Deborah Maurer

President & CEO

Deborah Maurer, RN, MBA

Maurer began her career in healthcare as a registered nurse after receiving her nursing diploma from the Geisinger Medical Center School of Nursing in 1986. From her early days in clinical care, she developed a deep commitment to patient advocacy and witnessed firsthand the profound impact of organ and tissue donation on patients, donor families, and recipients alike.

Over a distinguished donation and transplant career starting in 1991, Maurer has held executive leadership positions at some of the nation’s most respected academic medical centers, including UCLA, the University of Chicago, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, and Banner Health. Her expertise also extends to managing national transplant networks for major healthcare organizations like Kaiser Permanente and Cigna Health.

Most recently, Maurer served as the Administrator for the UPMC Donation and Transplantation Service Line, where she provided strategic oversight across the health system’s transplant footprint and offered executive support to the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute in Pittsburgh. Her unique experience spanning procurement, payer, and provider environments has made her a nationally recognized subject matter expert in clinical operations, regulatory compliance, and building high-performing multidisciplinary teams.

Today, Maurer is honored to lead the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) as its President and CEO. Driven by a passion for advocacy and humbled by her 30+ years in donation and transplantation, she works alongside CORE’s dedicated staff to save and heal lives while supporting donor families throughout the region.

Maurer actively serves in national leadership roles within the donation community, including the OPTN Membership and Professional Standards Committee and as a Board Member for Donate Life America. She earned her MBA from Southern California University for Professional Studies in 2001.