Party Pics: HeartLink Gala 2019

For Children’s HeartLink’s 50th anniversary, medical experts showed out for an event that raised $1 million

A crowd of 650 guests celebrated Children’s HeartLink’s 50th anniversary at HeartLink Gala on October 25, 2019. Many traveled from partner hospitals around the world or watched via livestream to take part in the event that raised $1 million. Speakers included Jackie Boucher, Children’s HeartLink president; Molly Joseph, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Global; and Omar Ishrak, Medtronic CEO. Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Joseph A. Dearani received the Founders Award.

Special guest Sofia Mourtzopoulou, from Greece, returned to Minneapolis for the first time since 1981, when she was flown here at age 6 for life-saving surgery. Now a lawyer with a husband and young son, Mourtzopoulou attended the gala with her beloved Minnesota host mother Besse Maragos, with whom she lived after surgery and before returning home to Greece.

Molly Joseph
Molly Joseph

Photo by Mike Madison

From left: John Hillen, JoAnn Sperl-Hillen, Charlie Zaugg, Dr. Ani Qi, Elizabeth Sweeney
From left: John Hillen, JoAnn Sperl-Hillen, Charlie Zaugg, Dr. Ani Qi, Elizabeth Sweeney

Photo by Mike Madison

From left: Omar Ishrak, Mary Liddicoat, John Liddicoat, Helen Ishrak
From left: Omar Ishrak, Mary Liddicoat, John Liddicoat, Helen Ishrak

Photo by Mike Madison

From left: Dr. R.K. Kumar, John Cushing, Dr. Kate Tulenko
From left: Dr. R.K. Kumar, John Cushing, Dr. Kate Tulenko

Photo by Mike Madison

Jackie Boucher
Jackie Boucher

Photo by Mike Madison

From left: Dr. Sivakumar Sivalingam, Dr. Joseph Dearani, Dr. Hamdan Leman
From left: Dr. Sivakumar Sivalingam, Dr. Joseph Dearani, Dr. Hamdan Leman

Photo by Mike Madison