Careers

Strategy & Mission Performance

The Strategy & Mission Performance group at DNA brings together key departments that advance our mission through innovation, data, education, compliance and compassionate care. Together, they support hospital partnerships, engage with the community, manage the DonateLifeAZ Registry in partnership with Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD), ensure regulatory compliance, and drive continuous improvement. 

Departments Include: 

Hospital Engagement & Strategy

The Hospital Engagement & Strategy (HE&S) department at DNA collaborates with hospitals to maximize the potential for Arizonans to save and heal lives. By promoting best practices, providing high-level customer service, and implementing professional education, DNA collaborates with health care professionals to support their essential role in the lifesaving and life-healing donation process. 

Community Engagement & Communications

The Community Engagement & Communications department includes two groups — Comms and Donor Family Engagement. Comms works to share the importance of organ and tissue donation and to encourage donor registration through collaboration with our health care, community and media partners. The Comms group oversees the Donate Life Arizona volunteer program and the DonateLifeAZ Registry. We work in partnership with the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division (ADOT MVD) to offer Arizonans the opportunity to register as a donor when applying for or renewing their driver license or state ID. Through education and outreach, the Comms department helps Arizonans say “yes” to the generosity of donation by encouraging donor registration. 

The Donor Family Engagement group walks alongside donor families through a two-year aftercare program. It offers the families of donors who passed away ongoing compassionate grief support, meaningful opportunities to honor their loved ones, and assistance in corresponding with recipients for at least two years.

Strategy & Support

The Strategy & Support (SS) department facilitates organizational strategic planning and provides project management structure, governance and support to ensure the successful execution of initiatives aligned with DNA’s mission and goals. By guiding teams through project lifecycles and resource management, with a strong focus on change management to support adoption and sustainability, the SS drives operational effectiveness and strategic success across the organization. 

Quality & Regulatory Compliance

Quality is an organizational function, not just the Quality and Regulatory Compliance department’s responsibility. We assure compliance with the regulatory and accrediting agencies by building quality in all processes up front. Keeping compliance with all agencies allows DNA to stay open and serve its mission. Process improvement is a requirement by the same agencies, and DNA builds process improvement into our organizational culture.  

Information Technology & Innovation

The Information Technology & Innovation (IT) department is responsible for managing and supporting the technology systems that drive operational efficiency in support of DNA’s mission. IT plays a crucial role in fostering innovation to improve workflow, streamline processes, and enhance creativity and collaboration across the organization. The department ensures the efficient operation of infrastructure, including hardware, software, network systems and telecommunications, while providing technical support to staff.  

Business Intelligence

Integral to making the most of every opportunity to save and heal lives is DNA’s ability to track donation data, report data to hospital partners and others, and make strategic decisions for our organization. Business Intelligence does all of that and more. Business Intelligence is responsible for facilitating process improvement projects, processing hospital reports, analyzing and reporting donation related data, and managing electronic medical record (EMR) access for DNA staff in Arizona hospitals.  

Organ Systems Optimization

The Organ Systems Optimization group at DNA plays a critical role in coordinating every step of the organ donation process. From the moment a hospital notifies DNA of a potential donor, these departments step in to assess clinical viability, honor donor registration decisions, and support families in making choices about donation. Once donation is authorized, they manage diagnostic testing, organ function evaluation and recipient matching. They coordinate recipient matching, logistics for organ recovery surgeries and ensure safe transport of organs to transplant centers. With skilled staff and cutting-edge technology, the Organ Systems Optimization group helps bring each donor’s gift to life. 

Departments Include:

Organ Referral Optimization

The Organ Referral Optimization (ORO) department manages donation from referral to authorization. All Arizona hospitals are required by the federal government to contact Donor Network of Arizona (DNA). Donation referrals happen when a patient meets clinical triggers or has already passed away. Upon referral, a DNA team member will, in most cases, travel to the hospital to begin the process of determining what organs may be acceptable for donation. If the potential donor has made the choice to register as an organ and tissue donor, our team collaborates with the donor hospital to honor the donor’s decision to share life. If the patient has not decided, the patient’s family or legal next-of-kin is invited to make the choice about donation on their loved one’s behalf.  

Donor Legacy

Donor Legacy supports and provides care to donor families. Donor Legacy advocates (DLAs) are responsible for donation conversations with families of potential organ and tissue donors in real time at hospitals or on the phone as the main point of contact. In the case of a registered donor, the DLA helps the family honor the decision of their loved one. When it is a family decision, DLAs engage that family in a meaningful discussion of the values and beliefs of the individual and the family. DLAs support families to allow generosity to flow freely at the most unexpected time. 

Organ Donor Optimization

The Organ Donor Optimization (ODO) department manages donation from authorization to transplant. Once donation is authorized, extensive information is gathered through laboratory and diagnostic tests. These tests are to ensure that donated organs function and are safe to transplant. During this time, recipients are identified, and surgical recovery is scheduled. Organ recovery takes place in an operating room at the donor hospital or at DNA’s donor care center in Phoenix. Organs are recovered by transplant surgeons, and the donated organs are then transported to the organ transplant center where the transplant will take place.  

HLA Lab

Equipped with a state-of-the-art facility and a department of experienced and dedicated staff, DNA’s Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory (HLA – human leukocyte antigen) plays a vital role in the organ donation process by matching a donor’s generous gift to a recipient waiting for renewed life. By reducing the risk of organ rejection, HLA’s expert team helps ensure the success of each transplant. 

Tissue Systems Optimization

From referral to recovery, the Tissue Systems Optimization group at DNA manages the tissue donation process with compassion, precision and respect. The department receives more than 30,000 calls each year and provides a thorough analysis of the potential for tissue and cornea donation. These teams work to recover gifts of tissue and help them on their way to future recipients waiting for their chance to heal. Through this work, the Tissue Systems Optimization group helps bring healing and hope to countless lives.

Departments Include: 

Tissue Donor Optimization

The Tissue Donor Optimization (TDO) department receives more than 30,000 calls each year from hospitals and partners, evaluating potential donors and supporting families through donation decisions. Donor support coordinators initiate tissue and cornea donation conversations and serve as a key point of contact for families. Additionally, TDO coordinates with funeral homes and transportation providers to ensure families’ wishes are honored. 

Tissue Recovery Optimization

Once donation is authorized, trained recovery staff perform tissue recoveries with the utmost respect and care. DNA is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and accredited by the Association for Advancing Tissue and Biologics. Each step of the process is designed to uphold safety standards while honoring the generosity of donors and their families. 

Facilities

The Facilities department is responsible for all facilities management at DNA including maintenance, custodial services, building safety and vendor management. Facilities ensures that DNA facilities are safe, functional and well suited for the organization’s activities and employee needs.  

Talent & Culture

The Talent & Culture department at DNA supports the organization’s mission by attracting, developing and retaining a diverse, mission-driven workforce. The department oversees staffing, training and development, employee relations, compensation and benefits, and workplace safety. As cultural stewards, Talent & Culture works to ensure every staff member has a positive and supportive experience at DNA. They strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities DNA serves while meeting both current and future organizational needs. With a people-first approach and professional expertise, the department is dedicated to fostering a thriving, inclusive culture that helps staff members do their best work. 

Departments Include:

• Talent Management & Culture
• Training & Development

Financial Sustainability

The Financial Sustainability group at DNA ensures the organization has the resources needed to save and improve lives. This department manages budgeting, payroll, accounts payable, billing, purchasing and financial reporting to align spending with DNA’s mission. They ensure all donation-related costs—such as hospital bills, testing and transportation—are fully covered, and donor families are never invoiced. The group also prepares key reports, including IRS tax documents and Medicare cost reports, and monitors DNA’s financial health to support both current operations and future stability. Supply Services & Operations oversees clinical inventory and stocking to support donation. They work closely with purchasing and clinical teams to ensure critical supplies are available when and where they’re needed. Through strong financial stewardship and operational support, the Financial Sustainability group helps power DNA’s lifesaving work. 

Departments Include:

• Finance
• Supply Services & Operations