I am Associate Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, USA. I have been a kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon since 2012, having completed medical school at UAB, followed by residency and fellowship training at the University of Wisconsin - Madison (go UW solution!). I also have an interest in dialysis access. I have dabbled in basic science research, and while I LOVE learning about immunology, doing the research work did not capture my attention as well as clinical medicine. I am very much a people person, and I have benefited tremendously from the help of all my mentors (too many to name and I would forget some) and sponsors.  In turn, I love to help others - whether patients or students or trainees or junior faculty - in whatever way I can. I think that's why I focused on policy development working with UNOS, and on helping other faculty succeed in their careers in my role as Associate Dean, rather than pursuing research. It's a busy life, but it fits me. I also am different in that I've been the lucky recipient of 2 kidney transplants - one at age 11 in Germany (by a Professor Dr. Klaus Moehring), and one at age 42 at the University of Maryland (that way I could tell my surgeon exactly what to do and what not to:). I think that has led me to be (intentionally or not) an advocate for other patients whenever possible. I look forward to meeting new people at TTS 2022!