Vitalant Welcomes Bill Gates as Board Chair; Kenneth Ataga, M.D. and Nicole Glaros as New Trustees

Vitalant today announced that Bill Gates will begin a two-year term as chair of its Board of Trustees, and two new business and community leaders – Dr. Kenneth Ataga and Nicole Glaros – have joined the board.

About the Trustees

Bill Gates has served on Vitalant’s Board of Trustees since 2013, most recently as vice chair. A distinguished public servant and lawyer, Bill has been involved with public-sector leadership roles for many years while practicing law in Arizona and serving on numerous non-profit boards. He succeeds Jim Schraith who served as chair from April 2021 through April 2024, and remains on the board. Bill holds a B.S. from Drake University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Kenneth Ataga, M.D. is the Plough Foundation endowed chair in sickle cell disease and the Center for Sickle Cell Disease director at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at Memphis. An accomplished physician, Dr. Ataga’s clinical and research efforts focus on sickle cell disease and related hemoglobinopathies. Dr. Ataga received his medical degree from the School of Medicine at the University of Benin in Nigeria, completed his residency in internal medicine at the State University of New York Health Science Center (now Upstate Medical University) at Syracuse, and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Nicole Glaros is a passionate entrepreneur who has helped found and grow start-ups for nearly 20 years. She is the CEO/founder of Phos, a private investment and advisory service for early-stage technology startups. Nicole also sits on multiple boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Denver Branch, One Way Ventures and the Greater Colorado Venture Fund. Nicole holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida.

Vitalant President and CEO David R. Green said: “We are fortunate to have the support of incredibly knowledgeable and accomplished professionals on our Board of Trustees as we fulfill our mission of saving and sustaining lives. Along with our other trustees, Bill, Dr. Ataga, and Nicole will help guide our nonprofit, mission-centered organization in serving our communities for generations to come.”

Other trustees are Patricia Abrego-Santucci; Sunny P. Chico; Robert S. Cole; Cindy Elkins; John S. Lewis; Clifford A. Lowell, M.D., Ph.D.; Kathleen S. Pushor; Jim Schraith; Jeff Shumway; Paul E. Stander, M.D.; Jon H. Waters, M.D.