Lifeserve Executive Team

Stacy Sime President and CEO

Stacy is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of LifeServe Blood Center. In addition to her undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Microbiology from North Dakota State University, Stacy has a Masters Degree from Drake University. Stacy’s career in transfusion medicine started at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa where she worked in an active transfusion service for six years. Her blood center career began at The Blood Center of Iowa. During her time in the organization, Stacy worked her way through Quality, Donor Services, Recruitment, and Hospital Services, including the testing laboratory. 

Stacy is committed to developing tomorrow’s leaders. She has served as the Educational Coordinator for the Mercy School of Clinical Laboratory Science and now is an active member of the Advisory Board for the school. She actively mentors young leaders in her community. She is a member of the LEAD Advisory Board for Drake University, which is committed to creating an under graduate leadership curriculum.  Stacy believes the success of any community is connected to the vitality of its workforce. Stacy currently sits on the Regional Workforce Board.  

Stacy is active in her industry. She is currently on the Board of Blood Centers of America and the National Blood Collaborative. She has been active in AABB and Blood Group Alliance. She served as the chair of Blood Centers of America for 4 years. She currently sits on the National Hospital Contracts Committee and the Executive Committee. Stacy was honored to participate in an Administrative Think Tank for the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), a national organization dedicated to furthering transfusion medicine. Through her work on the Think Tank, Stacy actually published work on changes that needed to be made to strengthen the relationship between blood centers and hospitals. 

Christine Hayes Chief Operating Officer

In her role as Chief Operating Officer for LifeServe Blood Center, Christine’s responsibilities include oversight of all of LifeServe Blood Center’s operational business units throughout the tri-state region of Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. These business units include Recruitment/Marketing, Donor Services, and Hospital Services (which includes donor and reference testing, component manufacturing, and blood distribution functions).

Christine has more than 30 years of experience with LifeServe Blood Center. Prior to joining the blood banking industry, her experience focused on the medical insurance industry.  Her wealth of industry experience and knowledge of operational functions ensures the organization is primed to meet and exceed the needs of the customer.  She has been a featured contributor/speaker at many blood banking industry meetings.    

Cheryl Ritter Chief Financial Officer

As the Chief Financial Officer for LifeServe Blood Center, Cheryl’s vast experience in finance, tax, treasury, accounting practices, and strategic planning ensures that LifeServe Blood Center is a financially strong organization that is planning for the future. Cheryl has had more than 30 years of executive and senior level financial experience throughout her career in both manufacturing and healthcare organizations. 

Cheryl has been a member of the LifeServe executive team for over ten years and is responsible for all finance and accounting practices within the organization as well as oversight for the Information Technology and Purchasing/Facility departments.

I was born and raised on a farm outside Meckling, SD, attended USD, then moved to Nebraska - Would you be surprised that my favorite color is RED!?! I got my start with LifeServe and the blood industry in 2016 and am excited to be making a difference in the communities we serve. I think of my job as a party planner - doing all the behind the scenes work that is needed to make the blood drive a success - then celebrating the number of lives saved with the volunteers, communities, and donors! On my days off, I enjoy spending time on the river or traveling, but my most favorite thing ever is NanaTime!