fbpx

HomeAbout usWho we are

Who we are

Life for a Child

Advisory Committee

Jan Ridd

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

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

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 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 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

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 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

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

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

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

Dr. Anju Goel

Secretary
Anju Goel, MD, MPH, is a board-certified internist and public health specialist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She currently consults 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.
Wayne Edwards

Wayne Edwards

Treasurer
Wayne Edwards, CFP, has extensive experience in providing comprehensive personal financial planning and business planning. Edwards is an active member of MMHP Investment Advisors, Inc. where he served as Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, member of the investment committee, and Chairman of the firm’s Financial Planning Division. Edwards is the Charter President and continues to serve as the President of the Rotarian Action Group for Diabetes.
Emma Naughton

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

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

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.

Life for a Child

Program Team

Dr. Graham Ogle

Dr. Graham Ogle

General Manager
Emma Klatman

Emma Klatman

Global Policy and Advocacy Manager
Anabel Ung

Anabel Ung

Logistics and Finance Officer
Rachel Clayton

Rachel Clayton

Marketing and Communications Manager
Harry Cramer

Harry Cramer

Fundraising Coordinator
Dr. Jayanthi Maniam

Dr. Jayanthi Maniam

Research and Data Officer
Cecile Eigenmann

Cecile Eigenmann

Education Manager
Ching-Fang Cho

Ching-Fang Cho

Data Officer
Shaun Miller

Shaun Miller

Global Supply Chain Manager
Dr. Shannon Lin

Dr. Shannon Lin

Diabetes Education and Training Specialist
Vishakha Sajnani​

Vishakha Sajnani​

Risk and Compliance Officer
Dr. Aveni Haynes​​​​

Dr. Aveni Haynes​​​​

Research Associate
Neenu Gurm​​​​

Neenu Gurm​​​​

Supply Chain Coordinator

Life for a Child USA Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization EIN 47-4901579.

Diabetes Overseas Aid Fund T/A Life for a Child is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

Life for a Child is managed by Diabetes Australia.

Website made with by Toggle.

Join our mailing list

Enter your details below if you would like to receive regular updates, stories and appeals from Life for a Child. 

Subscribe to receive our education bulletins