National Kidney Foundation Appoints Atlanta Executive to Board of Directors

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is pleased to announce the appointment of businessman Orlando Hampton to its national Board of Directors.

Hampton, who is the general manager of Afiniti, a leading applied artificial intelligence (AI) company, has a deeply personal connection to kidney disease which began when his stepfather's kidneys began to fail due to a deteriorating diabetes condition that led to dialysis. Eventually, Hampton's stepfather became eligible for the kidney transplant, but sadly suffered heart failure and died a month later. 

"Even after suffering through a mild stroke, amputations, and open-heart surgery not once did he complain," Hampton said. "My mother and he, who never missed a single dialysis appointment, faced each new day with grace, hope, and lots of laughter."

"Through the ordeal with my stepfather, one of the things I became painfully aware of is the underrepresentation of donors in the minority community, and most painful the amount of misinformation and conspiracy theories that run rampant through the community," Hampton said. "It is my mission in life to be a voice for the voiceless. The NKF is doing important work and I hope to amplify that message."

"Orlando's deep passion for kidney patients coupled with his business acumen will be a real asset to the board at NKF," said NKF Chair Anthony E. Tuggle. "I am delighted to have his important input on the team and look forward to working closely with him to help raise awareness of the health disparities facing kidney patients."

Hampton was one of Afiniti's first employees, joining the company in 2008 as it began developing AI technology to improve customer interactions. As the general manager of the United States, he is responsible for business development, building client relationships, overseeing deployments, and managing Afiniti's team, operations, and strategy in the country.

Prior to joining Afiniti, Hampton served as a Senior Business Operations Manager at Chase where he was responsible for inbound and outbound sales performance for card service and for overseeing more than 2,000 employees in vendor operations in India, the Philippines, and South America. He also served as Vice President at Providian Financial, where he managed telemarketing quality and training teams supporting outbound and inbound calling.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Hampton remains an avid Steelers fan though he now resides in Atlanta with his family. Hampton also serves on the global board of directors for Women in Cable Television.

The NKF Board of Directors consists of leaders in their communities who have been affected by kidney disease. They are nephrologists, kidney healthcare professionals, living donors, transplant recipients, care partners, top executives with diverse business experience, and civic leaders. The Board meets three times per year and is charged with fiduciary, fundraising, and governance responsibilities for NKF. Board members serve a term of three years and may be elected for a second term.

Kidney Disease Facts
In the United States, 37 million adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease?and approximately 90 percent don't know they have it.  1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for chronic kidney disease.  Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Blacks or African Americans are almost 4 times more likely than White Americans to have kidney failure.  Hispanics 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.

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SOURCE National Kidney Foundation