Dr Crews is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, and Associate Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Medicine, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She holds appointments with the School of Nursing, the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, the Center on Aging and Health, and the Center for Health Equity, where she is Associate Director for Research Development. Her research focuses on addressing disparities in the care and outcomes of kidney disease and hypertension. An elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr Crews has received numerous awards for her research contributions, including the 2018 Johns Hopkins University President’s Frontier Award–a $250,000 award granted to a single faculty scholar on the cusp of transforming their field. She is a former National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Emerging Leader Scholar and was the inaugural Gilbert S Omenn Anniversary Fellow of the NAM. In 2019, Dr Crews received the W Lester Henry Award for Diversity and Access to Care from the American College of Physicians and the Distinguished Leader Award from the American Society of Nephrology.

Among her national leadership roles, Dr Crews currently serves as Co-Chair for the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2021 Education Committee and is a member of the Nephrology Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Dr Crews received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her medical degree from Saint Louis University. A graduate of the Osler Medical Training Program, she completed nephrology fellowship and a master’s in clinical epidemiology degree at Johns Hopkins.

Lillian Pryor is the current National President of American Nephrology Nurses Association, a professional nursing association comprising more than 8,300 nephrology nurses. ANNA improves members’ lives through education, advocacy, networking, and science. She has been a practicing nephrology nurse for over 30 years. Ms Pryor received her bachelor’s in nursing from Seton Hall University and her master’s in nursing from Kean University. Ms Pryor has served ANNA since 1990 in roles that include ANNA director, ANNA Awards & Scholarships Committee chairperson, ANNA representative to the Kidney Health Initiative Patient Preference Task Force, and Nephrology Nursing Journal author and peer reviewer. She is also an active member of the ANNA Dogwood Chapter in Georgia and has served the chapter as both its president and health policy representative. As ANNA President, Ms Pryor wants to work diligently to ensure nurses’ and patients’ voices are heard. She believes that nurses have the crucial responsibility of advocating for patients and improving care.

LaVarne Addison Burton is President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Kidney Fund (AKF), a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to fight kidney disease and help people live healthier lives. Ms Burton has led AKF since 2005. As the number of Americans living with kidney disease has grown to 37 million, so has the need increased for the programs and services of the American Kidney Fund. Through its diverse and wide-reaching programs, AKF supports people no matter where they are in the fight against kidney disease—from education and prevention through treatment and transplant. The American Kidney Fund has significantly enhanced its programs and services during Ms Burton’s tenure. Ms Burton served as Executive Secretary to the US Department of Health and Human Services, where she managed policy development and regulations and was advisor to the Secretary of the federal government’s largest domestic agency. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget Policy at HHS and as Senior Analyst to the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, advising the Committee on funding policy and legislative positions for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs. Ms Burton is a member and Past Chair of the National Health Council (NHC) Board of Directors. The NHC is the only organization of its kind that brings together all segments of the health community to provide a united voice for the more than 133 million people with chronic diseases and disabilities and their family caregivers. She also serves or has served on a number of other boards, including Kidney Care Partners; Advisory Council for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as the NIH Council of Councils. She was a Founder and Board Member of Women in the Health Care Industry Foundation and was named by The Wall Street Journal to be among a select group of 100 women chosen nationwide to be members of The Journal’s Executive Taskforce on Women in the Economy. Ms Burton was born in Augusta, Georgia and attended public schools there. She received her bachelor’s degree from Howard University and master’s degree from George Washington University, both in Washington, DC.