05/28/2026

Celebrating 31 Years of Journey and Growth

Dani Concepcion, Fran Rickenbach, Clarica Douglas Ajayi, Heather Paradis, Kevin Burns at DTX43

When I first started working with NANT in 1995, I had no idea where this journey would take me. Over the last 31 years, I have met literally thousands of devoted dialysis technicians who are deeply dedicated to providing quality care to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). It has been my absolute privilege to watch so many of you grow your careers through NANT. Throughout it all, my sole focus has been ensuring that dialysis technicians receive the respect you deserve for your vital role on the care team.

We could easily measure our success by the numbers—our rock-solid membership, the incredible growth of DTX (surging from 94 technicians in 2019 when we launched our new format to over 500 in 2026!), increasing sponsorships, and the unwavering support of major providers like Fresenius Medical Care, DaVita, and U.S. Renal Care, who now send their award winners to our conference.

But numbers don't tell the whole story. My greatest success has been watching individual technicians realize that they can use their unique skills and talents to forge a deeply meaningful, lifelong career in the dialysis industry.

While my official retirement date is May 31, I will be sticking around briefly to wrap up a few final projects for NANT. I am incredibly pleased to hand over the Executive Director reins to Newlyn Wing, who I know will take NANT to even greater heights.

Thank you for the profound privilege of serving as your Executive Director for more than three decades.

With deep gratitude,

Fran Wolf Rickenbach, CAE, IOM
Executive Director, NANT