Sue Dunn, Donor Alliance CEO and Longtime Leader to Retire After 15 Years at the Helm; COO Jennifer Prinz to succeed Dunn

December 16, 2019
Sue Dunn 2019

Sue Dunn will retire on June 30 after 31 years at Donor Alliance, 15 at the helm.

Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance, has announced she will retire on June 30, 2020 after leading the federally-designated organ procurement organization serving Colorado and Wyoming for more than 15 years. She will be succeeded by Jennifer Prinz, who currently serves as chief operating officer of Donor Alliance.

During a career that has spanned more than three decades, Dunn has been a pillar in the donation and transplantation community, leading the charge to ensure that transplants are available to patients in need. She has made enormous dedications of time and passion to a number of industry organizations. Currently, she is the immediate past president of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS) board of directors. She is also formerly the president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) and has served on numerous industry boards and committees. She has been recognized both locally and nationally for her leadership at Donor Alliance, including being honored by AOPO with the 2019 Sallop Excellence in Leadership Award.

“Throughout her storied career, Sue has demonstrated an unwavering passion for organ and tissue donation, and as a result has helped to ensure that countless patients have received the lifesaving or healing transplants that they desperately needed,” said Brian Shepard, chief executive officer of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). “The impact of her decades of tireless work and dedication have been felt far beyond Colorado and Wyoming and will continue to be realized for years to come. She has been a valued leader and mentor for many and we wish her well in her retirement. She will be greatly missed.”

Dunn Guided Continuous Improvement

Sue Dunn AOPO Lifetime Achievement Award

Dunn has served in numerous leadership roles throughout the field and earned widespread recognition for her contribution to donation and transplantation in her more than 30 year career.

Over the last decade, Dunn has led Donor Alliance to top decile performance in nearly all key industry metrics through an organization-wide initiative to improve performance excellence and quality at Donor Alliance on an ongoing basis. As a result, in 2018, Donor Alliance was named a Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award winner. The award is a presidential-level honor recognizing exemplary U.S. organizations and businesses that demonstrate an unceasing drive for innovation, thoughtful leadership and administrative improvement. It is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive.

“It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve the local and national organ and tissue donation and transplantation community,” said Dunn. “My time at Donor Alliance has been nothing short of extraordinary, due in large part to the people. Not only are Colorado and Wyoming residents among the most generous in the country, but the dedication that our team and our partners have to our mission are at the heart of Donor Alliance’s success. I have no doubt that the organization will continue to thrive under Jennifer’s leadership, maximizing donation and saving the lives of thousands of patients in need.”

COO Jennifer Prinz will begin tenure as CEO on July 1

Prinz has been with Donor Alliance since 2008 and has also been instrumental to the organization’s success. She has more than two decades of healthcare experience and is currently responsible for the day-to-day operations of the clinical, quality, hospital development and human resources departments of the organization. Prinz will assume the president and CEO role effective July 1, 2020.