Advisory Committee
Jason Kroft
Chair
Jason is a kidney patient who received a kidney transplant more than 20 years ago. He has been an active supporter and advocate for kidney patients and a volunteer with the Transplant Ambassador Program. He is a Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP in Toronto with over 25 years of experience.
Jamal El Ali
An accomplished professor, researcher, published author, educator, speaker, and project management consultant, Jamal El Ali holds 20 years of experience in management in Canada and the United States. He is a part-time faculty member at the University of Toronto, York University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Humber College, where he teaches project management and business administration. Jamal holds an MBA and is pursuing a PhD in psychology on artificial intelligence.
Jamal was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in March 2009 and began home hemodialysis in 2018. He received his kidney transplant from a deceased donor on February 5, 2022, and has lived a healthy life since recovering from the transplant. His experience has made Jamal passionate about giving back and help kidney patients and their loved ones by actively advocating for kidney care. He joined the Transplant Ambassador Program in April 2022 and the Kidney Patient and Donor Alliance Canada – Patient Partner Coalition in 2023, where he uses his experience and expertise to support work that will improve access to transplant for persons living with kidney disease.
Sushan Shetty
As a management consultant for large-scale program management projects, Sushan Shetty specializes in business strategy, IT due diligence, operating model design, mergers & acquisitions, and digital transformation across various industries.
He is currently working at Mastercard (Advisory Consulting) specializing in long term strategic projects. Prior to joining Mastercard, Sushan has worked with KPMG, EY and Bayer CropScience in various capacities implementing enterprise-wide programs focused on internal strategy, program management, process improvement, and operational efficiency.
Sushan earned his Masters in Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology from University of Waterloo, and his Bachelors in Computer Engineering from India. Sushan started working with the Transplant Ambassadors Program and the Kidney Patient and Donor Alliance Canada as a student because his own family had been affected by kidney disease. He supports the Alliance by generously applying his skills in business and technology to significantly advance the program.
Kathleen Brown-Blake
Kathleen supports the Foundation with communications and knowledge translation projects, helping with digital communications, websites, and other communications work. Furthermore, she assists patient partners and researchers as they share kidney-related research findings and attempt to implement those findings to better health care and health policy.
She earned her Master of Media in Journalism & Communication from Western University in October of 2020 and focused more than four years on communications and knowledge translation. Currently, she works as a legal advisor in post-secondary education, as she also has a Juris Doctorate and is licensed to practice law in Ontario. Prior to attending Western University, she practiced law for 13 years, where she obtained years of experience in operations, project management, media relations and crisis management.
Alexandra Freund
Alexandra is a kidney transplant recipient and founding Kidney Patient and Donor Alliance Canada board member who is passionate about helping others with end stage kidney failure, and in particular, about supporting younger patients realize their best possible outcome through pre-emptive transplant.
She advocates for living donor transplant in her life and through her work as a Transplant Ambassador, as well the acting Provincial Program Coordinator for the Transplant Ambassador Program, a key pillar of the Ontario Renal Network’s Enhancing Access to Kidney Transplant and Living Donation Research Strategy.