Women Leaders in Diabetes |East Speaker Bios
Date: December 6, 2019
Keynote Speakers invited to inspire diabetes health care professionals to dream big, try new approaches and envision themselves as powerful change agents. Earn 7.5 CEs
Agenda | Women Leaders in Diabetes Conference East
Brochure | Women Leaders in Diabetes Conference East
Location: Safety Harbor Resort and Spa (near Tampa, Florida)
Keynote Speaker Bios
Crystal Broj, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, American Association of Diabetes Educators
Crystal joined AADE in 2016 just as the association was looking to expand and leverage technology and the connected health environment as a means to engage and support all stakeholders.
AADE is a multidisciplinary membership association dedicated to improving diabetes care through innovative education, management and support. With more than 14,000 professional members including nurses, dietitians and pharmacists, and others, AADE has a vast network of practitioners working with people who have, are affected by or are at risk for diabetes.
She is actively identifying trends in health care and diabetes education, seeking technology solutions that benefit diabetes educators and the patients they serve, and leading initiatives that enhance the diabetes educators’ understanding and use of technology.
Prior to AADE, she held leadership roles with companies like Zurich Insurance, Midtown Athletic Clubs, Aon Hewitt as well as consulting engagements where she excelled at transforming business problems into technology solutions. With a full complement of IT roles from programmer to analyst to consultant, as well as roles in education and training, Crystal brings unique IT insights now to diabetes where she helps empower collaborative decision making in the care and management of people with diabetes, leading to positive health outcomes.
Tracey Brown, MBA, BChE
CEO, American Diabetes Association
As the new CEO of the American Diabetes Association, Ms. Brown started her career at Procter & Gamble as a chemical engineer in research and development, and in process engineering. After receiving an MBA from Columbia University, she became a business growth driver and an inspiring leader using, data, digital and technology to grow revenues, increase operating income and drive transformation. Throughout her 25 years of business experience and as CEO of RAPP Dallas, she has solved complex issues for large multi-national companies. Most recently, she has driven transformation in Sam’s Club’s $60 billion business by creating meaningful experiences for members, and by simplifying the work for over 100,000 associates to drive consistent and successful execution across their business.
“Following a thorough national search for our new CEO, we have found in Ms. Brown a talented business leader with deep strategic and operational expertise, as well as significant experience in consumer engagement. At the same time, as an engineer, she is a careful, analytical thinker who values and makes data-driven decisions. With this background, she is the perfect partner to the ADA’s Chief Scientific, Medical and Mission Officer William T. Cefalu, MD.
According to Ms. Brown, “I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes that became type 2 diabetes more than 14 years ago. Since then, I have lived with the burden of managing this disease every hour of every day of every year. And, as I know all too well, diabetes affects the entire family, not just the person diagnosed with diabetes. In my personal life, I strive to be a living example of how to manage and thrive with this disease. I am ready to join the ADA in its fight to provide these same things to all people with diabetes.”
All of the skills and experience that I have gained from the for-profit world have been cultivated for such a time as this. My purpose, passion and this position have aligned, and I am honored to be joining an organization as valuable as the ADA. It changes lives for the better,” concluded Ms. Brown.
Nicole Johnson, DrPH, MPH, MA, National Director of Mission at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Nicole Johnson, DrPH, MPH, MA has served as a diabetes advocate since she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1993. Although she is most well known for her time as Miss America 1999 when she brought awareness to diabetes by sharing her personal story, she has gained a reputation most recently for her engagement in diabetes research focused on quality of life, psychosocial issues, and family dynamics.
Nicole is the National Director of Mission at JDRF where she uses her behavioral science, public health and communications background to drive strategies for population engagement and understanding.
In her journalism career, Nicole won a Telly Award for her work on the CNBC diabetes talk show dLife. Her love of journalism lead her to be a columnist for numerous diabetes magazines ,as well as the author of 8 books related to diabetes. Her most recent book is What to Do When Your Partner Has Diabetes: A Survival Guide.
Over the years, Nicole has served on many diabetes advisory boards including the Florida Governor’s Diabetes Advisory Council, the NIH Council of Public Representatives and the national boards for both the American Diabetes Association and JDRF. Nicole has been recognized for her work in diabetes around the world. She is a recipient of the Charles H. Best Medal for Distinguished Service in the Cause of Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association, the C. Everett Koop Medal for Health Promotion from the American Diabetes Association and have been recognized by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and Regent University.
She has a Doctor of Public Health degree, as well as master’s degrees in Public Health and Communication.
Beverly Thomassian RN, MPH, CDCES, BC-ADM
As president of Diabetes Education Services, Beverly Thomassian believes that we can improve diabetes care through education, advocacy and curiosity. As a diabetes coach, she promotes excellence in care through her live courses and webinar presentations. Beverly is a Diabetes Nurse Specialist and is Board Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF) and a visiting professor at California State University, Chico.
Beverly is a leader in field of diabetes. In 1998 she launched her own consulting company, Diabetes Education Services (DES). The goal of DES is to support health care professionals in their journey to advance their careers in diabetes. This support is provided through live and online training programs, free webinars, one-to-one correspondence and consultation. To date, Beverly has helped thousands of health care professionals achieve their dream of becoming Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. As a national speaker at over 300 different venues, Beverly Thomassian has developed a special knack of translating complex diabetes information into understandable terms that can be immediately applied in the clinical setting. Her philosophy is that learning about diabetes should be meaningful and fun, with a focus on compassionate and kind hearted care.
Theresa Garnero, APRN, BC-ADM, MSN, CDCES
Instructional Designer Specialist UCSF School of Nursing, Founder
Sweet People Club
Ms. Theresa Garnero trail blazed several innovations in the field of diabetes from using therapeutic humor to facilitate self-care behaviors, to creating a community-based dance program to prevent and manage diabetes, to discovering the impact of diabetes within the sexual minority group, and to using online platforms to reach people with diabetes and their providers. She is a cartoonist and authored 3 diabetes books.
Garnero was awarded the national Diabetes Educator of the Year by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (2004). Her latest efforts are aimed at preventing diabetes by founding the newly launched Sweet People Club (sweetpeopleclub.com). Read more about Theresa on her website.
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