Since Brian G. Gannon joined Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center as president and CEO in February 2006, the Commit for Life program has seen phenomenal growth, with more than a quarter of a million current Commit for Life donors giving blood and saving lives on a regular basis. 

Mr. Gannon brings more than 20 years of experience as a health care administrator and executive and eight years in corporate product management, and he is uniquely qualified to meet the challenge of providing for the transfusion needs of the world's largest medical community.

Serving for 14 years as president and CEO of The Blood Center for Southeast Louisiana excellently prepared Mr. Gannon for his role here. Prior to his tenure in Louisiana, he held numerous leadership positions, including chief operating officer of Belle Bonfils Memorial Blood Center and Neurosciences Program Administrator at the Swedish Medical Center, both in Denver. His appointment as president and CEO of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center was a homecoming for Mr. Gannon. Earlier in his career, he was a product manager at Armco Steel in Houston.

Theresa Pina, a graduate of the University of Houston, serves as the Vice President of Operations for Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center located in Houston, Texas.  With over 25 years of management experience, expertise in operations, marketing, public relations and donor recruitment, Theresa provides the vision and strategic direction for the organization and ensures they maintain an adequate blood supply. Theresa began her blood banking career in 2005 as a Recruiter, then moving onto various roles before being promoted to the Director of Donor Recruitment in 2009.  In 2015, Theresa’s responsibilities increased when she took on a second department, Mobile Collections, and then further expanded in 2017 when she became VP of Operations.  She currently oversees multiple areas of the organization; a team of sales professionals responsible for the recruitment, planning, and logistics for over 7000 mobile blood drives each year in a rapidly changing business environment; a group of 185 healthcare professionals responsible for the blood collections in a highly regulated industry and a team of marketing and public relations professionals responsible for the marketing efforts needed to recruit and collect over 320,000 blood donations each year.   Theresa provides the strategic direction for media and advertising and leads the development and implementation of the organization’s brand, community awareness, and engagement.  

Theresa’s volunteer work with ADRP, an international division of America’s Blood Centers, started in 2015 as a committee member before becoming a Board Member in 2017.  Theresa has executive oversight of the ADRP Public Awareness Committee and has been the Master Class Co-Chair for two years.  She is honored to serve as ADRP President for 2021-2023.

Marc Lewis is the Vice President of Operations and responsible for Production Management, Regional Operations, Neighborhood Donor Centers, and Business Development. His standing career in the blood industry began in 1992 when he joined Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center as a Hospital Services representative before moving into various roles within the Hospital Services management team. 

Mr. Lewis was promoted to the Director of Hospital Services in 2004, with responsibilities of managing the regional blood supply, ensuring patient safety. In 2008 his responsibilities increased when he took on the Director of Production Management role, which included Hospital Services and Component Production. His work in this role increased the efficiency of the organization by establishing a direct line of manufacturing blood and blood products designated for distribution.  

His responsibilities increased again when he took on a new combined role in 2016 as the Director of Production Management, Neighborhood Donor Centers, and Regional Operations, overseeing 240 employees. Mr. Lewis was promoted in 2017 to the position of Vice President of Operations that has a multiprong approach to increase efficiency and successful patient outcomes.

Dr. Susan Rossmann is the first Chief Medical Officer of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. She joined the staff in September 2001 from her position as director of the blood bank and director of the microbiology and serology departments at Texas Children's Hospital.

Dr. Rossmann completed her undergraduate studies at Mount Holyoke College and received an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan. In 1989, she received her M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology. She is board certified in both anatomic and clinical pathology and certified in blood banking/transfusion medicine by the American Board of Pathology.

Dr. Rossmann was actively involved with Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, even before joining the executive staff. She held memberships on the technical advisory and the education and research committees. Rossmann is also an inspector with the College of American Pathologists' laboratory accreditation committee and a blood bank standards assessor with the American Association of Blood Banks.

Eric Eaton joined Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in January 2007 as Director of Business Operations. Mr. Eaton was promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in March 2016. In this position, he is responsible for overseeing the Risk Management, Building and Fleet Management, and Business Operations departments at The Blood Center. 

He graduated with his Bachelor of Business Administration from Sam Houston State University and received a CPA certification from the State of Oklahoma. Following his graduation, he accepted a job at the Oklahoma State Auditor’s Office as a State Auditor. He was promoted to Audit Manager, where he not only led and performed audits of many state and local agencies but was responsible for quality control reviews and preparation of the State’s Annual Financial Reports and State-Wide Single Audit Reports.

Following his time with the Oklahoma State Auditor’s Office, he accepted a job with McConnell, Jones, Lanier, & Murphy LLP as an Audit Manager. During his tenure there, he was promoted to Director of Quality Assurance, where he gained valuable experience working with non-profits such as the NAACP, MS Society, and the Gulf Coast Community Services Association that helped further prepare him for his role at The Blood Center.