Selected Work & Impact
Niesha Neal brings professional expertise and lived experience to healthcare consulting, public-health communication, patient and community engagement, and strategic advisory work. Her work helps healthcare organizations, researchers, nonprofits, and community partners incorporate patient perspectives into programs, policies, educational resources, quality measures, and healthcare decisions.
Where expertise meets lived experience.
Four examples of how patient and community perspective shapes better decisions, programs, and communication.
Kidney Transplant Compare
Contributed patient expertise to Kidney Transplant Compare, a decision-support resource designed to help kidney patients understand and compare transplant centers. Provided input on patient usability, health literacy, educational content, and the information patients need when evaluating transplant options.
Published Kidney-Care Policy Commentary
Authored a published letter to the editor calling for congressional passage of the Kidney Care Access Protection Act and continued Medicare investment in dialysis access, treatment innovation, and quality of care. The commentary translated the consequences of federal healthcare policy into clear, patient-centered language grounded in direct kidney-care experience.
“Kidney Patient Implores Congress to Pass Kidney Care Access Protection Act”
Published policy commentary. Published by The Reporter on September 2, 2026, and subsequently featured by Dialysis Patient Citizens.
CMS IOTA Model Technical Expert Panel
Selected to serve as a patient representative on the Technical Expert Panel supporting quality-measure development for the CMS Innovation Center's Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model. Contributes expertise related to health-related quality of life, patient-reported outcomes, transplant equity, health literacy, measure usability, and implementation feasibility.
Federal Kidney-Care Policy Engagement
Participates in national kidney-care policy engagement with lawmakers and healthcare stakeholders, bringing patient and community perspectives into discussions concerning dialysis access, Medicare protections, transplant access, treatment innovation, and patient choice.
Additional Leadership and Recognition
-
✓
IPRO ESRD Network 9 Medical Review Board
Patient Representative, 2019–Present
-
✓
IPRO ESRD Network 9 Board
Former Board Member, 2022–2024
-
✓
American Association of Kidney Patients
Ambassador
-
✓
Dialysis Patient Citizens
Senior Patient Ambassador
-
✓
PATIENTS Professors Academy
Class of 2026
-
✓
Media Recognition
Featured by Forbes and AAKP's RenaLife
-
✓
Certified Community Health Worker
-
✓
Master Certified Professional Coach
-
✓
BS in Criminal Justice
Minor in Rehabilitative Services
Bring patient and community expertise into your next project.
Exhale & Empower partners with healthcare organizations, researchers, nonprofits, and community partners on patient engagement, plain-language content review, strategic advisory work, and healthcare communication.