Laurel Damashek is the founding Executive Director of the International Society of Glomerular Disease. She brings a unique perspective to the role, being a glomerular disease patient herself. She was diagnosed at age 12 with FSGS and received a transplant from a close friend in 2016. During her kidney disease journey, she became a volunteer and eventually a board member at NephCure. She has been very fortunate to benefit from the expertise and compassion of leading physicians in the subspecialty, and is deeply dedicated to improving the clinical ecosystem for everyone affected by rare kidney disease.

Prior to her role in founding ISGD, Laurel spent 15 years as a project and product manager in various domains of publishing, medical devices, translation and localization, and most recently leading a team developing Anthem Award and Brandon Hall Award-winning ethics and compliance e-learning. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, where she was a Junior Fellow at Massey College, and a bachelor’s degree from Smith College. She is proficient in Spanish, German, and Chinese, with reading knowledge of a few other languages.

Laurel is based in Massachusetts. In her free time, she enjoys the arts, the outdoors, and playing the cello.