The National Kidney Registry is thrilled to announce that Eusebio J. (EJ) Tamez has been appointed Head Donor Search Coach for the National Kidney Registry, with the primary focus of achieving 400 living donor microsite patient transplants in 2023.
EJ is the fourth living kidney donor to join the National Kidney Registry team. He is also bilingual in English and Spanish, which will enable the NKR to better advocate for and assist the Hispanic community and remove the language barrier for Spanish-speaking people who are interested in becoming living kidney donors.
With more than 27 years of multicultural leadership experience in various industries throughout the U.S. and Mexico, EJ comes to the NKR from Howmet Aerospace, where he led Capital Investment Management and New Program transfers across different facilities. EJ is Green Belt Certified in Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing principles. Prior to Howmet, he worked at Del Monte Foods, where he led the implementation of a Continuous Improvement strategy.
Holding a BBA in International Business from Saint Mary’s University in San Antonio and an MBA from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, EJ also recently completed certification to become an Independent Living Donor Advocate (ILDA), sponsored by the American Society of Transplantation (AST).
EJ became a living kidney donor when he donated a kidney to his younger brother, Luis Tamez. When he found out about his brother’s need for a transplant, he did not initially consider becoming a donor because he thought you could only donate if you were deceased.
Now, EJ’s goal is to spread awareness about living kidney donation, educate other potential donors, and bring attention to the acute need for kidney donations.
“We’re so pleased to welcome EJ to the NKR team,” said Garet Hil, Founder & CEO of the NKR. “The National Kidney Registry was founded by kidney donors looking to improve the donation process, so having another living donor on the team, and someone who is already passionate about raising awareness, is a huge win for us. As someone who has experienced living donation firsthand, EJ is the perfect choice to serve as the leader of our Donor Search Coach team.”
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