ANN ARBOR, MICH. – The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, NKFM, has announced that Dan Carney, the foundation’s President and Chief Executive Officer for the past 30 years, stepped into a new role as President and CEO Emeritus on July 1, 2017. He has been with the organization for the past 42 years.
Linda Smith-Wheelock, who previously served as NKFM’s chief operating officer for 17 years, is succeeding Carney as the new president and CEO. Carney speaks highly of her and her ability to lead the organization. “I congratulate NKFM’s fifth CEO, Linda Smith-Wheelock, as she channels her tremendous talent, energy and dedication toward making the NKFM even more effective and successful,” said Carney.
The mission of the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan is to prevent kidney disease and improve the quality of life for those living with it. This mission hasn’t changed and won’t change with this leadership transition.
Carney was just one of four people to hold the President and CEO position in the agency’s 62 year history. Under his guidance, the NKFM has reinvented itself a number of times, which is what made it an easy decision for Carney to stay at the organization for as long as he has. “The NKFM evolves to respond to current needs. This creates job satisfaction but more importantly, opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives every day.”
The foundation decided over 15 years ago to change the direction of how it was going to approach chronic kidney disease. This meant shifting the primary focus of providing services to those already in kidney failure, to focusing on preventing it, and keeping people out of dialysis and reducing the number of people needing transplants. To this day that’s still the NKFM’s main focus and the programs provided reach children as young as preschool all the way to senior citizens. “Our philosophy and culture has kept me enthused and invigorated to the extent that I continue to look forward to the next day at the NKFM even after so many years,” said Carney.
Since he is staying with the NKFM in the Emeritus capacity, he is able to continue his work on existing tasks and take on new responsibilities within the foundation, as well as stay on the board of directors. “I can do this with the knowledge that we are considered to be one of America’s top nonprofit organizations. We serve more people with more programs than any other similar nonprofit. We are innovative in our approach and committed to preventing kidney disease and improving the quality of life for those living with it,” said Carney.
