NKF Appoints Three Top Executives to Board of Directors
Hubert L. Allen of Illinois, Renée Richardson Gosline of Massachusetts and Alison Steiber of Ohio join the fight against kidney disease
November 10, 2021, New York, NY — The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to its national Board of Directors. The new members were nominated and approved at NKF’s most recent board meeting held in October.
“We’re so excited for these three incredibly talented executives to join the NKF Board of Directors and share their extensive knowledge in their areas of expertise,” said Anthony Tuggle, Chair of NKF’s national board and a kidney transplant recipient. “Alison brings over 20 years of experience in renal nutrition, Hubert has over 25 years in pharmaceutical law, andRenée has decades of extensive experience in research that examines how social structure and technology affect performance and self-perception. We look forward to working with these distinguished new members as we build greater awareness of kidney disease.”
Hubert L. Allen resides in Chicago, Illinois and is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at Abbott, the global healthcare company, where he leads a diverse global team of over 250 lawyers that interact with legal systems in more than 100 countries to support Abbott business all around the world. Since joining Abbott in 2006, he has held numerous positions within Abbott’s legal department, including Divisional Vice President and Associate General Counsel for the Pharmaceutical Products Group, Section Head in Abbott Nutrition, and Division Counsel. Prior to joining Abbott, he was an assistant general counsel for McKesson Corporation. Allen holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in politics from Princeton University and a juris doctorate from Yale Law School.
Allen understands all too well the challenges that kidney patients face as he dealt with the same challenges when he suffered from acute kidney injury due to rhabdomyolysis, which was brought on by a campylobacter infection from food. He came to know NKF through patient educational content as he prepared for dialysis and a potential transplant. Although he was on dialysis for a few months, he learned of the disease in its early stages and fortunately regained full kidney function.
“It’s an honor to join the largest kidney patient organization in the country and pay it forward to help others dealing with a difficult diagnosis like kidney disease,” said Hubert L. Allen, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary for Abbott. “I feel fortunate that my disease was caught early, and I regained full kidney function. I hope I can help others dealing with acute kidney injury.”
Renée Richardson Gosline of Cambridge, Massachusetts is a Senior Lecturer in the Management Science group at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Principal Research Scientist at MIT’s Initiative on The Digital Economy. Gosline is an expert on the intersection between behavioral science and technology, and the implications of AI for cognitive bias in human decision-making.
Renée’s research applies behavioral science to better understand how people can use technology to make better decisions. Her projects have examined: how cognitive style predicts preference for Al versus human input; how technology affects human judgment and performance (as featured in her Tedx talk, “The Outsourced Mind”, placebo effects of brand status on performance, and the effects of storytelling in social media on trust and persuasion. She is a leading thinker on the science of Customer Experience (CX) and her work has been published and featured in major media outlets nationwide. In 2020, Renée was named a Digital Fellow at Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab, a 2020 honoree on the Thinkers50 Radar List of thinkers who are “putting a dent in the universe,” and to the Scientific Affiliate Board of the Behavioral Economics group Ideas42. She has been named one of the World’s Top 40 Professors under 40 by Poets and Quants and is a frequent keynote speaker, including the WOBI World Business Forum (2021) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies CX Summit (2021). Gosline earned her undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral education from Harvard University.
“In general, most Americans know very little about the kidneys: the signs of kidney disease, how an early diagnosis can save your life, or how to support a patient. I’d like to change that,” said Renée Richardson Gosline, PhD, Senior Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “People who live with this invisible illness should not feel invisible themselves; yet many of the millions of Americans living with kidney disease do.”
“I want NKF to be a vibrant community of support and visibility — a patient-centered experience. This hits home for me. I know all too well that living with kidney disease is a journey that no one should travel alone or in the shadows. When we support kidney patients and defeat the stigma of chronic illness, we will truly embrace inclusivity. Joining the NKF national board is an honor, and I am grateful to contribute to this important cause,” added Gosline.
Alison Steiber from Shaker Heights, Ohio began her career in renal nutrition over 25 years ago in Lincoln, NE at Bryan Memorial Hospital. Steiber has always been interested in renal nutrition, so she made a point to weave it into her doctorate at Michigan State University, in her research agenda as a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University and now in her current position as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Chief Science Officer at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, one of the world's largest organizations of food and nutrition professionals.
In her role at the Academy, Steiber leads a 13-person team in the areas of research, international, and scientific affairs who are responsible for research efforts, systemic reviews, position statements, nutrition related research, evidenced-based nutrition practice guidelines and the Dietitian Outcomes Registry. She also oversees the Academy’s international efforts, standardized language development and resources, and the research fellowship program. Steiber completed her Dietetic Internship and received her Master of Science in Dietetics at the University of Kansas Medical Center and her Doctorate in Human Nutrition from Michigan State University.
“Nutrition plays a huge role in maintaining optimal health throughout each stage of your life, and good kidney health actually keeps you alive,” said Alison Steiber, PhD, RDN, Chief Science Officer at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “I am passionate about the impact that nutrition can have on the health outcomes of patients with CKD, so I’m absolutely honored to join the NKF Board of Directors and share my decades of expertise in the field of renal nutrition.”
For more information about kidney disease, visit www.kidney.org
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don’t know they have it. 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black/African American people are more than 3 times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics/Latinos are 1.3 times more likely than non-Hispanics to have kidney failure.
About National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.