Melissa Andrews Rearson, MSN, CRNP, has been practicing as a nurse practitioner in the Diabetes Center for Children (DCC) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) since its beginning in the early 1990s. She studied nursing at the University of Pennsylvania “next door” to CHOP, and quickly returned to Penn, while working on the floor at CHOP where the patients with diabetes were admitted, to obtain her Master of Science in Nursing degree so that she could be a nurse practitioner in the newly formed DCC. Melissa worked with an adult NP at Penn to get the first patients onto insulin pumps! Over the years, Melissa has had the honor to join thousands of families along their journey with diabetes—from the tender time of first diagnosis through life’s twists and transformations and then on to young adulthood and transition. She works hard to find quick and effective management tips that can help families as they navigate life with diabetes and loves the many amazing moments that she has with patients and families in the clinic daily. She is the Lead Nurse at ADA Camp Freedom and is passionate about diabetes camp and helping kids to be more active and learn to love being outside! In addition, Melissa has worked to manage CHOP’s family diabetes conference and is a liaison to the Philadelphia School District nursing team for diabetes management. Melissa is very excited to be joining the families and faculty at a Friends for Life conference!

Ramon (Ray) Benedetto, DM, MS, LFACHE, is an organizational leadership and culture consultant and author who works with public and private sector leaders to build high-performing organizations. Ray retired from the US Air Force after a distinguished Medical Service Corps career during which he engaged in numerous transformations, including recruiting medical professionals for the All-Vol Force, restructuring of the Air Force Medical Service, and creation of TRICARE, the military’s integrated health services delivery system. He continues to work with civilian leaders to build great companies. Ray and his wife Joan have been attending FFL since 2015 after their son Jayce was diagnosed with T1.

Leigh Fickling, JD, MEd, MS, serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Children with Diabetes. Leigh is responsible for the day-to-day operational leadership of the organization and for the oversight and implementation of the organization's strategic plan. Leigh's daughter, Ava, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2013 at the age of three. Leigh is a subject matter expert in the implementation of accommodations for people with diabetes in the classroom, workplace, and beyond. The Friends for Life conferences are the highlight of the year for the Fickling family and they can't imagine trying to dia-beat-this without their circle of friends.

Jacinta Florek, LMSW, MPH, is Co-Founder and Clinician with Blue Branch (Diabetes) Advocacy & Counseling. Jacinta holds Masters degrees in Social Work and Public Health from the University of Michigan, focusing on Interpersonal Practice with Children & Youth and Health Behavior & Education. She spent 14 years on the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Pediatric Diabetes Team and is a passionate advocate for families navigating life with diabetes. She highly values community engagement and is dedicated to ensuring that all people with diabetes have the resources to thrive. Jacinta often speaks on topics related to diabetes and mental health, school rights, caregiver support and insurance. She is honored to join the FFL faculty.

April Gutmann is the Senior Manager of Government Affairs and Policy for Diabetes Leadership Council and Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition. She has experience in policy and advocacy, consulting with diabetes technology companies and health systems on regulatory reimbursement issues and advocating for better healthcare policies for patients and providers on Capitol Hill. Diagnosed with diabetes in 2019, she utilizes her expertise to inform policy for and 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.

George Huntley is a founding member of the Diabetes Leadership Council (501c3) and currently serves as CEO of both the DLC and its affiliate, the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (501c4). He has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1983 and has three other family members also living with T1D. A passionate advocate for people with diabetes, George is a past National Chair of the Board of the American Diabetes Association and currently serves as Treasurer of Children with Diabetes. A former CPA, George spent his business career as CFO of Theoris Group, Inc., United Pentek, Inc. and MicroProse Games, Inc. In his corporate roles, he was the plan administrator of self-insured, employer-based health plans for more than 25 years. He learned firsthand the impact of chronic disease management on his company’s bottom line and the importance of strategic health plan design decisions to manage cost, reduce overall risk and improve health outcomes. George is also a highly rated and frequent speaker on the topic of health plan design and drug pricing.

Shideh Majidi, MD, is a Pediatric Endocrinologist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC. She currently serves as the Director of Diabetes Services at Children’s National, overseeing clinical care and advancing research and quality improvement in pediatric diabetes management. She has a strong interest in building and improving diabetes clinical programs to ensure all diabetes patients receive complete and individualized diabetes care.

Ashlyn Mills serves as CWD’s Events and Programs Manager. Ashlyn has been living with type 1 diabetes since 2015 when she was diagnosed at the age of 19. She quickly found her tribe in CWD and attended her first FFL conference less than one year after her diagnosis. By trade, Ashlyn is a licensed physical therapist assistant but the connections diabetes created quickly changed her career path. Ashlyn is passionate about helping people with diabetes and their families connect so they don’t have to do it alone. In her spare time, Ashlyn loves to run, bike, visit Disney World, and camp with her family.

Maureen Monaghan, PhD, CDCES, is a licensed clinical psychologist and adjunct Associate Professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. Dr. Monaghan has worked for over 15 years providing behavioral health care for youth with diabetes. Her clinical and research work focuses on helping youth with diabetes and their parents adjust and adapt to new settings and manage their daily routines, while also promoting optimal quality of life. Dr. Monaghan is particularly interested in supporting adolescents and young adults and their diabetes care clinicians to facilitate a smooth transition from pediatric to adult diabetes care.

Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, MPH, FACPM, Rear Admiral, USPHS (Retired), Chairman of the Board of Children with Diabetes, is a retired Rear Admiral with the U.S. Public Health Service, who has twice been the Surgeon General of the United States. After a 37 year career in public service in uniform, he was the Vice President of Global Strategic Affairs for Diabetes at Johnson & Johnson; and WorldWide Chairman of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institutes, a global network of educational facilities focused on providing health providers the knowledge, skills, and tools to help them better serve people with diabetes. He retired from Johnson and Johnson in 2013, and has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of First Samurai Consulting, LLC, a firm specializing in health policy and programs, bridging the public and private sectors, “putting the patient at the center of everything we do.”

In addition to being the Chair of T-1 Today, doing business as Children with Diabetes, he serves as a member of the Board of the National Council of Asian and Pacific Islander Physicians, and is an Emeritus member of the Board of the Physician Assistant Foundation He has been a member of the board of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists, the Diabetes Hands Foundation, the Physician Assistant Foundation, the National Kidney Foundation, the American Diabetes Association Research Foundation, and the American Dietetic Association, among several others. A recipient of twelve honorary degrees from academic institutions, he has served as a member of the Board of Regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, America’s health university; and currently is a member of the Board of Governors of Chaminade University of Honolulu, and chairs the Dean’s Council for the George Washington University Milken School of Public Health.

Dr. Moritsugu has had type 1 diabetes (LADA) for 20 years, and has been closely associated with and supportive of Children with Diabetes for nearly two decades, in faculty and leadership roles. In November 2014, he was the JDRF’s Hope Gala Honoree in Washington, DC, and is the only Honorary Fellow of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. He and his family reside in Sarasota, Florida, and in Great Falls, Virginia.

Alyson Myers, MD, is a Full Professor and the Associate Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine at Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx. Her goal is to lower the high rate of amputations of Black and Brown persons with diabetes in the Bronx by using multidisciplinary care. Her work goes beyond the Bronx. As CEO of DrSaveALimb LLC, she has also been doing work in Barbados, where the rates of limb amputation are some of the highest in the world. Her work with diabetic foot ulcers has led to several publications as well as production of a short documentary. In her spare time, Dr. Myers enjoys traveling, working out, and spending time with friends and family.

Alana M. Ritenour, JD, is originally from Great Falls, Virginia. She developed a passion for health and fitness in graduate school while competing in the Miss Virginia Organization scholarship pageant. Since meeting Rhodes in 2005, Alana has been dedicated to improving the lives of persons with diabetes, by encouraging and empowering their support system of family, friends and co-workers. In 2022, Alana was named to the Mid-Atlantic Chapter Board of Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) and is currently chairman-elect of the Board. Previously, Alana chaired the Central Virginia Community Board of JDRF, and has served with her husband Rhodes as Fund a Cure Chair of the Central Virginia JDRF Gala. Alana and her husband Rhodes co-Founded The Diabetes Support Group in 2016, an online community that provides practical advice, resources, and encouragement to diabetics and those who support them at TheDiabetesSupportGroup.org. They co-produced Life, Love & Diabetes, a television program about effective diabetes management and living a full life with no limits. Alana and Rhodes have also authored two children’s books in a series called The Adventures of Rhodes and Alana about a young boy with T1D. The third book will be published in 2025. Visit www.RhodesandAlana.com for more. Alana graduated from the University of Virginia and William and Mary School of Law. She practiced health care law for 15 years in Richmond, Virginia, where she and Rhodes live with their two children and sproodle puppy. She enjoys singing and playing guitar with the praise band at their church.

Rhodes B. Ritenour, JD, is a native of New Market, Virginia, and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a five-year-old on October 10, 1983. In the time since his diagnosis, he has taken over 20,000 insulin injections, and checked his blood sugar more than 80,000 times. A volunteer with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) since the mid-1980’s, Rhodes was named to the ADA’s national Board of Directors in 2022 and served as chairman of the Board in 2024. Rhodes was also a Member of the ADA National Committee on Legislation and Regulation, and a Member of the ADA Legal Advocacy Network. He was the Inaugural recipient of the ADA Central Virginia Innovation Award in 2014, and the ADA National Stop Diabetes Volunteer Award, Mid Markets East, in 2014. Rhodes and his wife Alana co-Founded The Diabetes Support Group in 2016, an online community that provides practical advice, resources, and encouragement to diabetics and those who support them at TheDiabetesSupportGroup.org. They co-produced Life, Love & Diabetes, a local television program about effective diabetes management and living a full life with no limits. Rhodes and Alana have also authored two children’s books in a series called The Adventures of Rhodes and Alana about a young boy with T1D. The third book will be published this year. Visit www.RhodesandAlana.com for more. Rhodes is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Law. He is in-house counsel for a health care system and resides in Richmond, Virginia with Alana and their two children. He enjoys playing golf and coaching little league baseball and softball.

Jeremy Salko was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in May of 2000 when he was six years old. Jeremy has been attending Friends for Life Orlando conferences since 2003. He received his Associates of Science in Criminal Justice Technology in 2016, a general AA in 2018, BAS in Public Safety Administration in 2020, and is a certified SCUBA diver. His biggest reason to come to Friends for Life Orlando is that it is a “vacation” from diabetes that is all about diabetes.