Risa Simon is a transplant community consultant, motivational speaker, published author, “best-life” coach, and fierce kidney patient advocate. Risa “gets” what it’s like to be a kidney patient because she is one.

As preemptive (live-donor) transplant recipient, Risa’s elevating kidney transplant opportunities at every turn. She understands the importance of proactive patient engagement and self-advocacy because her journey is living proof that patients can proactively advocate for a better quality of life.

Risa’s health journey with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) led her to find her best-life’s work. As a no-nonsense speaker and “best-life” coach, Risa’s revolutionizing patient education with her “tell-it-like-it-is” motivational seminars, coaching and self-help books that cause her program attendees, book fans and clients to take action.

Celebrating 10 successful years (and going) “Transplant-Strong,” Risa pulls back the curtain on rarely discussed problems that exist in kidney patient care, along with her life-changing strategies to achieve a better and longer life.

Risa Simon’s on a mission to empower kidney patients by inspiring them to proactively fight for a better quality of life. The life Risa, and many of her coaching clients and book fans now lives.

Risa knows the life-changing power behind proactive patient engagement. She used her own fear as a powerful motivator and pushed herself to explore beyond the sacred walls of her doctor’s exam room. In this expanded space Risa uncovered a whole new world of possibility. A world where one could proactively self-advocate to bypass dialysis by getting a transplant-first. A world full of hope and second chances. A world Risa never knew even existed.

“While I greatly benefited from these discoveries, I remained deeply troubled that a proactive path was rarely encouraged by kidney patient providers. This reality compelled me to ‘pump up the volume.’

Risa’s observations and discoveries caused her to snap out of her doctor’s hypnotic stupor that suggested she had plenty of time to work a plan. She was told she wasn’t “sick enough yet.” Fortunately, Risa debunked all that gibberish while pumping up her “bravery sleeves” so she could march towards a better quality life. 

Today you’ll find Risa full-steam-ahead, as the founder and CEO of The Proactive Path, Simon Says Seminars, inc., and TransplantFirst Academy. Her core purpose is to improve patient engagement and resulting outcomes by empowering kidney patients to fight for their best life possible – the life Risa now lives.

This is what she wants for you.