OUR STORY

OUR APPROACH

Samson Wong, our President and founder, received a liver transplant at just 8 months old. For the next 18 years, he never met another transplant recipient. It wasn’t until college that he discovered how many others shared his experience. He began asking: Why was there no infrastructure, initiative, or resource to connect young transplant recipients?

That question led Samson to develop plans for a research study on peer mentorship in transplantation. He hoped to show that meaningful peer connection could improve quality of life and ultimately encourage more transplant centers to build communities for patients and families.

Around the same time, our Vice President, Maddie Flickinger, experienced that same gap firsthand. She received her liver transplant at 17, during COVID-19, when isolation was already heightened. But even before her transplant, she had spent more than five years at her pediatric transplant center, rarely seeing other patients her age. She began to wonder whether others like her even existed.

OUR CLIENTS

In college, Maddie joined a research study for adolescent and young adult transplant recipients and found herself connected with nearly 15 peers who shared her experience. For the first time, she saw firsthand what was possible when transplant patients connected, understood one another, and built community. That experience inspired her to work with her center’s child life team to create a peer-led support group for teenage and young adult transplant patients.

Samson and Maddie met unexpectedly but immediately recognized a shared mission and joined forces. Later they welcomed Paulina, Andrew, and Sophie to their team. All of their experiences revealed the same fundamental gap in the transplant journey: patients need more than medical care; they need connection with people who truly understand what they are going through. That realization became the foundation of the Project Hope Transplant mission: to build the infrastructure, research, and community needed to ensure no young transplant recipient has to navigate transplantation alone.

These resources provide a consistent foundation while allowing each chapter to adapt its programming to the practices, culture, and needs of its individual transplant center and patient population. Project Hope also has a national chapter hub where up-and-coming chapters can send mentors and mentees as their home chapter works to build their infrastructure, so patients don’t face long wait times for peer-led support and educational resources.

This balance of national support and local flexibility allows Project Hope to create a scalable model without losing what makes peer support meaningful: relationships rooted in shared experience.

Ultimately, our approach connects patients, empowers young people, promotes mental wellness, and improves quality of life while building the network needed to make peer support a lasting part of the pediatric and AYA transplant experience.

Project Hope Transplant takes a chapter-based, peer-led approach to supporting pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) transplant patients. We created our model in response to a critical gap we identified firsthand: while transplant care is highly specialized medically, opportunities for patients to connect with peers who truly understand their experiences remain limited.

We address this gap by helping transplant centers and transplant organizations establish and sustain center-specific Project Hope chapters. Each chapter brings together pediatric and AYA transplant patients in a supportive peer community led by older transplant patients (our mentors) and a trusted adult advisor (our group facilitators). Through regular meetings, patients can build relationships, share experiences, ask questions, and develop the confidence and skills to navigate life with a transplant.

Project Hope’s national organization supports chapters with a growing library of educational modules covering topics such as What Is Transplant?, transplant medications and complications, navigating life after transplant, mental wellness, self-advocacy, and Telling Your Transplant Story.

OUR TEAM

Meet the Board of Directors!

Meet our incredible team of transplant recipients, using their unique perspectives to change what it means to grow up as a pediatric and AYA transplant patient! 

  • Samson is a liver transplant recipient who was transplanted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in 2006 after being diagnosed with Biliary Atresia. Inspired by his lived experiences and lack of peer-support resources post-transplant, Samson assembled a team of young adult transplant recipients to build Project Hope! 

    At Project Hope, Samson oversees daily operations, coordinates weekly team meetings, and focuses on developing and implementing long-term strategic goals. His work also includes fundraising and developing collaborations across the transplant community. Through his work, he has spoken at various conferences and seminars, highlighting his journey advancing from an isolated transplant patient to developing and leading Project Hope Transplant. He has also participated in several initiatives to promote peer support for young adults.

    Outside of transplant advocacy, Samson is a senior at Yale University studying Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry with a certificate in global health. He hopes to become a physician to help other young patients and contribute to research-based advances in the transplant community. He has a strong passion for music and is a violinist, violist, singer, and conductor! 


FOUNDER

  • Maddie is a liver transplant recipient who was transplanted at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital when she was 17. She lived with with end-stage liver disease for 5 years prior due to a rare complication from a chronic blood cancer. During her patient experience, she recognized the lack of pediatric and AYA transplant education and support resources for and set out to change that. 

    At Project Hope, Maddie established the first chapter at Georgetown and continues to serve as the peer lead for Georgetown and the Project Hope National Hub! As Vice President she helps oversee daily operations, chapter implementations, partner expansions, and the coordination of in-person events. Maddie has extensive advocacy and research experience in transplantation and has served in many roles advocating for scientific advancements and improved patient experiences. 

    Outside of transplant advocacy, Maddie graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from George Mason University in 2026. She loves hockey (Go Pens!), Noah Kahan, and taking naps with her two little dogs.

    Maddie’s favorite part of Project Hope is having the privilege to provide connections, resources, and education in a way that is welcoming and friendly while being able to build her own community at the same time.

EDUCATION LEAD

TECHNOLOGY LEAD

  • Andrew was 16 when he received a liver transplant for autoimmune hepatitis at UVA Health during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. After living through such a major surgery during an already extremely isolating time, Andrew knew he wanted to get connected with others who understood and advocate for future patients, so they’d know exactly where to turn for reliable and welcoming support. 

    At Project Hope, Andrew oversees the technology and marketing department. His role includes managing and updating our website, creating our newsletter, providing input on social media content, and maintaining our online communities including our Project Hope Minecraft server. 

    Outside of transplant, Andrew works as a theater director. He has a strong passion for performing arts and has even traveled to watch one of our Project Hope mentors perform in a show! He has a border collie named Junebug who keeps him very busy. When he’s not chasing Junebug, he loves to cook and play RPGS!

    Andrew’s favorite part of Project Hope is being part of an ever growing community and guiding younger recipients while bonding over shared interests.

RESEARCH LEAD

MEET OUR EXPANDED TEAM

  • Paulina is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) and proud Indiana University grad with a Master’s in Social Work. She's also a two-time heart transplant recipient, and her journey has inspired her passion for all things transplant advocacy and mental health. As a bilingual Mexican-American, she cares deeply about making sure everyone in the transplant community feels included, understood, and supported — because no one should ever feel alone on this journey.

    Outside of work, you’ll probably find her drawing, painting, playing video games, staying active, or hanging out with her dog, Obi! Paulina loves anything that lets her be creative, playful, and connected to the world around her

    Outside of the Transplant community, he’s an avid musician, singing in and directing an acappella group, Pitches and Tones, and serving as a conductor with Dpops, a student-run pops orchestra.

MENTAL HEALTH LEAD

Transplant AYA advocates assemble! Meet our team of AYA mentors and volunteers who make Project Hope’s mission a reality.

  • Whether he's cheering on members at support meetings, celebrating transplantiversaries, welcoming new faces into the community, or simply offering a listening ear, Matthew believes that hope grows stronger when it's shared. Just like manatees are known for their gentle and peaceful nature, Matthew creates a safe, welcoming space where transplant recipients, caregivers, and families can connect, share their experiences, and lift one another up. Matthew's favorite motto is: "Hope is better when we share it."

    He loves making new friends, celebrating every milestone, and reminding everyone that every transplant journey is unique, but no one has to walk it alone.

    Outside of the Transplant community, he’s an avid musician, singing in and directing an acappella group, Pitches and Tones, and serving as a conductor with Dpops, a student-run pops orchestra.

MASCOT