About Gift of Life

Robbie Donno was born in Manhasset, NY. He is a graduate of La Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, Long Island, and obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa. He met his wife, Barbara, at Duquesne and they were married in 1969. They have two children and two grandchildren. In 1971, Robbie joined Manhasset Rotary and became its President in 1975. That was the year that changed his life. There was a plea for help from the Rotary Club of Kampala, Uganda on behalf of 5-year-old Grace Agwaru, who was suffering from a congenital heart defect. Grace was brought to St. Francis Hospital where she received her life saving surgery, and the Gift of Life Program had its start. In 2003, Gift of Life International was formed and Robbie was elected its first Chairman. Robbie has been a leader in the solid waste industry for 50 years, and has received many awards for his leadership in the industry and for his philanthropic endeavors.

James LaMantia has brought an unwavering commitment to his leadership role in Gift of Life International, and attributes its noble mission to his years-long membership in Rotary. Driven by his passions – he is a philanthropist, artist, and a gallerist with locations in NY, NC, and Florida, James brings an entrepreneurial, strategic, and dedicated focus to all of his endeavors. They say that good can often be derived from difficult circumstances. As a result of his own personal experiences as a teenager, James has devoted much of his service life to the protection of children. Gift of Life International exemplifies the best of breed in bringing both hope, and life itself, to children in need around the world.

Suzanne Freaney, Past-President of Gift of Life International, first became involved with Gift of Life New Jersey Inc. in 1998 and continues to serve on their Board of Trustees. She was introduced to Gift of Life International in 2003, elected to the Board of Directors in 2007, became Secretary to their Board in 2010, was elected to serve her first of two terms as President in 2013, and completed her second term in 2017. She currently serves as Treasurer. Suzanne and her husband, Ray, reside in Berkeley Hts., NJ. They have one daughter, Caitlin. Suzanne is employed by DM AIRPORTS, LTD., operators of Morristown Municipal Airport. Her responsibilities included marketing and promotion, grants administration and financial administration of the Morristown Airport Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Association and the Morristown Airport Customs Association.

Arnie has been a board member of Gift of Life International since 2019, Executive Secretary since 2021, a board member of Gift of Life Long Island since 2009, and has been on multiple medical missions abroad with Gift of Life. Arnie resides in Long Island, NY, where he owns and operates a fire and water restoration business, Restoration Experts of NY, alongside his son Justin. He is a 22-year member of the Ronkonkoma Rotary Club, serving as District Governor in 2010-11, and has participated in over 15 humanitarian missions in Haiti and India. Arnie’s wife Rose, and his three children are also Rotarians, all sharing a passion for serving others.

My journey with Gift of Life began in 1986 in New York. My husband Lou, a new Rotarian, was asked by his club to pick up a Gift of Life child and his mother from El Salvador at JFK airport and bring them to a Ronald McDonald house on Long Island. The plane was delayed and at 11:00 pm my husband called and said that the Ronald McDonald house was closed and he was bringing them home to stay with us. So began a life changing experience, and it continues and continues. I serve on the Gift of Life International Board of Directors and am a founding and board member of Gift of Life of Florida. I am a “lifer.” It’s in my DNA.

Carl Campagna is married to a wonderful wife, Grace Ann. They have three children and six grandchildren. He has been in the wholesale food distribution business serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut for many years. Carl is involved in a numerous charitable and civic organizations helping children with different needs. He is presently a board member for The Kings County Youth Organization & HeartShare Wellness which provide a wide range of services to children and adults with developmental disabilities and families in crisis. Also, he is a current member and past president of The Rotary Club of Verrazano Brooklyn, NY and past member of the Chairman’s Council of Gift of Life International.

Carl became involved with Gift of Life International in 2008 when a 10-year old boy from the Philippines had heart surgery at NYU Hospital in NYC and passed away. The surgery was sponsored by the Campagna Family in memory of their father, Joseph, who was a charter member of The Rotary Club of Verrazano. At that point in time, Carl decided to get involved with Gift of Life International hoping this tragedy will never happen again to any child.
As a member of Gift of Life International, Carl has seen first-hand the work that goes into helping save a child in need of heart surgery, whether home or abroad, and has seen the growth of this organization through the many years with Gift of Life International. He has since made many friends with the Gift of Life Family whose goals is to heal little hearts around the world.

Larry retired as President of the global non-profit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a robotics community that inspires young people to become science and technology leaders and innovators. Prior to FIRST, Larry was a technology and transformation leader in Financial Services for more than thirty years, including thirteen years at AllianceBernstein (AB) as Global Head of Operations and Technology and Chief Technology Officer. Larry received the Service Above Self Award from Rotary International for his commitment to helping others by volunteering his time and talent. He was President of the Rotary Club of New York, and served Rotary District 7230 as District Rotaract Chair. Larry was Board Chair of Bridges to Prosperity, an organization that provides isolated communities with access to essential healthcare, education, and economic opportunities by building footbridges over impassable rivers.

Janet has been a member of Pleasantville Rotary since 1989. During this time she has compiled a remarkable record of achievement spanning all four Avenues of Service. She has a strong understanding of Rotary International Foundation. Janet served as District Governor of Rotary District 7230 for 2001 and again in 2018. In 2006, she was named District 7230 Rotarian of the Year. Janet has served RI & District 7230 on a variety of posts, including Board of Directors of District 7230 Gift of Life Metro NY and the Board of Directors for Gift of Life international. Janet has secured numerous global grants for Gift Of Life International. She is the recipient of an Rotary International Foundation Meritorious Service Award, Rotary Service Above Self Award and Distinguished Service Award.

Kathy was raised in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. She began a career in banking in 1980 and retired in 2021after almost 40 years. Kathy became a member of the Rotary Club of Moorestown in December 1988. She has been actively involved in Rotary, serving as Club President from 2004/2005. She became District Governor in 2009/2010. She is a member of the Paul Harris Society, the Rotary Foundation Bequest Society and a Major Donor. Kathy serves on the Board of the Rotary District 7505 Gift of Life Foundation and the Gift of Life International Board. Kathy is also involved in other non profits in her community. Kathy resides in Harbeson, Delaware with her husband Harry, where enjoys cooking and spending time on the beach at her home.

Ruba Karadsheh is an Interior designer who spent her professional career in residential and commercial projects in the private sector after graduating from Nicosia, Cyprus. Volunteering has played a major role in Ruba’s life, and Gift of Life holds the greatest place. It all started through the collaborative efforts of mothers in her children’s school to fundraise money and sponsor two children for heart surgery with Gift of Life. The heart-warming results opened the eyes of both her and her husband to charity work. During the seven working years with Gift of Life, she saw the need to expand the project due to Jordan’s refugee crisis. Ruba and her husband are now running a new chapter in Jordan to help even more children in need.

Albana was born in Prishtina, Kosova. She was fortunate to arrive in the US in 1995. Albana received a B.S. in Business Administration/Management with a minor in Finance from Mercy College, NY. She currently works in the PRM group for Ambac Assurance Corp in NYC. Through her volunteer work, Albana began to focus her efforts and donate her time to work with the Gift of Life International. Inspired by the organization’s goals, she raised funds to help implement the first screening visit to Prishtina, Kosova in May 2012. Since then, Gift of Life International has conducted yearly screening/medical visits in Kosova. As of November 2022, Albana’s efforts have helped screen over 1500 children and raised funds to help support sponsoring over 320 lifesaving heart surgeries for Kosovar children. In 2020, Albana received the Rotary Paul Harris award and in 2021 a presidential award “Saint Theresa” from the Kosovar President for helping Kosovar children.

Tarun earned his master’s degree from Columbia University, New York. He is also a Chartered Accountant. Tarun Mehta currently serves as Head of Corporate Development and Truist Ventures at Truist Financial Corporation. He previously served as Managing Director and Group Head of Financial Institutions Investment Banking at Truist Securities. Prior to Truist, Tarun was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan’s Investment Banking Groups. Tarun and his wife Nadine are based in New York. Their personal "Purpose" in life is achieved through "Gift of Water", a personal charity they started in 2010 to provide safe drinking water to poor villages in India (www.giftofwater-nt.org).

Harm Velvis is a recently retired pediatric cardiologist in Albany, NY after a thirty-year career at Wake Forest (Winston Salem, NC) and with Capital District Pediatric Cardiology Associates (Albany, NY). He was born in the Netherlands and attended medical school at the University of Groningen. He lives with his wife just outside Albany and their four adult children are spread out across the United States. Because his daughter was born with Down syndrome, he has a special affinity for children with Down syndrome both locally and on GOLI trips abroad. He founded and was for many years president of the Down Syndrome Aim High Resource Center in Albany. Harm has been involved with both the local Gift of Life and with Gift of Life International for 26 years, including twenty medical trips abroad.

Rob is a life-long resident of New York State. He graduated Hobart College in 1984 with a BS in Political Science. Over the years, he worked for US Senator Alfonse D’Amato and held the position of Vice President for Browning-Ferris Industries (at the time, the second largest international solid waste company in the world).

In 2008, Rob created the position of CEO for Gift of Life International. Since then, he was visited 38 countries on 5 continents to build the Gift of Life Global Network of 84 affiliates. During Rob’s tenure with Gift of Life International, 30 affiliates have been created while over 35,000 children have received care for their heart defects.

Rob focuses on strategically building bridges between Gift of Life programs, foreign Governments, Rotary Clubs and Districts, like-minded organizations and hospital administrations in order to address the Global Crisis of congenital heart defects.

Rob is a life-long New Yorker.

Brenda was inspired to help children in need with heart disease after her third child was born with a complex heart defect and underwent successful open-heart surgery in her first year of life. Brenda learned of Gift of Life International in 2006 at which time she established Gift of Life Los Angeles where she holds the position of President. Between 2008 and 2012, Brenda volunteered her time to help with Gift of Life International in addition to running Gift of Life Los Angeles. From 2012 to 2022, Brenda held the position of Director of Operations for Gift of Life International. Today, she continues this lifesaving work as Operations Consultant. Brenda also implemented the Nutritional Program in El Salvador in 2008 which has now provided nutritional support to more than 250 children and their families. Brenda has traveled with many of the Gift of Life training teams and witnessed these precious lives being saved.

Dr. Rodrigo Soto, a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon, joined Gift of Life International in May 2019. Dr. Soto has dedicated his skills and knowledge to help children with congenital heart disease in developing nations for 20 years. He completed his medical school and general surgery training in Chile. He then moved to Australia and France to learn pediatric cardiac surgery and returned to Australia in 2000 to work as staff at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. In Australia, Dr. Soto joined the International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF) as a volunteer, transitioning to staff surgeon and then to CEO in 2014.
From 2004 to 2012, Dr. Soto established the pediatric cardiac surgery program and the ECMO program at Clinica Alemana in Santiago, Chile. With the experience of setting up a pediatric cardiac program, more than a decade of volunteer work, and the work as CEO with ICHF, Dr. Soto made the decision to join Gift of Life International.
Dr. Rodrigo Soto is the Clinical Consultant for Gift of Life International and leads our training visits in the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, and Guyana.

Kim graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and received her Masters in Accounting from Long Island University – Post Campus. She has been working in the public accounting field since 2013 dealing with constant deadlines and long hours. Her family has always been connected to Rotary through her father, who taught her to step back from work and be part of something bigger. Thanks to this perspective to help others, she was provided with the opportunity to work for Gift of Life International and be part of their mission to save hearts around the world. Kim has been a part time bookkeeper for Gift of Life International for several years now, Says Kim, “I am happy to be connected to such a fulfilling organization. “

Sloan Fleming joined the Gift of Life International administrative team in June 2019. She received her PharmD degree from the University of South Carolina in 2002, following which she completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. After working for 7 years as a clinical pharmacist in trauma critical care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, her family moved back home to the Carolinas where she worked as a staff clinical pharmacist with Moses Cone Health System.

For the past 4 years, Sloan has served as the Volunteer and Trip Coordinator for Gift of Life International and currently assists with our training visits in the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Bolivia. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC with her husband, Greg, and children, Hannah and David. Her hobbies include reading, watching crime dramas, and traveling.

Before joining Gift of Life International, Joe LeMin had nearly 30 years of experience in the area of analytical chemistry including industrial, environmental, and pharmaceutical. His roles included analysis and quality assurance, where he was responsible for document control and quality metrics. From the time Joe’s wife Arlene (a Gift of Life International nurse volunteer) went on her first surgical mission trip in 2016, Joe has been managing medical supplies donated by Arlene’s hospital. When Gift of Life International had a need for a Logistics Coordinator in 2022, Joe was a natural choice. Joe maintains the Gift of Life International inventory of supplies near his home in Delaware and preps shipments to support Gift of Life International programs across the globe.