Diabetes Hands Foundation Welcomes New Board Members

BERKELEY, CA, Feb. 19, 2017 – Diabetes Hands Foundation announced the election of Katherine Ferguson, Dr. Deborah Greenwood, Dr. Mark Heyman, Nathan Lynn, Steve Sabicer and Fatima G. Shahzad to the organization’s board of directors. These new board members join as four board members transitioned off of the board following the end of their terms.

● Katherine Ferguson: Katie brings to DHF her passion for healthy living and sustainable food systems. She resides in Los Angeles and is Director of Field Marketing for Fork in the Road Foods, a sustainable food company. Ferguson has received an MA in Gastronomy from Boston University, and a BA in Communications from Ithaca College.

● Deborah Greenwood, PhD, RN, CDE: Deborah is an experienced Certified Diabetes Educator with a PhD in Nursing, focusing in informatics. She was President of the American Association of Diabetes Educators in 2015 and served on their Board of Directors from 2010-2012. For over ten years, she worked for Sutter Health, most recently as Clinical Performance Improvement Consultant, Research Scientist and System Diabetes Education Program Director. She is President of Deborah Greenwood Consulting.

● Mark Heyman, PhD, CDE: Mark is a clinical psychologist and CDE. He is the Director of One Drop | Experts, a mobile diabetes coaching program. He founded the Center for Diabetes and Mental Health in San Diego, where he provides mental health services for people with diabetes. Mark received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from George Washington University.

● Nathan Lynn: Nathan has spent years working in technology, marketing, and recruiting firms and is the current Principal of Knowledgent, a data and analytics consulting firm. Nathan received his BA from Rutgers University.

● Steve Sabicer Steve is principal and founder of SocentPR, a public relations consulting firm. He has worked with many pharmaceutical and device companies in the diabetes space for decades. Aside from marketing, he also brings experience in advocacy, fundraising, and nonprofit leadership to the DHF board. Steve received a BA from Pomona College.

● Fatima G. Shahzad: Fatima is a long-time volunteer for Diabetes Hands Foundation. Shahzad’s experience at for-profit corporations combined with the work she has done in clinical research at Tufts University will benefit the organization. She resides in the Boston area, and has received an MBA/MPH from John Hopkins, and a BA from Northeastern University. She now works for health start up Medumo.

“The professional experiences and passion of each of these new board members demonstrates their connection to the mission and work of Diabetes Hands Foundation,” said Gene Kunde, CEO. “Their life stories complement those of our existing board members and strengthen our commitment as a leader in patient support.”

Diabetes Hands Foundation also wants to acknowledge the generous service and support of Ms. Lorraine Stiehl, Ms. Donna Hill, Dr. Ken Moritsugu and Mr. Dayton Coles, as they transition off of the board. Ms. Stiehl (board member since 2011) and Ms. Hill (since 2012) helped develop the organization past its early stage and through its consolidation period. Dr. Moritsugu’s and Mr. Coles’ wisdom and contributions since 2014 were key to helping with board development through the recent period of CEO transition.

Finally, DHF is pleased to announce that Scott Johnson, a board member since 2015, has been appointed Treasurer, and that Manny Hernandez, DHF’s founder, has been appointed Secretary of the Board. Both of these appointments were effective January 1, 2017.

"We are excited to welcome all of our new board members to DHF. Their diverse perspectives and experiences will help drive DHF to its next level of growth and service to the community,” said Dennis Urbaniak, Chairman of the Board. “In addition, I would like to thank Lorraine, Donna, Ken, and Dayton for their significant service and contributions to DHF. Because of their continued support and direction, DHF is a strong organization, ready to bring new levels of service and support to the broader diabetes community.”

ABOUT DIABETES HANDS FOUNDATION
Diabetes Hands Foundation (DiabetesHandsFoundation.org) brings together people touched by diabetes for positive change to make sure nobody living with this condition feels alone. Diabetes can be a very isolating disease. Diabetes Hands Foundation provides opportunities for people with diabetes and their loved ones to connect and have an open dialogue about their experiences with this chronic condition. Instead of looking at the disease, Diabetes Hands Foundation seeks to understand, connect, and energize the millions of people living with this condition.
Diabetes Hands Foundation hosts two active online communities for people touched by diabetes: TuDiabetes.org (in English) and EsTuDiabetes.org (in Spanish); the Big Blue Test (BigBlueTest.org), a program for empowerment through physical activity; and Diabetes Advocates (DiabetesAdvocates.org), a hub of education, training, and collaboration for advocates in the diabetes space.

MEDIA CONTACT
Mike Lawson, Senior Director of Programs and Marketing, 510.898.1301, mike@diabeteshf.org ###

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Such a passionate and committed group of people!!

THANK YOU to all the outgoing board members that served the organization so diligently and WELCOME to all the incoming board members!!

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