Riki Graves

Riki Graves has been a public advocate for her daughter, Juliana, who received a heart transplant at just 17 days old, for the past 10 years. While Riki was pregnant with Juliana, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since surviving both difficult health challenges in 2014, Riki has been an advocate for children like Juliana, who aren’t always able to advocate for themselves.

Riki began volunteering at Texas Children’s Hospital with the Fetal Center and Heart Center shortly after Juliana was born. Through connections with Juliana’s medical team, Riki became an active vaccine advocate working with The Immunization Partnership, Immunize Texas, (now HAVEN), Voices for Vaccines, and Trust for America’s Health. Riki’s vaccine advocacy includes being invited to testify at both the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives during the past four legislative sessions. She has also worked with media on public health and vaccine advocacy pieces, as well as
presented to staffers on the importance of strong vaccination policy at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. In 2022, Juliana was chosen to be the Local Hero of the Year for Texas Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network, where she was able to have a very successful fundraising campaign for Texas Children’s.

Riki serves as a Board Member for the Chris Klug Foundation, Transplant Families, the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society (PHTS) Foundation, Haven, and the Corpus Christi Literary Reading Society. Riki serves as a member of the OPTN Disease Transmission Advisory Committee, helping develop policy related to the transmission of disease through organ transplantation. She is active on ACTION Learning Network’s FACT and CNOC Committees, the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society’s Quality Initiatives Committee, and the American Liver Foundation’s Texas Medical Advisory Committee. Riki has a Master’s in Healthcare Administration, and is employed by Houston Methodist’s J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center as a Business Development Specialist for the Sherrie and Alan Conover Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation.

Riki enjoys spending time in her family’s home in Carbondale, with her children, Benjamin (13) and Juliana (10).