Meet Our Staff: Executives
Monty Montoya
President and CEO
Monty Montoya pursues the world-wide elimination of corneal blindness with a passion. For those in the global arena of corneal transplantation and eye banking, he is considered a true social humanitarian for working tirelessly to achieve that major goal for the past 20 years.
As the president and CEO of SightLife, Monty leads the only non-profit global health organization solely focused on eliminating corneal blindness in the U.S. and around the world. With his guidance, SightLife's growth has burgeoned from a modest $1.9 million to more than $15 million in eight years, with nearly $10.5 million reinvested back into sight-related programs for low-income populations domestically and abroad.
Monty is a member of several national and international boards, including the Eye Bank Association of America and the Eye Bank Association of India, and has been honored with prestigious awards for his vision and service. In 2005, he received the Puget Sound Business Journal's 40 Under 40 award. In 2009, Monty was the recipient of the Eye Bank Association of America's coveted Heise Award. This award is given to a non-medical individual who has made the greatest contribution to advancing the cause of eye banking.
Monty started his career in eye banking in 1991 as a part-time technician working his way through college. He joined SightLife in 1997, when he was hired to turn around the organization from a period of financial struggle.
Monty holds a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from Duke University.
Bernie Iliakis
Chief Operating Officer
Bernie is the longest tenured employee of SightLife, joining the organization in July 1995. He is responsible for all eye bank operations, including all the people and activities involved in the donation process and the flow of ocular tissue in and out of the organization. Bernie has been directly or indirectly involved in more than 80% (over 40,000) of the corneal tissues provided for transplant by SightLife since 1969.
He is very involved within the eye bank industry. For the Eye Bank Association of America, Bernie serves on the Medical Advisory Board, which creates and revises the medical standards that govern eye banking, and as an Inspector on the Accreditation Board, which determines EBAA accreditation status of eye banks. He is also the Chair of the Procedure Manual Subcommittee. In the past, Bernie has also served as Western Region President, on the EBAA Board of Directors, and as Vice Chair of the Technician Education Committee. Bernie is a member of the AAO and ASCRS course faculty for Femtosecond Laser Keratoplasty and served on the Cornea and External Disease course faculty at the University of Washington School of Medicine, educating Ophthalmology residents on eye banking.
Bernie received his Masters Degree in Health Administration from the University of Washington and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, also at the U of W. His hobbies include travel, sports, scuba diving, history and especially spending time with his wife and daughter. A first generation American of Greek and Italian decent, Bernie is originally from Spokane and has lived in the Seattle area since 1990.
Read more about Bernie in a profile published by the University of Washington.
Tim McLaughlin
Chief Financial Officer
As SightLife's Chief Financial Officer, Tim combines comprehensive command of daily operational and financial details with deft strategic support for SightLife's future direction.
Tim joined SightLife in April 2007 after holding positions as CFO for Eddie Bauer, Vice President/Controller for AT&T Wireless Services, and CFO of NCR Corporation's microelectronics division. He began his career out of college as an industrial engineer for Union Carbide Corporation.
His financial leadership has helped SightLife to a period of rapid growth. The operational budget more than tripled from $5 million when Tim started to $17 million for 2012 while employee count grew from 58 to 110. Tim's ability to manage this growth while maintaining sure financial footing has enabled SightLife to add 10 global eye banks projects over the last two years while adding over $1 million to operating reserves.
In addition to financial matters, Tim is responsible for human resources, risk management, information technology, facilities, and purchasing at SightLife. Within his own department, he has earned high loyalty as a mentor who encourages and accommodates career development. Three members from his staff have taken continued college-level classes or professional training under his tenure.
Tim also has an active presence in supporting and growing the eye banking community through service on the Board of Directors for Vision Share. In his own neighborhood, Tim serves as a Community Advisor for Evergreen Hospital and is a past Treasurer and Trustee of the Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce.
Tim graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and earned his MBA in Finance at Northwest Missouri State University. He was awarded the Certificate of Management Accounting (CMA) designation and more recently completed the Certificate in Financial Planning Program at Seattle University.
Scott Garrepy
Chief Development Officer
Scott Garrepy joins SightLife after working as the Director of Development for International Programs at Washington State University. In that position, he was responsible for fundraising for WSU's internationally-focused programs. Scott is the former Director of Institutional Advancement for the Tony Award-winning INTIMAN Theatre, and his nearly 20 years of fundraising experience includes development positions at Seattle Opera and the Atlanta Ballet, as well as work as an independent consultant advising nonprofit and for-profit organizations on philanthropic partnerships.
Scott is Immediate Past Board President of the Washington Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He also serves on the boards of the GreaterGood Foundation and the CFO Selections Foundation, and serves on the Leadership Tomorrow Curriculum Committee and Advisory Council of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle. Scott earned a BA in English Literature from the University of Florida.
Tim Schottman
Chief Global Officer
In June of 2009, former Starbucks executive Tim Shottman joined SightLife to lead its global eye banking program. His challenge: translate 17 years of global leadership with Starbucks into building a network of eye banks to support corneal transplants and ultimately eliminate blindness for 10 million people in the developing world.
In roles spanning from Director of Global Strategy to Vice President of Marketing Tim helped Starbucks grow from 100 local stores to 15,000 stores in more than 44 countries. His responsibilities included developing retail and food service businesses with annual growth rates of up to 70%, leading global strategic initiatives and developing new product lines.
Today, less than three years later, Tim and his SightLife team have achieved impressive results with a non-profit franchising-style business model. SightLife now has 14 global partner eye banks in developing countries, with overall partner transplants increasing 62% to 5,600 in 2011 after increasing 34% in 2010. Continued aggressive growth is planned to achieve the mission of eliminating corneal blindness. A clear strategy, a successful model, and a belief in developing local leadership are key drivers behind the success.
Besides giving back to the global community professionally, Tim also enjoys contributing to the community locally. As a partner of Social Venture Partners he is an active volunteer consultant and lead partner with Seattle non-profits.
Tim's career also includes general management positions at SYSCO, a $37 billion food distributor. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University and a MBA from the University of Washington with executive training at Columbia University.
Rusty Kelly
Chief Marketing Officer
Rusty brings a talent for collaboration and a passion for increasing access to the highest-quality corneal tissue to his role as SightLife's Chief Marketing Officer.
He joined SightLife in 2009 with leadership credentials burnished from eight years as Vice President of the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). Rusty also doubled as Communications Director for that organization.
In his first two years at SightLife as California Regional Director, he led a team effort that more than doubled the number of corneas recovered at hospitals in that service area. He also initiated public awareness outreach that drew strong media coverage, including two front page stories about eye tissue donation in the San Francisco Chronicle and a feature story on the Bay Area's highest-rated evening news program.
Rusty was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer in January 2012 to help grow partnerships with surgeons and healthcare organizations domestically and in the developing world, where SightLife is a leading partner in efforts to build a network of modern eye banks.
Rusty's previous service to advance eye banking includes co-founding the Cornea Collaborative that increased the quality and quantity of corneas for transplant in the United States. He also served on the Board of Directors for Donate Life America and advised and worked in numerous campaigns to increase state donor registries. In recognition of these efforts, he was appointed to the faculty of the federal Health Services Resources Administration's (HRSA) Organ Donation and Transplantation Breakthrough Collaborative Faculty, and serves on HRSA's Collaborative Leadership Coordinating Council.
Prior to his career in eye banking, Rusty was a special education teacher for over six years and a regional director for Teach for America in Louisiana. He also served as Communications Director for the American Association for Homecare in Washington, DC.
Rusty received his bachelors degree from State University of New York, Geneseo.
Sandy Jeghers
Senior Advisor to CEO
Sandy Jeghers has over 40 years experience in healthcare executive management and business development. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Overlake Hospital Medical in Bellevue, Washington. He also founded Health People Inc., a private duty home health company, which he sold in 2002. Sandy was recruited to SightLife in 2003 after serving on its Board of Trustees. He has a long history of marketing in the healthcare field, including as author of The Marketing Mystique, as a senior consultant for a major national accounting firm, and as a speaker for the American College of Healthcare Executives. Sandy is currently a Diplomat in the ACHE. He served as the Chief Marketing Officer for SightLife until 2011.
Sandy has an MBA from George Washington University and received his certification in Gerontology from the University of Washington. Sandy has a particular interest in the field of organ and tissue transplantation, with specific focus on the global health implications of eliminating cornea blindness. He is an avid competitive golfer, winning the Washington State Golf Channel Amateur Tour Senior Division in 2008 and 2010.
