NKF Board of Directors Selects New Board Chair-Elect
October 26, 2021 — The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Board of Directors selected former National Security Council official, New York energy and investment executive, and living-donor Tracy McKibben as the next Chair-Elect at their recent quarterly meeting. She will step into the role as chair in October of 2022.
McKibben is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of New York-based MAC Energy Advisors LLC, a global investment and consulting company. She is a Harvard Law School graduate and served in several senior government positions including as a National Security Council official in the George W. Bush Administration. She worked in finance as an investment banker at Citigroup Global Markets as Managing Director and Head of Environmental Banking Strategy. She is a regular speaker and thought-leader on topics such as renewable energy, water/energy nexus, green technology, innovation, ESG and sustainability. She serves on a number of public and private company boards and has served on the NKF Board since 2019.
“It has been my honor to serve on the Board of NKF and I look forward to this new role and working with my fellow directors and the NKF management team to support the important role NKF plays in advancing initiatives to address kidney disease that includes education, prevention and living-donor transplantation, especially in diverse communities,” McKibben said. “I was able to give my mother a kidney and a much-improved quality of life and I strive to let others know that they can do the same for their loved ones. I don’t know that there is anything better you can do.”
In 2018, McKibben and Velma Scantlebury-White, MD, America’s first Black female transplant surgeon, were featured in a national, 60-second video public service announcement (PSA) produced by NKF. McKibben shared her personal story in the PSA, which also promoted NKF’s nationwide platform THE BIG ASK: THE BIG GIVE, designed to increase kidney transplantation through training and tools that help patients and families find a living donor. Launched in April, 2018 – National Donate Life Month and National Minority Health Month – the PSA highlighted that Black and African American people are at increased risk for developing kidney failure and encouraged patients and families to learn more about living organ donation.
McKibben will become the chair of the NKF Board in October 2022 taking over from kidney transplant recipient Anthony E. Tuggle, President of Customer Operations at Afiniti in Atlanta.
“Tracy will be an excellent Chair and will bring to the post a wealth of experience perfectly suited to lead our foundation into the ever-changing future,” Tuggle said. “The kidney community needs people like Tracy, who has committed so much to better outcomes and raising awareness of this dangerous disease.”
McKibben will lead a 20-member board of the Foundation, known for its work advocating for millions of kidney patients, raising awareness about kidney health, and helping to educate thousands of kidney professionals.
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 the 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.