Donate Life America Names Madison Walter-Garcia as Next President & CEO

RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Donate Life America (DLA) is pleased to announce Madison Walter-Garcia, MPH, CHES, as its next President & CEO, effective September 21. Walter-Garcia will succeed David Fleming, who is retiring after more than 30 years of leadership.

Walter-Garcia brings a rare combination of public health expertise and behavioral science training to DLA's mission. She holds a Master of Public Health from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health with a concentration in behavioral science and health education, a background that speaks directly to DLA's mission of educating, inspiring and activating the public to say yes to registering their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor.

For nearly a decade, Walter-Garcia held progressively senior partnership and policy roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most recently serving as Associate Director for Partnerships in the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases. Across her time at CDC, she built partnership programs from the ground up, cultivated relationships with more than 1,000 stakeholders, and led a gift portfolio through the CDC Foundation exceeding $30 million. During the COVID-19 response, she directed partnership operations for the Vaccine Task Force, coordinating hundreds of stakeholder engagements that reached millions of people nationwide.

"Madison's experience working at the intersection of public health, policy, and partnership development makes her uniquely suited to lead Donate Life America into its next chapter," said Alexandra Glazier, JD, MPH, DLA Board Chair. "Her track record of building trust with diverse stakeholders and translating complex public health goals into real action with measurable results is exactly what this moment calls for."

Walter-Garcia's career has centered on a consistent thread: bringing people and institutions together around shared public health goals, from coordinating federal agencies and Congressional stakeholders to cultivating multi-million-dollar philanthropic support for critical programs. She now brings that expertise to a new mission, growing public trust in organ, eye and tissue donation and ensuring every donor's legacy is honored.

"I am honored and energized to join Donate Life America at such an important moment for this cause," said Walter-Garcia. "Public trust is the foundation of everything this work depends on. I look forward to strengthening that foundation alongside our Donate Life State Teams and their members, partners, and the entire donation and transplant community, so that even more patients waiting for a lifesaving transplant can have hope."

"This mission is personal to me," Walter-Garcia added. "My father is a living liver donor to my sister and I've seen firsthand what that gift of life means for the entire family, not just for the recipient. I carry that with me every day, and I'm honored to help carry this cause forward for the millions of families who understand that same hope."

About Donate Life America – donatelife.net

Donate Life America is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to educate, inspire and activate the public to say yes to registering their decision to be an organ, eye and tissue donor.

DLA owns, manages and promotes Donate Life℠, the national logo and brand for the cause of donation; motivates the public to register as organ, eye and tissue donors; provides education about living donation; manages the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterMe.org and the Donate Life Living Donor Pathway; and develops and executes effective multi-media campaigns to promote donation.

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SOURCE Donate Life America