David is a cell biologist with over 25 years experience in the life science industry and currently serves as the CEO of the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB).  SDBB provides San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles County hospitals with a wide range of blood products and testing services, including cord blood banking.  David joined SDBB following his tenure at a variety of companies that developed tools for biomedical research, diagnostic and applied markets, including Illumina, GenVault and Axon Instruments.

David received his B.S. from UC Irvine, an M.S. and Ph.D. from Emory University, postdoctoral training at Tufts University and UC Berkeley, and business training at Leavey Business School of Santa Clara University and Haas Business School at UC Berkeley.  David is on the Executive Committee of the Clinical and Translational Research Institute at UC San Diego, and holds board and committee roles in several national blood bank organizations and local biotechnology companies. David is also a Board Trustee at Francis Parker School.

Dr. John Spinosa, M.D., Ph.D. is the new Chief Medical Officer at the San Diego Blood Bank. Dr. Spinosa has a broad background in clinical and anatomic pathology, hematology, molecular diagnostics and informatics. He spent 20 years at Scripps Memorial Hospital as Medical Director, Chief of Staff and Chair of Pathology, and has extensive experience in blood delivery to patients. At the same time he is entrepreneurial, serving as CMO/Medical Director of local clinical laboratories at Lexent Bio, Avera, Trovagene, Verinata Health, Prometheus, Esoterix Oncology and other specialty labs.

Karen has over 25 years of accounting and finance experience, starting her career in public accounting as a Chartered Accountant in Ireland. She came to the US in 1995 where she sat for the CPA test, passing all parts on her first attempt in the spring of 1996, while working as assistant controller for Quidel Corporation. Throughout her career she has held progressively senior roles in both public and private companies both here in the US and in Ireland. She has assisted in raising funds in equity and debt offerings and was involved with strategic transactions including the completion and successful integration of a number of acquisitions.

While at Oakley Inc, she was responsible for the successful set up of the European financial services center in Dublin, Ireland, creating savings of >$1m per year while being responsible for the compliance and reporting for 13 different entities in 11 countries in Europe. In her most recent role as Senior Vice President, Finance & Operations of WomanCare Global International, Karen oversaw the Group’s accounting, customer service & logistics, manufacturing, donor funding, grant reporting and information technology functions of this UK Charity with a for profit subsidiary. Karen’s talent sweet spots are in driving profitability and in operations/process improvement.

She is the Board Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee of The Women’s Foundation of California, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the health, safety and economic wellbeing of California’s women and their families. She is also the board secretary of the San Diego chapter of FEI (Financial Executives International). She is member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, The Association of Chartered Accountants in the US and holds an active Chartered Accounting license.

Doug Morton is an information system professional with over 25 years of experience in a variety of industries. Doug has been with the San Diego Blood Bank since 2000 in roles ranging from Director of IT to Chief Operating Officer. Doug received a B.A. from Point Loma Nazarene University majoring in Computer Science. Prior to joining the blood bank Doug held Information Technology positions with the US District Court, Hanson Aggregates and Real Property Services. Volunteer activities include coaching youth sports and raising service dogs for the blind and disabled.

Michele Corbett began her career on the 10th floor at City Hall meeting the needs of constituents in San Diego’s District 2. She went on to a 20-year stint in higher education, serving at San Diego State University and Point Loma Nazarene University. Prior to joining the San Diego Blood Bank, she most recently served in the senior marketing role for PLNU, where she was responsible for strategic priorities related to recruitment, fundraising, community relations, and alumni relations. She has launched brand platforms, enterprise website solutions, and new programs to new markets. She is most passionate about organizational storytelling and bringing brands to life.

Along the way, Michele has trained Marine Corps recruiters in communication skills; conducted research for two books written by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success and Guts!: Companies that Blow the Doors Off Business-As-Usual; and taught college courses in public speaking, business communication, advertising, and interpersonal communication.

Michele earned her B.A. in communication from PLNU and her M.A. in communication from SDSU. During graduate school, she focused her studies on organizational theory.

Michele joined the San Diego Blood Bank in February 2017.

Helen Bixenman has over 30 years of significant contribution within the biotech/healthcare arena. Through key strategic roles, Helen has acquired broad-based general management experience encompassing clinical operations for multi-site, multi-million dollar operations. Areas of professional expertise encompass compliance and regulatory affairs, quality assurance and quality control, clinical research, technical administration and operations and strategic planning and business development.

As Vice President, Quality and Regulatory Affairs/Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer, she is responsible for quality and regulatory performance, oversight of quality systems and sustaining a culture of quality.  

Before joining San Diego Blood Bank she held increasingly responsible positions with several clinical laboratories and healthcare systems including Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Banner Health, Sun Health, Genzyme Genetics/Genetrix and the Genetics Center of the Southwest Biomedical Research Institute.  Helen currently serves on the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification Board of Governors and the Association of Genetic Technologists Council of Representatives and as a member of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Government Affairs Committee.

Helen earned an MBA with an emphasis in healthcare management from University of Phoenix and a B.S. in Biology from Georgian Court University, Lakewood, N.J. Helen’s professional credentials include: Certification in Healthcare Compliance (Compliance Certification Board) and Technologist in Cytogenetics, Diplomate in Laboratory Management and Qualification in Laboratory Compliance (American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification).

Rick has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Administration from Sacramento State University and has over 23 years of experience in the logistics field. He began his logistics career with Federal Express (FedEx) Corporation in 1993 coordinating the Containerized Transport Vehicle (CTV) fleet from the FedEx hub at Los Angeles International Airport to stations throughout Southern California. Rick worked his way up through the ranks to become the PM Operations Manager at the FedEx station in Santa Barbara, California. While there he coordinated the activities of the couriers, handlers, ramp agents, CTV vehicles and cargo aircraft.

Rick joined the San Diego Blood Bank management team in 1999 as the Manager of Hospital Services then was promoted to Director of Hospital Services (and Document Control) and is currently the Vice President of Logistics responsible for coordinating the activities the Hospital Services, Materials Management and Plant Operations Departments.

While at the Blood Bank Rick has helped launch the Commercial Motor Vehicle program, the Training and Document Control Department and works with California Blood Bank (CBBS) to perform the duties of the Southern California Area Emergency Operations Center (AEOC) to help coordinate the flow of blood products through California in the event of local, state or national emergencies.

Shawn has over 15 years of experience specializing in mid-size to large organizations providing guidance and leadership, while supporting growth and stabilization. He has broad experience ranging from strategic planning, leadership development and change management to HR specialties including: compensation/bonus programs, benefits administration, labor laws, contract negotiation and the development and delivery of corporate training programs. Additionally, he has experience in various industries including professional services, retail and hospitality.  Shawn has focused on developing a strong sense of organizational culture – and you’ll feel that when you meet him.



Prior to joining SDBB, Shawn supported fast growth organizations by linking people strategies to business strategies. Shawn’s most recent positions have been as Chief HR Officer, Vice President of HR and Global Director of Learning & Development for private and public fortune 500 companies. Shawn comes to us as the former Vice President, Human Resources at the Competitor Group, Inc., the company that runs the Rock ‘n Roll Marathons. 

Shawn also has more than 12 years of experience teaching in higher education, as both faculty and as serving as graduate thesis advisor for multiple universities.

Shawn holds a Doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership and has earned an MBA and a Master's degree in Human Resources, while his Bachelor’s degree is in Workforce Education and Training Development. A Veteran of the United States Navy, he resides in San Elijo Hills, North County San Diego, with his wife and two daughters.

Dr. Tressler is Vice President of Laboratories for the San Diego Blood Bank where he oversees the Public Cord Blood Bank and Cell Therapy research program. Previously he held leadership roles in Biotechnology companies, serving as head of Preclinical Oncology Research at Geron, Inc, overseeing their oncology and anti-aging research programs. He also was VP of Research and Development at Cellerant Therapeutics, heading up research and development efforts for stem cell and oncology programs. He has authored over 30 peer reviewed scientific articles, book chapters and reviews as well as being inventor on several patents. Dr. Tressler has been invited to give numerous talks and lectures at Scientific and professional meetings and served as a chairperson and panelist at scientific symposia and meetings. His scientific focus is in stem cell biology, oncology and anti-aging research and he has served as a scientific advisor to various companies. He received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science and his Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Microbiology from McNeese State University. He is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks, The International Society of Cell Therapy and The American Society of Hematology.

Crane spent 13 years as Director of Business Development for Illumina, closing many strategic business collaborations, negotiating supply contracts, and launching new products. He’s received several awards while at Illumina including the Values Award, the Pillar Award and the President’s Club.

Prior to Illumina, Crane held leadership positions at La Jolla Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia/Monsanto Co., and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Crane received his B.A. in Psychology from Vanderbilt University and his M.B.A. at the Darden Business School at the University of Virginia.