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George is a founding member of the Diabetes Leadership Council (DLC) and currently serves as the CEO of both DPAC and DLC. He has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1983 and has 3 other family members also living with type 1. A passionate advocate for people with diabetes, George began volunteering with the American Diabetes Association in 1986 and served as the National Chair of the Board in 2009. George is also the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Theoris Group, Inc., a professional services firm headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana that provides technology solutions and software development services. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and earned his CPA in 1985.
Erin Callahan joined the DPAC team with a passion for our mission to ensure quality of and access to care, medications and devices for people living with diabetes. Her professional experience in social impact marketing, MedTech mentorship, program development, and policy, system, and environment change have strongly influenced her commitment to human-centered and individualized care. Since her T1D diagnosis in 1986, Erin hasn’t let diabetes slow her down and is eager to continue working on behalf of the diabetes community that inspires and motivates our team every day.
Working today as the DPAC and DLC senior advisor for policy and government, Tom has over 20 years of experience rooted in driving and securing improvements in diabetes care and insurance coverage via government affairs or lobbying, public affairs, public relations, and patient advocacy. His career spans work on behalf of pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device companies, non-profit patient organizations, professional associations, and related sectors to drive diabetes care improvements via government affairs, communications, and patient advocacy. He has also worked on behalf of and with nationally recognized and often little-known elected officials or administrative staff at the federal and state levels to achieve these diabetes care improvements.
Laura Blake is the Director of Operations at Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition and Diabetes Leadership Council. Prior to her current role, Laura was Director of Corporate Relations at Women InGovernment, where she worked for nine years overseeing programming on various healthcare issues for annual policy conferences and events for women state legislators across the country.
Laura has worked in both the private and non-profit sectors in Washington, DC. She has extensive experience with project management, thefacilitation of educational programming, and building partnerships with industry partners and advocacy groups.
Laura earned her M.A. in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and herB.S./B.A. degree in Business Management and Spanish from Canisius University inBuffalo, New York.
Agata is the Director of State Government Affairs. She has over a decade of experience in legislative and regulatory policy focusing on increasing access to quality and affordable healthcare. She has worked at medical provider associations, non-profit patient advocacy organizations, and in several roles with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Agata received her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Amanda is the Communications Associate for DPAC. She first became involved in the diabetes community when she joined the Diabetes Link, and she led their chapter at Johns Hopkins University during her four years there. She gained experience in advocacy through speaking with legislators as an intern with JDRF and later working with the Diabetes Link as a fellow in 2021. Prior to joining DPAC, she interned with DLC as a Health Policy Associate. Amanda earned her master's degree in Health Care Management at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2011, and she loves connecting people with diabetes to resources, information, support, and lifelong friends in the diabetes community.
April is the Senior Manager of Government Affairs and Policy for DPAC. She has experience in policy and advocacy, consulting with health systems and diabetes technology companies on regulatory reimbursement issues and advocating for better healthcare policies for patients and providers on Capitol Hill. Diagnosed with diabetes in 2019, she is excited to utilize her experience to advocate on behalf of the diabetes community. April received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts in Political Science and Government from American University.
Hunter is the Southeastern Counsel for the California Wine Institute with over 30 years of government experience. Having earned his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law in 1982, he would go on to practice law before being elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 1997, Hunter became Chief Legal Counsel to Governor David Beasley. When his daughter, Leah, was diagnosed with diabetes on March 16, 2001, Hunter became an active volunteer for the American Diabetes Association, serving two terms on the National Board of Directors including as Chair of the Board in 2012. He now serves on the Board of Directors of the Diabetes Leadership Council.
Larry is the founder and manager of a national marketing research and consulting firm in Kentucky. Prior to starting his own company, Larry served as SVP, VP, and Director of Marketing at several high-value financial organizations in Kentucky and Virginia. Larry’s work with the American Diabetes Association is extensive, having served as both a member and the Chair of the National Board of Directors. He has also served as Chair of the Kentucky Affiliate and of the Southern Region and on committees including Inclusion, Marketing, Communications, CEO Selection, Income Development, and Diversity. Larry is a member of the board for the Diabetes Leadership Council. He became passionate about diabetes when his daughter was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 12.
Bruce is a healthcare veteran with over 40 years of experience in senior sales, marketing, and health policy. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1980, diabetes isn’t just a professional assignment for Bruce but a disease that is personal and has demanded his attention 24/7/365 for over 40 years. He co-founded the Diabetes Care Project with the National Minority Quality Forum and actively participates on advisory boards across the community to address the worldwide epidemic of diabetes. Bruce earned his B.S. in Human Anatomy and Physiology from Baldwin Wallace College. In his prime, Bruce owned the distinction of world class powerlifter and qualified for the 1980 Olympic games. He is currently the Director of Government Affairs and Market Access at Dexcom.
Jeff Hitchcock is the founder, president, and Chief Executive Officer of Children with Diabetes. After earning a degree in computational mathematics in 1981, Jeff worked in high tech and traveled the world, meeting Brenda, who would become his wife, in Africa. In September of 1989, their first child was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of two. Jeff worked in defense related industries until 1995, when he started a small internet company and launched Children with Diabetes to share his family's experience caring for a child with T1D. Jeff received the 2021 ISPAD Hero Award for his work on Children with Diabetes.
Christina is the Founder and CEO of the College Diabetes Network. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 14, Christina became an active patient advocate while in college where she started CDN as a campus group in 2009. Due to the overwhelming response to the initial group, Christina expanded CDN into a national non-profit organization serving young adults with diabetes. After graduation, Christina worked at the Joslin Diabetes Center and consulted for the T1D Exchange. As CEO of CDN, Christina frequently shares her expertise on topics such as CDN’s programs, research on the young adult population and how to meet their unique needs, non-profit management, women in business, innovation, and startup organizations.
Stewart is a prominent voice on diabetes in Kentucky and around the country. Stewart’s family has been dramatically affected by diabetes, and he himself was diagnosed with type 2 in 1990. A former Chair of the National Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association, he has been instrumental in passing Diabetes Action Plan legislation in over half of the country and continues to advocate on both a state and national level for legislation to improve the lives of all people with diabetes and their families. Since 1983, Stewart has been the co-owner of Perry & Perry State Farm Insurance, one of the largest agencies in the state of Kentucky. He sits on the board of Children with Diabetes and is Chair and a founding member of the Diabetes Leadership Council.
Mike is the Managing Director of Blackbriar-LLC International Consulting with over 30 years of management experience in health care. He has worked globally with key thought leaders, professional medical associations, grassroots organizations, elected officials, and government agencies, to create enduring initiatives such as “Diabetes Awareness Days,” numerous national and international medical education conferences, and international advisory boards. In the U.S., he has advocated for passage of several state legislative measures to improve healthcare outcomes including the passage of a state licensure requirement for Diabetes Educators in the States of Kentucky and Indiana. He was the national Diabetes Care & Education Champion Award by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2014.
Will is a passionate advocate for people with diabetes. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during February of his senior year in high school, and went on to get involved with many diabetes organizations, including JDRF and the College Diabetes Network (now The Diabetes Link). He has lobbied for diabetes policies at the national and state level, and is excited to bring his perspective as a young adult with diabetes to DPAC.
He currently works at Tandem Diabetes Care as an Events and Exhibits Specialist.
Jake is the President of the Johnston Group, a federal lobbying firm based in Seattle, Washington and operating in Washington, D.C. Jake has worked as a federal lobbyist and public affairs consultant for twenty years after working in Congress for nearly a decade.
Jake is the Co-Founder of ConnecT1D, now T1United, a nonprofit organization providing social support to people impacted by Type 1 Diabetes. He was the volunteer camp director of the ConnecT1D Middle School Retreat and is the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Center for Chronic Illness. Jake actively participates in community organizations with an emphasis on environmental restoration, health access and gender equity and justice.
Jake has had Type 1 Diabetes for more than 40 years and is the parent of a child with Type 1 Diabetes. Jake lives in Seattle, works in Seattle and Washington, D.C. and is pretty confident that he could change his CGM blindfolded if he had to in order to win a bet.
Louie Sanchez is a legislative consultant at the law firm of Hance Scarborough with 17 years experience in shaping public policy. His journey as a diabetes advocate spans four decades, evolving from a volunteer supporting diabetes nonprofits to national advocacy leadership influencing federal and state agendas. Prior to his work in the private sector, Louie served as chief of staff to a member of the Texas Senate where his contributions in establishing a school of medicine have left an enduring mark, ushering in positive health outcomes in a region grappling with disproportionate challenges posed by the staggering number of incidences of type 2 diabetes. His dedication to improving the lives of all those affected by diabetes underscores his commitment to fostering positive change at both state and federal levels.
Anna Norton, MS, President of the Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity at the National Minority Quality Forum, is dedicated to improving the well-being of underserved communities through education and peer support communities. Ms. Norton has worked in the non-profit sector for over 25 years as an advocate, fundraiser, speaker, and leader and has created leadership programs, organized national conferences, created a bilingual health outreach program, and authored numerous research articles on diabetes health. Anna graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida and Master of Science in Education at Florida International University, and currently resides in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and teenage son.
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