Kristen M. Fischer, MSW, LMSW, NSW-C has worked as a Medical Social Worker for 25 years and brings to the table a wide variety of experience and perspectives that serve patients, healthcare professionals, and her community. Kristen grew up in a small town in North Dakota, lived and studied in Chicago and Minneapolis, and integrates the diverse knowledge from each of her experiences into her work. She skillfully navigates the healthcare system and its challenges and is highly invested in the intersection between healthcare practice and patient advocacy.

Kristen is proud to have served as a Biomedical Ethics Consultant for more than a decade. Her special areas of interest and expertise are moral distress, staff resiliency and professional boundaries. She is a well-recognized local, regional and national public speaker for both community and professional audiences.

Kristen is a deeply engaged and involved member of the Social Work community on a local and national level, including serving as a member of the National Kidney Foundation’s Council of Nephrology Social Workers Executive Committee, and a board member for the National Association of Social Workers North Dakota chapter.

Outside her professional accomplishments, Kristen is a wife of nearly 25 years to Monte, mother of two teenagers and two four-legged friends. She is a skilled photographer, loves reading anything and everything and spending time on the lake in North Dakota’s very short summertime!

What company do you see as your “North Star” in ESG/sustainability/responsibility? Why? What do they do that makes them unique, interesting, different, or particularly awesome in our field?

Gap Inc – As a successful apparel company, they could probably “get by” without being so invested in ESG. However, their ESG commitment is robust and transparent, including many initiatives to empower women with employment opportunities and training, and human rights initiatives. Love that Athleta is a B Corp. And I love Athleta clothes!