Teresa Atkinson’s bio
Teresa has the privilege to work, live and play within the ancestral, traditional and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. She has lived with kidney disease for 35 years and have spent more time on dialysis than living with a successful transplant. After a 17 year wait on dialysis, she was lucky enough to receive her 3rd miracle transplant from the highly sensitized list.
As a person with a lifetime of lived experience with a chronic disease, Teresa is a passionate advocate for empowering others and building community. She has 25 years of volunteer experience with various kidney related heath charities; raising public awareness, peer engagement, promoting organ donation, strategic planning, and governance. She loves connecting people within the Kidney Community and helping them along their kidney journey.
“Research has become an exciting area where I can make a difference for patients and clinicians by sharing my patient journey and insights. My recent engagements with various research projects have been some of the most satisfying work I’ve done.”