American Kidney Fund Appoints Five New Members to National Board of Trustees

ROCKVILLE, Md. (March 8, 2022) — The American Kidney Fund is pleased to announce the addition of five new members to its national volunteer Board of Trustees, all of whom have worked throughout their careers to advance health equity and advocate for improvements to health care and quality of life for all those affected by kidney disease.

The new members who joined the board effective March 4 are:

• Kenneth R. Bridges, MD, Principal Medical Director and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Global Blood Therapeutics. Dr. Bridges has worked for many years to address issues of health disparities; he also serves as the founder and director of the International Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation.
• Oliver T. Brooks, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Watts Healthcare Corporation and Medical Director for L.A. Care Health Plan. Dr. Brooks, immediate past president of the National Medical Association, is a nationally recognized leader on health care in communities of color and has participated in AKF's congressional briefing and Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Summit.
• Jamie A. Green, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical Research, Co-Director of the Kidney Health Research Institute and Medical Director of Quality and Innovation for Medicine Specialties at Geisinger. Dr. Green works with advocacy groups on improving kidney care, education, health literacy and eliminating health disparities, and is an alumni of AKF's Clinical Scientist in Nephrology Program.
• Malay B. Shah, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Surgical Director of Liver Transplantation at University of Kentucky. Dr. Shah, a multiorgan abdominal transplant surgeon who has been a strong advocate for people with end-stage organ failure, has worked with various groups to improve the organ procurement and distribution system.
• Priscilla VanderVeer, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. She is a kidney transplant recipient with a great passion to serve all those living with kidney disease.

Maureen Nugent Franco, CEO of PRE Commercial and an AKF board member since 2014, continues her term as AKF Board chair, and Silas Norman, MD, MPH, a transplant nephrologist at the University of Michigan, continues his term as Board chair-elect.

"We are so pleased to bring aboard these five talented individuals who will no doubt make an immediate impact on our national Board of Trustees — a passionate group with a steadfast commitment to fighting on behalf of 37 million Americans who have this life-altering disease," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO.

AKF maintains high standards of independence for its non-compensated Board of Trustees, aligning with the organization's deep commitment to transparency and accountability. The AKF Board is a group of volunteers with a broad range of professional backgrounds, personal experiences with kidney disease, skills and talents. The complete list of trustees and officers, along with their biographies, can be found on AKF's website.