Dr. Lynette S. Luckers is the Founder and President of the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation. She created the foundation in 2011, after losing her mother in 2009 to renal kidney failure. This ignited Lynette’s passion to spread awareness about kidney disease prevention and to support individuals and families coping with the diagnosis. She is passionate about educating multicultural communities about health disparities She serves as the Gift of Life Donor Program Governing and Medical Advisor Board and served as a former Patient Ambassador for Dialysis Patient Citizens.

 

Lynette has 20 years of experience working in higher education and is currently the Dean of Counseling and Completion Services at Delaware County Community College. Previously, Lynette was the Interim Department Head of the Counseling Department and Associate Professor/Counselor at Community College of Philadelphia. Educationally, Dr. Luckers holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration from East Stroudsburg University, a Master of Science in Counseling from Shippensburg University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Bloomsburg University. A licensed professional counselor (LPC), her educational journey and professional focus span equity in education, counseling, and student success, particularly among historically underrepresented and marginalized students.

 

Lynette was the recipient of the Bloomsburg University Alumni Association’s Maroon and Gold Excellence Award, the American Association for Women in Community Colleges 40 under 40, and the KYW Newsradio Women’s Achievement Awards Rising Star Honoree. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the National Negro Council of Women. 

Dr. Ntoso joined the Board of Directors for the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation in 2015. He became acquainted with the Foundation in 2013, where he served as the keynote speaker for the third benefit dinner. Dr. Ntoso attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. He then attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine in N.Y., where he earned his medical degree and received awards for academic achievement. He completed his residency training at Bronx Municipal Hospital in Bronx, NY, where he was Chief Medical Resident. In 1986, he completed his renal and electrolyte disorders fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. In 1983, he became certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and in 1986, he became board-certified in the subspecialty of Nephrology. After completing his fellowship, he joined the Section on Renal Diseases and Hypertension at Pennsylvania Hospital.

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Since 1986, Dr. Ntoso practiced nephrology at Pennsylvania Hospital and Pennsylvania Nephrology Associates. He became Chief of the Section in 2004 and currently holds this position. Dr. Ntoso has served on several academic committees at Pennsylvania Hospital. He is a member of several other committees, including the ESRD Network 4 Medical Review Board. He served on the Renal Physicians Association Clinical Practice Committee and was Vice Chair of – the Clinical Practice Committee. He was on the Nominating Committee of the Renal Physicians Association and served briefly on the Board of Directors of the Renal Physicians Association. He received several teaching honors, including the Edward Viner Teaching Award at Pennsylvania Hospital twice. He has been in Philadelphia Magazine as a "Top Doc." After Dr. Ntoso's decades of service, he officially retired in June 2022 and is living one of his life's missions: creating a healthcare center in Ghana. 

Monique Hayes joined the Board of Directors for the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation in February 2012. Monique became interested in the Foundation through her work assisting Lynette Luckers with editing promotional materials. This work enabled Monique to learn more about what the Foundation did and she was eager to play a part of the change MLKidney sought to make. Monique has worked in the Philadelphia region in the field of education over 15 years.  Monique is a Counselor/Assistant Professor at the Community College of Philadelphia. Prior to joining Community College of Philadelphia, Monique assisted students of various ages with achieving their educational and career goals. She is skilled at presenting workshops in career development, goal setting, team building, and stress management.  

     

Monique believes that all people are capable of making positive change in their lives. In an effort to assist more people with making positive change, she opened Sassy Reality, LLC. www.sassyreality.com, a life and career coaching business. As a coach, Monique works together with clients in reaching their goals and maximizing their potential in life.  Monique earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from Temple University and a Master of Education in Student Personnel Services and Counseling in Higher Education from Widener University. She has also completed post-graduate work in Clinical Psychology at Chestnut Hill College and additional training in career development and life coaching.

Dr. Latoya Bond joined the board of directors in June 2017. She is currently a faculty member in the Counseling Department at the Community College of Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, PA. There, she provides academic, career, personal, and transfer counseling in addition to teaching a course called College Success Seminar. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Temple University, Master of Arts in Counseling in Educational Settings from Rowan University; and Doctorate of Education from Rowan University. She has worked in many different educational settings including secondary, post-secondary, alternative, and medical education.  

 

Having worked with medical students in the past, she values the importance of educating the community about health. She was inspired by the story and mission of the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation and its goal to educate and assist those affected by kidney disease. She believes to achieve excellence you have to be good to yourself, good to others, and give 100 percent in all that you do.

Vanessa Duvert joined the Board of Directors for the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation in June 2013. Her interest in the organization stemmed from her day-to-day work with organ and tissue donor education. Previously, Vanessa served as the Multicultural Outreach Coordinator at Gift of Life Donor Program, the region’s organ procurement agency. She has coordinated organ donor education in the tri-state area's African American and Latino communities. Her outreach efforts included workshops, classroom presentations and mass media campaigns. On multiple occasions she has combined forces with the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation to penetrate Philadelphia’s African American Community.  

 

Vanessa was involved with the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation as Chair of the membership committee and was awarded MLK foundation’s Community Activist Award in March 2013. Prior to the Gift of Life she was the program manager of The Sickle Cell Donor Program at the American Red Cross from 2009 to 2011. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from La Salle University and a MBA at Rutgers University Business School.

Taraya Gibson has been with the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation since the organization inception.  She has a personal interest in preventing chronic disease and improving the health of her fellow Philadelphia citizens and feels that the Marion Luckers Kidney Foundation is a great way to educate the community about kidney disease and the importance of organ donation. Taraya has previously worked with the Philadelphia Department of Health, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention for five years.

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Taraya traveled to South Africa with Cross Cultural Solutions, an international volunteer program. In the townships of South Africa, she taught health education and promotion as well as jewelry making as a skill to women and children living in a shelter who were victims of domestic violence. Taraya attended Bloomsburg University where she met Lynette Luckers in 1997. There she earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and later attended West Chester University to earn a Master of Science in Public Health and a Graduate Certificate in Integrative Health. In 2016, Taraya graduated from Drexel University accelerated Nursing Program. She currently works with critical care patients. Taraya is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She has a true passion for being creative and enjoys creating handmade jewelry and traveling in her spare time.