Who we are - Life for a Child

Life for a Child

Advisory Committee

Jan Ridd

Chair

Jan is the Group Executive at Diabetes Australia responsible for leading the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) on behalf of the Australian Government and International Programs including Life for a Child.

Jan is a senior executive health leader with more than 25 years’ experience in the health and education sectors and has led national initiatives in health service design and delivery, consumer education programs, and accredited training for health professionals. Combined with health content publishing experience and business management, Jan is dedicated to business growth, innovation, and transformation.

Dr. Graham Ogle

Graham is Life for a Child’s General Manager and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney. He trained in paediatric endocrinology in Australia, before working in Papua New Guinea and Cambodia, delivering health care to vulnerable communities for 6 years.

In 2000, he and Professor Martin Silink established the Life for a Child program with the vision: No child should die of diabetes.

Dr. Julia von Oettingen

Julia is a pediatric endocrinologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, Assistant Professor at McGill University, and a Fonds de Recherche du Québec Santé supported Clinician-Scientist at the McGill University Health Center Research Institute.

Julia has a passion for pediatric endocrinology and global health and is the founding medical director of Kay Mackenson Clinic- a Life for a Child partner centre in Haiti.

Stéphane Besançon

Stéphane is a biologist and nutritionist working in Mali, with expertise in nutritional physiopathology and international development.

In 2001 Stéphane co-founded the international NGO Santé Diabète with a group of specialists in diabetes, health and development with the aim of improving the prevention and management of diabetes in Africa.

Dana Lewis

Dana is a founder of the open source artificial pancreas system (OpenAPS) movement, working to make safe and effective artificial pancreas technology more widely available globally.

Dana has lived with type 1 diabetes since 2002, and is a passionate advocate for making sure individuals with type 1 diabetes have access to insulin and other supplies, including education, in order to thrive while living with diabetes.

Dr. Ragnar Hanas

Ragnar is a consultant pediatrician at NU Hospital Group, Sweden and associate professor at Gothenburg University, Sweden.

A past president of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), Ragnar has dedicated his career to improving the lives of young people living with type 1 diabetes and has taught in many countries around the world.

Kelsey Grodzovsky

Kelsey is an expert in the operations and logistics of humanitarian supply-chains and holds a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Global Health and Humanitarian Assistance from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

As the International Program Manager at Direct Relief she specializes in collaborating with healthcare providers and organizations to deliver medicines and medical aid to vulnerable communities in 95 countries.

Dr. Mark Barone

Mark is a diabetes educator and journalist. He holds a PhD in Human Physiology and has more than two decades of experience in developing health programs and undertaking research, and empowering people with type 1 to become change-makers.

Mark is currently Vice-President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), Founder and General Manager of the Intersectoral Forum to Fight NCDs in Brazil (ForumDCNTs), and Manager of other programs at the ADJ Diabetes Brazil.

Dr. Iryna Vlasenko

Iryna is an internationally recognised expert in diabetes. She is Associate professor in Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine (PhD in Pharmacy). Her research covers pharmaco-economics of diabetes, therapeutic education for people with diabetes, and diabetes management in disaster. Since February 2022 Iryna has been coordinating humanitarian help from the international diabetes community through the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

Iryna has been a Vice President of the IDF since 2019. She has lived with type 1 diabetes 30 years and is a strong advocate for people with diabetes.

Life for a Child USA Inc.

Board of Directors

Dr. Larry Deeb

President

Larry C. Deeb, MD, is Director for the Diabetes Center at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Florida as well as Clinical Professor in Pediatrics and Behavioral and Social Medicine at Florida State University. Dr. Deeb is in active pediatric endocrine practice, where he cares for 600 children with diabetes, and is a Past-President of the American Diabetes Association.

Dr. Anju Goel

Secretary

Anju Goel, MD, MPH, is a board-certified internist and public health specialist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She consulted with the CDC on the COVID-19 response, and previously spent 15 years working in multiple California county health departments. Dr. Goel has been a volunteer with Life for a Child since 2017, working onsite with the Rwanda Diabetes Association on their annual camp for youth with T1D from 2017 to 2019. She was also a board member of the JDRF Silicon Valley chapter for several years.

Don May

Treasurer

Don May is a second-generation Capital City Bank banker, serving the Tallahassee community for over 35 years. After his eldest daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes right after her eleventh birthday, Don met Dr. Larry Deeb, and became involved in T1D advocacy, fundraising with his family for the American Diabetes Association. In 2023, Don had the opportunity to follow in his father’s footsteps and joined Capital City Bank as the President for Leon, Gadsden, and Washington Counties.

Emma Naughton

Emma Naughton has worked in the field of human rights and international development for 25 years, including for a Canadian government agency (IDRC). She started volunteering with Life for a Child after her son was diagnosed with TID at the age of 2. During a sabbatical year in Mexico City, she helped Life for a Child to establish partnerships with key diabetes clinics in the capital and throughout the country.

Dana Lewis

Dana Lewis has lived with type 1 diabetes since 2002, and is a passionate advocate for making sure individuals with type 1 diabetes have access to insulin and other supplies, including education, in order to thrive while living with diabetes. She has supported Life for a Child in various ways since 2006. She is also a founder of the open source artificial pancreas system (OpenAPS) movement, working to make safe and effective artificial pancreas technology more widely available globally.

Manuel Hernández

After his diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in 2002, Manny became an advocate committed to making sure nobody touched by diabetes ever feels alone. He has been a devoted supporter of Life for a Child since his tenure at Diabetes Hands Foundation, the NGO that cradled TuDiabetes and EsTuDiabetes. He was an executive at Livongo and Tidepool. Manny is VP of Customer Success at Thrivable, a healthcare market research agency. He also serves on the board of The Diabetes Link and the National Advocacy Committee for ADA.

Rob Howe

Rob Howe has been living with type 1 diabetes since 2005. He is the founder of community organisation Diabetics Doing Things, a platform that inspires people and creators living with diabetes through storytelling, events, and community. The Diabetics Doing Things podcast has been downloaded over 2 million times by listeners in over 80 countries. He is co-founder and Managing Partner of Recreation Dallas, a boutique creative advertising agency. Rob’s vision is a more equitable world for people with Diabetes.

Life for a Child

Program Team

Dr. Graham Ogle

General Manager

Emma Klatman

Global Policy and Advocacy Manager

Anabel Ung

Logistics and Finance Officer

Rachel Clayton

Marketing and Communications Manager

Harry Cramer

Fundraising Coordinator

Dr. Jayanthi Maniam

Research and Data Officer

Cecile Eigenmann

Education Manager

Ching-Fang Cho

Data Officer

Shaun Miller

Global Supply Chain Manager

Dr. Shannon Lin

Diabetes Education and Training Specialist

Vishakha Sajnani

Risk and Compliance Officer

Dr. Aveni Haynes

Research Associate

Neenu Gurm

Supply Chain Coordinator

Life for a Child

Advisory Committee

Jan Ridd

Dr. Graham Ogle

Dr. Julia von Oettingen

Stéphane Besançon

Dana Lewis

Dr. Ragnar Hanas

Kelsey Grodzovsky

Dr. Mark Barone

Dr. Iryna Vlasenko

Life for a Child USA Inc.

Board of Directors

Dr. Larry Deeb

Dr. Anju Goel

Don May

Emma Naughton

Dana Lewis

Manuel Hernández

Rob Howe

Life for a Child

Program Team

Dr. Graham Ogle

Emma Klatman

Anabel Ung

Rachel Clayton

Harry Cramer

Dr. Jayanthi Maniam

Cecile Eigenmann

Ching-Fang Cho

Shaun Miller

Dr. Shannon Lin

Vishakha Sajnani​

Dr. Aveni Haynes​​​​

Neenu Gurm​​​​

What we do

Vision 2030

History and governance

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Vishakha Sajnani

Dr. Aveni Haynes

Neenu Gurm