Citadel Cathedral of Praise and Worship Honors LiveOnNY President & CEO Leonard Achan with Man of Distinction Award for Community Service

NEW YORK, NY (Sept. 26, 2022) – Citadel Cathedral of Praise and Worship honored LiveOnNY President & CEO Leonard Achan RN, MA, ANP at its 25th anniversary gala with the prestigious Man of Distinction Award in recognition of his career dedicated to community service and ongoing efforts to save and change lives through organ and tissue donation. Under Achan’s leadership, LiveOnNY, the federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) for the New York City metropolitan area, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, and the lower Hudson Valley, has seen a 40% increase in organs transplanted, a 33% increase in organ donors and a 32% increase in tissue donors in the first half of 2022.

“We are excited and elated to be able to honor the work that Leonard is doing to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation to the citizens of New York and beyond,” said Dr. Edison Bond, Jr., Executive Administrator for the Citadel Cathedral of Praise and Worship Church. “Citadel has been working with LiveOnNY for decades at our health fairs and our symposiums. As a healthcare administrator, I always want to bring education to the community. Our church is about working on the whole person -- the mind, body and soul, and LiveOnNY helps us do that. We are grateful for Leonard’s leadership and for all he does for New Yorkers.”

Achan is a veteran New York healthcare executive and assumed the role of President and CEO of LiveOnNY in December 2021. During his first ten months in this role, he and his team have increased engagement and awareness about organ and tissue donation, and thanks to the generosity of the New York community, LiveOnNY has broken multiple New York State records for organ and tissue donation.

“I am honored and feel blessed to receive this award of distinction from the very community that LiveOnNY serves who understands the power and grace of organ and tissue donation and the righteous gifts of life that can be given to others through organ and tissue donation,” said Achan. “Thank you for this honor and thank you to all the donor heroes and their families who say yes to organ donation every day so that others may live on. Every single one of them is a hero and I accept this on behalf of them all.”

LiveOnNY works hand in hand with the New York community, local organizations, schools, elected officials and houses of worship like Citadel Cathedral to address health disparities and engage and educate people about organ, eye and tissue donation. Debunking myths and misconceptions, educating and engaging the public, and investing in staff and resources has resulted in saving and changing more lives in 2022 than ever before, with the majority of those lives saved through organ transplantation in the community we serve being within the Black, Hispanic, Asian and other Multiracial and Indigenous groups in the nonprofit’s designated service area.

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ABOUT LIVEONNY

LiveOnNY is a nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) dedicated to saving lives, providing comfort, and strengthening legacies through organ, eye, and tissue donation. The OPO, which was established in 1978, serves a culturally and ethnically diverse population of 13 million residents in New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley. Working closely with transplant centers and hospitals, LiveOnNY coordinates organ, eye, and tissue donation for transplant, educates the public and healthcare professionals about donation and transplantation, and promotes the importance of signing up on the New York State Donate Life Registry. LiveOnNY works closely with 11 transplant centers, nearly 100 hospitals, and several tissue and eye banks. LiveOnNY is a member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees the organ transplant waiting list in the U.S. For more information, please visit LiveOnNY.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Media Inquiries:

Josh Knoller, josh@nicholaslence.com

LiveOnNY Inquiries:

Ali McSherry, amcsherry@liveonny.org