths to navigate complex cases. What stays with her most are the moments when she reads letters from donor families whose gratitude reminds her why this work matters. To Sarah, the true heroes are the donors themselves, and she feels privileged to help ensure their legacy brings hope and the gift of sight to others.
Kalista Huff
Recovery Supervisor
For Kalista, no two days as a Recovery Technician ever look the same and that’s part of what makes her work so meaningful. Some days begin with a call that carries her through a full 12-hour case; other days include a recovery followed by quiet moments of office work. But every day brings the chance to change someone’s life.
Her inspiration for this work is deeply personal, at 15, she watched her father struggle with keratoconus. Witnessing that journey shaped her future in ways she couldn’t have expected. It gave her a profound understanding of what restored sight can mean and lit the spark that now drives her every day.
That sense of purpose is never more present than when she’s scrubbed in. In those moments, her focus narrows to the donor before her and the gift they’re offering. She approaches each recovery with the same care she would want someone to give her own loved ones, focusing on precise technique, quality, and dignity.
To Kalista, being an everyday hero means showing up with skill, compassion, and gratitude, knowing that every action she takes has the power to change someone’s world.
Lauren Brownell
Recovery Technician
For Lauren, no two days as a Recovery Technician are ever alike — a truth she’s embraced wholeheartedly for over 10 years. Each day brings something new, but her purpose remains constant: to honor donors with the utmost dignity and help restore sight for someone waiting for a second chance.
Lauren approaches each recovery with the belief that donors are the true heroes of cornea donation. She treats each donor as though they were in the room with her, watching every step. This mindset grounds her in purpose and guides her commitment to recovering the highest-quality tissue because every cornea is one of a kind, and every recipient deserves the best chance at restored sight.
One of the most profound experiences of her career has been watching corneas she recovered being transplanted. Seeing that moment, the exact tissue she held with care now offering someone renewed sight, is something she describes as indescribably rewarding.
To Lauren, being called an “everyday hero” feels undeserved, she believes that honor belongs to donors and their families. Yet through her compassion, precision, and unwavering commitment, she embodies exactly what it means to help change lives by saving sight.
Nicole Taylor
Client Services Specialist
For Nicole, every day is an opportunity to bring donors’ gifts to the people who need them most. As a Client Services Specialist, she helps guide each donated cornea from evaluation to the operating room, coordinating with Medical Review, surgeons, and departments across Saving Sight to ensure every transplant has what it needs to succeed.
What motivates her most is knowing that every task she completes, every phone call, every schedule finalized, and every tissue placement is one step closer to someone regaining the ability to see. She approaches her work with accuracy, compassion, and deep respect for the donor whose gift makes it all possible.
One experience that stays with her is meeting a transplant recipient during a tour at the Kansas City office. He shared how his vision loss had put his life on hold and how receiving the cornea she helped place allowed him to move through the world freely again. Seeing the human impact of her work firsthand was a powerful reminder of why she does what she does.
Nicole believes the true heroes are the donors, but she also sees how her team embodies everyday heroism through their diligence, passion, and teamwork. Together, they ensure every gift is honored and every transplant has the best possible chance to change a life.
Stella Cunningham
Cornea Lab Technician
As a Cornea Laboratory Technician, Stella helps carry each donated cornea through some of its most critical final steps on its way to transplant. Her role ensures that every tissue is evaluated with care, processed with precision, and prepared for delivery to surgeons or research partners.
Lab work is intensely collaborative. No two days are quite the same, and Stella moves between roles depending on what the day requires. One moment she might be evaluating tissue under the microscope, the next she may be preparing grafts for surgeons or packaging tissue for research that will further advance sight-saving techniques. Every task is a meaningful part of honoring a donor’s gift.
For Stella, this work has been both meaningful and personally transformative. As a perfectionist, she once struggled with the weight of processing tissue tied to someone’s legacy. With support from her colleagues, she learned that not every challenge is within her control but her commitment to honoring donors never wavers.
Through every step in the lab, Stella ensures that a donor’s gift is honored and transformed into the life-changing gift of sight. A quiet, yet powerful testament to the everyday heroism that happens behind the scenes at Saving Sight
Randall Reed
Cornea Lab Technician
In the journey from donation to transplant, the Cornea Lab is one of the final and most crucial stops in honoring each donor’s gift. For Randy, this work is both a responsibility and a privilege. Each cornea brought in by the Recovery team is carefully evaluated to determine the best type of transplant for each unique tissue.
No two days are ever the same. “Our work is very fluid,” he says. “We have to be ready to switch gears at any moment to honor the donor’s gift and provide consistent quality for recipients.”
Attention to detail and a desire to refine his skills are essential in his role. Randy and his team examine every cornea thoroughly and process grafts to meet the precise needs of surgeons and their patients.
What keeps him motivated is simple: “The most rewarding part is knowing that every cornea we process is going to help someone in need.”
For Randy, being an everyday hero means showing up each day ready for a challenge and doing everything he can to ensure every graft honors the donor and offers hope to someone waiting to see again.