Holly Bode, Vice President, Government Affairs, American Kidney Fund
Holly Bode is the Vice President of Government Affairs at the American Kidney Fund (AKF) where she leads federal and state advocacy and public policy efforts. Before coming to AKF, she was at the Alliance of Community Health Plans where she directed their federal lobbying and communications work for nearly five years, with a focus on Medicare Advantage and other health plan issues. Holly also worked for on Capitol Hill for over nine years for various members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives as well as five years at the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Donna Shalala.
Melanie Paris, M.A., MPH, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Kidney Disease Education, American Kidney Fund
Melanie Paris, M.A., MPH, is Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Kidney Disease Education at the American Kidney Fund (AKF) in Rockville, Maryland. At AKF, Melanie oversees the creation and development of evidence-based programs and resources for people living with kidney disease, their caregivers and renal professionals.
Melanie joined AKF in 2017 with several years of experience in health program design, implementation, evaluation and analysis with companies such as The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center IDeA Studio for Health care and Design, Truven Health Analytics and the American Heart Association. Melanie is both professionally and personally committed to working as an agent of change to improve public health by working toward and advocating for solutions that are innovative – yet simple, practical and aimed at root causes.
Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in foreign language education and Master’s degrees in African Studies and in Public Health, all from The Ohio State University.