Month: August 2026

While kidney transplant is the optimal treatment path for end stage kidney disease (ESKD), complex logistical, financial and educational barriers can often stand in the way for many patients interested in pursuing it.

The process can require rigorous medical, financial and emotional preparation. Clinical social workers help with this. In addition to guiding patients to successful transplantation, they help drive systemic efficiencies that can help reduce long-term costs and help increase access to life-saving transplant care.

The Critical Role of Social Workers as Educators and Supporters

Getting on and staying on the transplant waitlist requires understanding health information and needs, persistent advocacy, the ability to navigate complex healthcare systems. Social workers play a foundational role in this process by helping:

• Support Navigating the Process: Educating patients on the medical and logistical requirements of receiving a transplant, helping to resolve or mitigate anxiety or ambivalence the patient may be experiencing.
• Address Social Drivers of Health: Identifying and mitigating barriers such as transportation, financial instability or lack of caregiver support that could disqualify a patient from transplant eligibility.
• Provide Encouragement: Advocating for patients and helping  take an active role in their care, which supports adherence and long-term outcomes.

A Personal Perspective on the Transplant Journey: Angela Laino

In January 2026, Angela Laino made the profound decision to become a living donor.

“I just felt like that was my purpose,” Laino says. “It really was on my heart, like something was driving me in that direction.”

Laino was already familiar with the impact living donation can have on kidney patients. As a DaVita social worker, she has supported patients in pursuing their own kidney transplant goals — educating them on the process, connecting them with transplant centers, talking through the potential to find a living donor and more.

In addition to supporting patients directly, Laino collaborates with transplant champions across DaVita and divisional lead social workers. By sharing updates on transplantation and discussing the potential impact on patients, Angela and others collaborate on ways to support field social workers in their work with transplantation and help provide the tools they need for success.

“Education — for patients and for care teams — is an ongoing dialogue,” Laino says. “Now, I lean on my personal experience in addition to the experiences I’ve had working with patients.”

By integrating her lived experiences with clinical expertise, Laino is dedicated to creating connection that resonates with patients.

“There are quite a few myths that exist around transplant — many of them are what we call modifiable barriers. These can include age, weight, tobacco use or previous cancer diagnoses,” Laino shares. “We educate in a variety of formats to help dispel those myths.”

Addressing these modifiable barriers through targeted clinical techniques, DaVita social workers are providing a scalable health model — keeping patients on track for transplant and helping address clinical and non-clinical risks for high-cost acute care.

Driving System-Wide Value Through Patient Education

When patients are adequately prepared for a transplant, the healthcare system benefits as a whole. Effective social work intervention can help support:

• Reduced Time to Wait List: Proactive education helps patients complete evaluations faster with increased trust. Studies have shown that effective education increased understanding of the evaluation process and waitlist placement while also reducing concerns about waitlist placement.
• Improved Transplant Survival Rates: Educated patients are more likely to adhere to complex post-transplant medication regimens, reducing the risk of rejection and costly readmissions.
• Optimized Resource Use: When social workers can address social drivers of health early, they can strategically help reduce risk of emergency interventions and lower the cost of care.

“At DaVita, we go beyond education. With our training, we are positioned in our centers to provide behavioral health interventions for our patients so they can break down barriers to transplant,” Laino shares.

This includes supporting patients through motivational interviewing, assessing their readiness for change and advocating for them so they have a good understanding of the expectations in the transplant journey.

“For example, if I have a patient who uses tobacco, I can provide counseling and resources to help the patient stop tobacco use,” Laino says. “If a patient needs to meet a certain goal weight to be evaluated for transplant, I collaborate with the clinic dietitian. I will also use clinical interventions, such as motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral and solution-focused brief counseling interventions. It is all about meeting the patient where they are and supporting them in meeting their goals. We work to empower our patients, so that they can be successful in the goals they set for themselves.”

The Systemic Value of Transplant Care

Ultimately, the journey from dialysis to a successful kidney transplant is not achieved through clinical intervention alone. It requires a holistic care model where social workers are empowered to act as educators, advocates and skilled clinicians.

By creating access to multidisciplinary care, DaVita is working to increase access to transplant for every eligible patient.

August 5, 2026 /3BL/ – As demand grows for market-based solutions that address climate change, biodiversity loss and growing fiscal pressures facing many countries, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is expanding its impact investing and nature finance team, NatureVest. This expansion reflects TNC’s commitment to advancing innovative financing solutions that deliver conservation, climate, community, economic, and fiscal benefits while maximizing emerging opportunities to scale impact.

Since its launch in 2014, NatureVest has built a portfolio representing more than $4 billion in committed capital across more than 25 countries, demonstrating how well-structured investments can support ecosystems, strengthen community resilience and generate competitive financial returns. To support this momentum, NatureVest has appointed Jennifer (Jen) Louie as Managing Director of Nature Finance, alongside two new senior roles supporting its innovative sovereign debt and climate-finance projects. Together, these additions strengthen NatureVest’s existing ability to source, structure and close transactions across its strategic areas.

Jen brings more than two decades of experience spanning investment management, private credit, debt capital markets and impact investing, including leadership roles at Closed Loop Partners and across emerging markets in Africa and Asia. As Managing Director of Nature Finance, Jen leads the teams responsible for sourcing and advancing new opportunities across private impact investing and sovereign debt solutions and emerging climate-finance initiatives.

A key component of this work is supporting the pipeline for TNC’s Nature Bonds Program, which pioneered the debt conversion model that helps countries unlock sustainable long-term financing for nationally aligned conservation and climate priorities while advancing their financial, economic, and development goals. To date, TNC has successfully closed six Nature Bonds projects now in implementation in Seychelles, Barbados, Belize, Gabon, The Bahamas and Ecuador. Over the past decade, TNC has built an interdisciplinary team of dedicated finance, legal, conservation and climate science, trust fund and safeguards experts to advance this growing asset class. As interest in debt-for-nature and related sovereign debt transactions grows globally, TNC continues to advance a pipeline of potential debt conversion opportunities around the world, drawing on TNC’s deep expertise in originating, structuring, negotiating and executing these debt conversions.

To support this growing body of work, NatureVest has also recruited Matthew Newman as a Director, Sustainable Debt, where he will lead large-scale sovereign debt transactions across emerging markets to mobilize capital for climate and nature at scale. Matthew brings nearly a decade of experience in impact investing, development finance and transaction advisory within emerging markets, including roles at ISF Advisors and Impact Investment Exchange, where he designed and structured blended finance solutions across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In addition, Heather Bateman recently joined NatureVest as a Director, Impact Investments, Green Climate Fund, where she will lead efforts to develop, structure, and advance investment opportunities that leverage Green Climate Fund resources in support of climate resilience. Heather brings more than 15 years of experience in global finance, impact investing, and international development advisory, including from her most recent role as Investment Director at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, where she led debt and credit guarantee transactions with financial institutions across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

“For more than a decade, NatureVest has helped demonstrate that conservation outcomes and investment outcomes can go hand in hand,” said Cat Burns, Managing Director of NatureVest. “We’re expanding our team to build on that foundation and scale the next generation of finance solutions that meet the moment.”

“The challenges facing our world today require solutions that bring together diverse stakeholders, expertise and sources of capital,” said Melissa Weigel Benn, Managing Director, Strategy & Capital Raising at TNC. “Working with fund managers, sovereign nations, capital providers, credit enhancers, trust funds, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, TNC designs innovative approaches that align financial and conservation objectives. From private impact investment strategies to sovereign debt solutions, we see tremendous opportunity to help mobilize capital and build on our track record to meet the growing demand for practical, scalable nature finance solutions.”

Looking ahead, this new leadership will help scale TNC’s impact, deepen strategic collaborations, and pursue emerging opportunities.

 

Media Contact

Rachel Winters
Deputy Director, Global Media Relations
The Nature Conservancy
Email: rwinters@tnc.org

AMSTERDAM, August 5, 2026 /3BL/ – SCS Global Services, an international leader in third-party sustainability certification and verification for more than 40 years, today announced that Elena Schmidt will join the company as Managing Director of SCS Europe, effective January 2027.

Schmidt brings 18 years of experience in sustainability and decarbonization to the role, having worked as an auditor, standard setter, innovator, market enabler, government advisor, and industry partner. She joins SCS Global Services from the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), where she served as Executive Director and led the organization through a period of significant growth and transformation.

During her tenure at RSB, Schmidt oversaw the establishment of the RSB Book & Claim system, now recognized as a best practice adopted across the aviation, shipping, road, and heavy industry sectors. She also advised on the development of sustainability criteria and a certification framework for International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and she led development of the Biomass Balance Standard in collaboration with BASF, now adopted across multiple industries and regions worldwide.

Schmidt currently serves on the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Validation Council and on the Board of the Smart Freight Centre.

“It is an honor to join a company that has embedded sustainability in its mission for more than 40 years,” said Schmidt. “At SCS Global Services, sustainability is not merely a product line among many; it is the company’s purpose.”

Schmidt’s appointment builds on the momentum of SCS Global Services Europe B.V., the company’s dedicated EU-based entity established to help companies navigate the region’s expanding climate and sustainability regulatory landscape, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

“I am eager to establish SCS Europe as a premier certification partner for industry and the public sector, renowned for impartial assessments, scientific expertise, and exceptional quality,” said Schmidt. “Our goal is to assist decision-makers in procurement and investments, ensure compliance with regulatory and voluntary standards, support credible claims, and enhance supply chain resilience through measurable progress in sustainability metrics.”

About SCS Global Services: 

SCS Global Services is an international leader in third-party environmental and sustainability verification, certification, auditing, and standards development with over 40 years of experience. Its programs span a cross-section of industries, recognizing achievements in climate mitigation, green building, product manufacturing, food and agriculture, forestry, consumer products, and more. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, SCS Global Services has representatives and affiliate offices throughout the Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Its broad network of auditors are experts in their fields, and the company is a trusted certification partner to companies, agencies, and advocacy organizations due to its dedication to quality and professionalism. SCS Global Services is a California-chartered Benefit Corporation, reflecting its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices. SCS Global Services is also a Participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principles-based approach to responsible business. For more information, visit www.scsglobalservices.com. 

Media Contact 

Rachel Barnhart  
Director, Corporate Communications and Public Relations  
SCS Global Services  
Email: rbarnhart@scsglobalservices.com