Who Are We?

The Golden Triangle Chapter is a professional society of transplant nurses and other healthcare providers who share a passion for transplantation. We are a branch of the International Transplant Nursing Society.

Meet the 2025 Board

Michael Mathewson

President

I started my transplant career working as a data entry clerk in the outpatient abdominal transplant office at CHP while I was in nursing school. Once finishing nursing school I transitioned to a staff nurse on 7B, the abdominal transplant unit. Life changed in August 2021, requiring a more consistent schedule, so I became a transplant nurse case manager with Cigna in September of that year. I still volunteer annually at Camp Chihopi, a weekend summer camp for past and future pediatric transplant recipients.

I love transplant because it is, first-and-foremost, an incredible scientific process. It is so rewarding being able to take care of children both during, during, and after transplant. It is especially satisfying seeing them succeed and thrive while volunteering at Camp Chihopi each year.

In my free time I like to snuggle and goof around with my husband and niece, who we have been fostering for three years.

Karen Emmett

President Emeritus

I have been working with transplant patients for over 35 years. I am currently a Transplant Coordinator working on the Living Donor Team. I work primarily with liver donors, but we work as a team and are cross trained to care for both liver and kidney donors. This includes working with our MUH adult team, CHP, the VA and potential global donors.

Prior to being an outpatient coordinator, I worked on the inpatient Abdominal Transplant Unit as a Primary Nurse Coordinator and Clinician.

Patient education has always been by favorite part of being a transplant nurse. I educated patients and families after their transplant while working inpatient and now get to educate living donors.

As a living donor coordinator, we follow our patients from the time they apply to be a donor until 2 years post op, so I really get to know my donors.

I have been a member of ITNS since the beginning and have held various board positions-Secretary, Membership co-chair and President. I am currently President Emeritus. I am looking forward to another exciting year and to continue to grow our chapter.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my grandkids-3-year-old Reagan and my grandsons Asher and Kai, who were born 5 weeks apart this past summer.

Shaelyn Beachem

President Elect

I am the Transplant Programmatic Nurse Specialist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Prior to this role, I worked as a Clinical Leader on the Abdominal Transplant and Intestinal Care Unit. I also worked as a PCT on this unit prior to becoming a nurse.

I’ve loved transplant from a young age as I grew up in the hospital with my two younger siblings throughout their transplant journey. I coordinate our hospital’s Donate Life Month and volunteer at Transplant Camp for our patients each summer.

In my free time I’m usually hanging out with all my nieces and nephews, friends, or flying to London to visit my boyfriend!

Amy Dwyer

I have been a member of ITNS since 2019.  My journey to transplant began in nursing school when I was led to care for a pediatric transplant patient requiring a multi-visceral transplant, which led me to become a Pediatric Small Bowel and Liver Transplant Coordinator at Georgetown University Hospital.  A move to southeastern NC, without local transplant centers, pivoted my career into clinical research for several years prior to moving back to the Pittsburgh area.  I felt called back to clinical care and was welcomed into the esteemed UPMC community as a Post-Liver Transplant Coordinator in 2019.  In 2019, I moved to part-time work as a Senior Professional Care Manager with UPMC Mercy while pursuing my MSN at Duquesne University before graduating in 2021.  In 2021, I was fortunate to move back into the UPMC Transplant community as the role of Living Donor Ambassador where I currently help patients and their Champions share their stories. 

In my spare time, I enjoy reading, spending time with my family outdoors and volunteering in my community.

Secretary Co-Chair

Rita Swink

Secretary Co-Chair

I am a Clinical Transplant Coordinator II for the Living Donor Kidney Team at UPMC Presbyterian.

I love being a part of the patient’s journey through transplant. Educating each donor on the impact of living donation and witnessing their progress through to surgery is incredible.

I’ve been in working transplant for almost eight years. My journey to transplant was led by my son’s health issues with kidney disease. These issues ultimately lead to renal transplantation. It was during the time spent at UPMC and with the transplant staff that I found my true calling in nursing. Being an OR nurse up to that point, I had nothing more than life experience in transplant, however I knew this was the path I would follow.

I joined ITNS shortly after beginning in this position in transplant. This will be my second term serving as Secretary of the Golden Triangle Chapter.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, vacationing, attending any activity of each of my three grandchildren, and reading. My husband and I enjoy camping on “free” weekends.

Nancy Pepke

Treasurer

A lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, Nancy has dedicated nearly 21 years to the pre-lung transplant team at UPMC. As a former president of ITNS-GTC and a member for 20 years, Nancy brings extensive experience and dedication to her role.

Nancy has been married to her husband, Jim for (almost!) 40 years. They are proud parents of two children, aged 34 and 30. One grand dog, an Aussie named Rayla.

Nancy finds joy in staying active through activities like weightlifting and yoga. Her favorite music is the Foo Fighters, and she enjoys binge-watching sessions of the show Supernatural.

Nancy expresses deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the GTC board alongside exceptional colleagues.

Aileen Gallatin

Education Chair

Hello! My name is Aileen Gallatin  (“Eileen”),  I am an RN on the Living Donor Liver/Kidney Transplant team for the past 6 yrs.  We are cross trained in Kidney/liver, but I primarily deal with the liver donors.  We handle our donors from the time of application to evaluation, approval, pre op and 2 + yrs post operatively.  We get to know our pts very well and work with the donors for the adult: MUH liver recipients, CHP recipients, VA recipients and work with the Global/International team for directed donors from other countries.  

Prior to the Living Donor team, I was a liver recipient coordinator on the pre team for 2 ½ yrs. My start in Transplant was as the Clinical Supervisor in the Transplant Clinic for 3 years.

I started my nursing career in the ‘1900s’  - working at Mercy before it was part of UPMC! 

I am serving my second year with ITNS as the Education Chair.  

We have two adult sons/lovely d-i-laws  w/ 2 grandaughters in northeast NJ and a grandson in Wexford.

Natalie Starzl

Dinner Meeting Co-Chair

Jacqueline Yuretich

Dinner Meeting Co-Chair

Anne Algeo

Social Media & Website Co-Chair

I have held various roles within the transplant nursing world. I started my transplant career as a Patient Care Technician on 11N at UPMC Montefiore caring for adult abdominal transplant patients. I loved the unit and patient population so much that I stayed on as a nurse after graduating from nursing school.  Having always wanted to work with children, I moved to 7B at UPMC Children’s Hospital, caring for pediatric abdominal transplant patients. After 3 years on the unit, I had the opportunity to move into a post-transplant coordinator role, caring for pediatric liver and small bowel recipients in the outpatient setting. Soon I will be moving into the liver and small bowel pre-transplant coordinator role at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh!

“What I love about transplant is that you get to build a bond with your patients and families that is unlike any other nurse-patient bond. You get to witness cutting-edge science bring hope and new life to those who need it the most. You get to be a part of a team and a community that works diligently to save and improve lives. It is truly an honor to work with transplant patients and families each day.”

In my free time, I enjoys camping, hiking, biking, and any outdoor related activities with my husband, two kiddos, and dog. I also love crafting in every shape and form.

Caitlynn Verzino

Social Media & Website Co-Chair

I'm Caitlynn! I am a transplant coordinator on the post-heart transplant team at UPMC Presbyterian. I have been a nurse for 7 years, all of which has been spent working in transplant. I am new to the cardiothoracic transplant world, but absolutely loving it - I actually started my career in abdominal transplant! I have enjoyed working in various areas of transplant including both inpatient and outpatient, pediatrics and adults, and even travel nursing. 

I have been a member of ITNS since 2021. This is my first year on the ITNS GTC Board as the Website and Social Media Chair. I am so grateful for the connections I have made through ITNS, because that is how I found my current role! I also love being involved with the American Board for Transplant Certification as a CCTN Exam Committee Member.

In my free time, I enjoy going to baseball games and visiting National Parks with my boyfriend.

Katie Lo Coco

Membership Chair

I have been a member of ITNS ever since I became a transplant nurse in 1997. Upon graduation from nursing school I got a job on the step down unit for heart and lung transplant patients at UPMC and that is where my love for transplant started. I worked there for seven years but during that time I also went to UPMC Palermo Sicily and worked on the post-op liver and kidney transplant floor on and off for a year and a half. After that I took a job as a post-op lung transplant coordinator with UPMC for four years until I decided to get a job closer to home since I had two-year old twins that were spending more time in daycare than they were at home. I got a job as a transplant case manager at United Healthcare and I have been with United for 16 years. I recently transferred to the clinical UM Implementation department.

During the twenty-eight years I have been an ITNS member I have held various positions on the board of directors. I started out as secretary for a few years, became president-elect, president, president emeritus and then membership chair. I am currently serving as the membership chair.

I have been married to my husband Vincenzo, whom I met while working in Palermo, for twenty-two years and we have 18 year old twin boys. Our sons will be starting college this year and both will be playing soccer in college. This will be the first year they won’t be playing soccer on the same team so we are hoping to see as many of both their games as we can. In my spare time I enjoy working out, taking boxing classes, taking spinning classes and crafting.