Kathy Vogelsang lends vision as chair of Gift of Life’s Governing Board
Kathy Vogelsang said goodbye to her daughter, Rebecca, as the bright and funny high schooler left for play practice on a frosty March morning in 2008. A phone call not long after changed the trajectory of her entire family’s life.
That call also meant five patients waiting for organ transplants would receive the ultimate gifts — their chance to survive their otherwise-fatal diagnoses.
“We were greeted at the hospital by the chaplain, so we knew it was bad,” Kathy recalls, tears filling her eyes as she described that devastating day.
Rebecca’s car had slid off the slick road, and the 17-year-old senior at Forest Hills Eastern High School in Ada suffered a traumatic brain injury. The chaplain mentioned organ donation to Kathy and her husband, Phil.
“I didn’t want to talk about it. I was still fighting for her and wasn’t ready,” she said. “Later, the doctors told us there was no brain activity and no hope. That’s when I said, ‘What about organ donation?’ The chaplain had planted the seed.”
Among the lives Rebecca saved were a young mother with cystic fibrosis and a very sick little boy with terminal liver disease.
Leadership for the cause
Sixteen years later, Kathy is serving a two-year term as chair of Gift of Life Michigan’s Governing Board.
Her role bears a great deal of responsibility — much like her career in Grand Rapids where she is chief investment officer for Van Andel Institute, a $2 billion biomedical research and science education organization in the state’s second-largest city. She started the endowment office there in 2006 and has managed Van Andel’s massive investment portfolio ever since.
She balances her work with what she does for Gift of Life, one of the top-performing organ procurement organizations in the country. Kathy oversees a board that manages many aspects of the 501(c)(3) and collaborates with President and CEO Dorrie Dils and her team of vice presidents.
Kathy’s vast business background and her personal connection to organ donation lend valuable perspective, and she’s passionate about helping save lives — just like her daughter did.
“I do this because Rebecca was a giving person. She wanted to go into biomedical research to save lives,” Kathy said. “If Rebecca can’t continue to save lives, I’ll do it for her.”
Rebecca saw the red heart on her mom’s driver’s license as a young teen and asked her about it: “She saw me doing it and she said, ‘When I’m old enough, I want to do that.’ I wish more parents would talk to their children about it.”
“It’s a true inspiration to work alongside Kathy. Rebecca’s gift of life saved five people on the day she donated, but Kathy’s ongoing leadership and dedication to sharing Rebecca’s story have undoubtedly impacted thousands more.
“I am deeply honored to know Kathy and profoundly grateful for her unwavering commitment to honoring life through donation. Her passion and dedication inspire us all to serve donor families with the utmost compassion and excellence.” — Dorrie Dils, President & CEO, Gift of Life Michigan
Inspired by recipients
Kathy and Phil became involved in the state’s donation and transplant community in 2012 when they attended the Transplant Games of America in Grand Rapids. They were overwhelmed by the love and gratitude they felt as they walked with other donor families into the Van Andel Arena packed with hundreds of people for the opening ceremonies.
“We were so emotionally moved by the whole thing. The recipients were cheering us — all the donor families — like we were Taylor Swift,” Kathy said.
Kathy and Phil attended the biennial games again in Houston, Cleveland and again in Salt Lake City. She and other Michigan donor families volunteered to host a panel for grieving mothers at the Houston and Cleveland games.
In 2015, Kathy was recruited to serve on Gift of Life Michigan’s Board of Directors. Her term as chair on the 21-member board continues through 2025. Kathy will transition to past chair in 2026.
She’s dedicated to backing efforts to educate more Michigan residents about organ and tissue donation in hopes of growing the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. Fundraising is part of that.
“Fundraising allows us to pay for educational programs and outreach so we can grow the Donor Registry,” Kathy said. “That’s how we save lives.
“My role as a donor mom is to help people understand. Out of my tragedy came some good,” she said. “Rebecca was passionate about helping others and she wanted to save lives. Just think how many she could save if we can get the word out.”
