Laura Frnka-Davis – Managing Director, Communications – LifeGift
Laura Frnka-Davis, APR, is the managing director of communications for LifeGift, the organ procurement organization that services Houston, Fort Worth, Lubbock and Amarillo. In her role, she oversees all of the marketing, media relations, social media, community engagement, donor family aftercare and volunteer programs.
Prior to joining LifeGift, Laura was an account supervisor at Pierpont Communications, where she worked on a variety of accounts, including Verizon Wireless, Park Plaza Hospital and Emirates Airlines. Before her tenure at Pierpont, Laura was a media relations specialist at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Laura is involved in the donation/transplantation community as the secondary team leader for Donate Life Texas and as a member of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) public relations/public education committee. She also is active in the Public Relations Society of America – Houston Chapter, where she has served in a variety of leadership roles, including Assembly Delegate, Board Secretary and Excalibur Awards Chair.
Helen Currier – Director, Renal & Pheresis Services – Texas Children’s Hospital
Helen Currier is the director of Renal & Pheresis Services at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas. She is involved in clinical research on national and local levels. As a graduate of the nursing research scholar’s program at Texas Children’s Hospital, her research interests include pediatric renal replacement therapies, issues facing chronically ill children, quality of life for pediatric ESRD patients, health care environmental design and the healing arts. She is a frequent presenter in national and international forums. Her publications include seven chapters on pediatric nephrology nursing. Currier is a pre-eminent nursing figure in national professional groups and currently serves as the past president of the National Renal Administrators’ Association. Helen acknowledges the importance of the environment in healing and is an enthusiast for The Art of Texas Children’s Hospital. Her varied nursing experiences have brought her to the realization that the healing arts are an important supplement to drug or technology-based treatment. Helen also believes in the benefits of exercise and has led transplant recipient participation in Transplant Games domestically and abroad since 2011.
Rachel Gottschalk – Director, Marketing Orthopedics & Sports Medicine – Memorial Hermann
Rachel Gottschalk is a senior level marketing professional who leverages extensive experience in developing, implementing and executing, marketing, communications and corporate development strategies to maximize long-term results.
A graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, and a marketing major, Rachel worked for a Dallas agency as a media buyer before joining the Houston Rockets organization in Corporate Development. During her seven years with the Rockets, Rachel was a Senior Manager in Corporate Partner Activation.
In this leadership role, she created and steered the Strategic Planning Committee to identify and execute ways to maximize ROI for corporate partners. As a member of the Rockets Partner Forum, Rachel developed networking opportunities for corporate partners. She also planned and hosted corporate Partner Road trips to away games where she designed custom opportunities specific to each city.
Rachel joined Memorial Hermann’s Orthopedics and Sports Medicine specialty group as Director of Marketing in August 2014. She is responsible for the overall strategic marketing plan for the service line, managing and maximizing existing partnerships and identifying new marketing opportunities. She has been busy launching and spearheading innovative marketing campaigns for new initiatives, such as those for Memorial Hermann’s nationally-recognized Joint Centers. In 2017, she also took on the role of Marketing Director for the system’s bariatric program.
On a personal note, Rachel was raised in Deer Park, a suburb of Houston, has been married to her college sweetheart for twelve years and they are parents to a four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter. She believes in giving back to her community and was involved for several years with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, as well as a volunteer at Star of Hope.