Board of Directors
- David W. Courtney, President & CEO
- Thomas Reinke, Vice President & Public Relations Director
- Jo Courtney, Treasurer
- Wendy J. Manuel, Board of Directors
- Dr. Dave Mo, Board Member
- John Claypool, JD, Board Member
- Dr. Leif Esbensen, Board Member
David W. Courtney, BSE; President, CEO & Chairman of the Board of Directors
Patient Advocate & post-double-lung transplant & pre-liver transplant patient: Alpha-1-Antitrypsin lung/liver disease; Prior member, Public Policy Roundtable on Organ Donation Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO); Past President, Texas Panhandle Chapter, Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO)
After a lengthy military career and a second career with the Texas Department of Human Services, cut short by end stage lung disease due to alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and needing a double lung transplant, David became aware of the organ donation crisis in the United States. Having met PCF’s Founder and prior President Terence McCarthy in 2002, he committed himself to changing organ donation and procurement policy in the US to an “opt out” policy of Presumed Consent.
David received Bi-Lateral lung transplant September 8, 2008 at University Transplant Center, San Antonio, TX. Although plagued by various conditions related to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, he remains active in the Transplant and Alpha-1 Community and his home Church, Western Heritage Fellowship, as well as pursuing his hobbies with family and friends.
Thomas Reinke, Vice President & Public Relations Director
Thomas E. Reinke, M.S. is an award winning administrator, innovator, and community advocate. He has been a teacher, building administrator and coach in Wisconsin for over 25 years. Tom has been asked to speak on brain-based learning, personal strengths, educational leadership, presumed consent and organ donation issues at numerous universities, technical colleges, service organizations and businesses. Tom’s highly motivating presentations influence his audience to reflect on their personal paradigms on thought- provoking topics.
Tom’s strengths according to the Gallup Organization are Futurist, Individualization, Ideation, Maximizer and Woo. Throughout his career, Tom has used his strengths and the strengths of others to significantly improve the schools, service organizations, churches and teams he has led.
Lastly, Tom believes that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting significant improvement and results without changing the paradigm of all stakeholders. In order to make a tremendous impact on the organ donation rate in the United States, he believes that we must provide an unprecedented focus on implementing presumed consent while developing a highly coordinated network of hospitals that provide accurate records and information to ensure a more effective and efficient life-saving process.
Wendy J. Manuel, Board of Directors
Wendy J. Manuel is passionate about organ donation. She regularly blogs about organ donation issues at http://wendyjmanuel.com/
Wendy recently completed her Masters in Public Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health, earning a 4.0 GPA while working full time. She decided to pursue a mid-life career change when her husband Jim died after waiting nine months on a liver transplant list. Her areas of interests in public health are organ donation, donor registration behavior, patient rights and health policy. Her practicum was with Texas Organ Sharing Alliance where she also wrote a federal grant application as her culminating experience.
Wendy is currently a senior project manager in Social Media at Dell, Inc. She recently managed employees in India and Casablanca analyzing customer feedback data. Prior to Dell, she worked for Apple. Wendy has over 20 years experience in high tech sales operations and customer service. Wendy has led multiple global projects including launching call centers and projects in The Netherlands, Canada, Panama, India and the Philippines. Before high tech, she worked in the Chamber of Commerce Industry as a lobbyist in Kansas and as the Executive Director of a suburban Chicago Chamber.
A believer in giving back, Wendy volunteered over 300 hours in 2011 and has a goal to volunteer 350 hours in 2012. In addition to the Presumed Consent Foundation she serves on the Board of Directors for The Living Bank and the Brazos Valley Emmaus Community. She recently served as a member of the advisory board of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University. She volunteers as a speaker for Texas Organ Sharing Alliance and does volunteer grant writing for various non-profits. Wendy sponsors a child through World Vision.
Dr. Dave Moe, M.D., Board Member
Dr. David Moe is a Pediatric Vascular Interventional and Diagnostic Radiologist at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. David is a graduate of UW Madison (’96) where he double majored in Zoology and Philosophy. His MD is from Medical College of Wisconsin (’00).
David’s radiology training in Madison, WI and Seattle, WA leading to his current pediatric interventional radiology sub-specialized practice has exposed him to many patients awaiting transplants and those who have received them.
John Claypool, JD, Board Member
John has been a Trial Attorney in the State of Wisconsin for over 25 years. He is board certified by the National Board of Trial Advocates. John’s practice is limited to tort litigation and he is frequently called upon to serve as a mediator in litigation matters. He has been named a Super Lawyer by a prominent statewide magazine, placing him in the top 5% of all attorneys in Wisconsin. The same magazine ranked him of the Top 50 Attorneys in the State in 2010 and 2012.
John was previously on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Academy of Trial lawyers, and he is past president of the Outagamie County Bar Association. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Fox Valley Symphony and COTS, the latter being a non-profit organization devoted to helping men and women find long-term housing and jobs.
Dr. Leif Esbensen, Board Member
Board Certified: Family Practice 1993
Dr. Leif Esbensen graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1986 with a BA in Zoology. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1990. He completed his Family Practice Residency Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin through Waukesha Memorial Hospital, graduating in 1993. Dr. Esbensen was a director for Waukesha County Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic from 1992- 2012. In addition, he has served as an Associate Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin from 1993 to present.
Phenomenal! Awesome! Outstanding! These are just a few of the superlatives people have heard mentioned about Dr. Esbensen by his patients over the years. As many of his life-long patients will attest, he has demonstrated personal characteristics such as integrity, modesty, and patience. He treats them as if they were family.
He has exhibited the qualities that exemplify an exceptional doctor. Dr. Esbensen has shown time and time again that he cares deeply about his patients by working tirelessly on their behalf.
Lastly, Dr. Esbensen believes that we need to focus on changing our healthcare paradigm when it comes to increasing organ donors in this country. All alternatives need to be brought to the table to address our current organ donation crisis.
