Arthur Ainsberg is a writer and a Wall Street executive. A veteran of the financial services industry, Mr. Ainsberg has served in senior management and consulting roles at Oppenheimer, Odyssey Partners, and Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Ainsberg is also a scholar on the Endurance, the early 20th century expedition to Antarctica by Sir Ernest Shackleton. In 2008, he published his first book, Shackleton: Leadership Lessons from Antarctica, which highlights the most important leadership lessons to be learned from Shackleton’s story. Mr. Ainsberg speaks and lectures frequently on the lessons of Shackleton’s nearly 17 months at sea, including nearly 15 months stranded on an ice island.

Mr. Ainsberg has experienced his own medical challenges, having been diagnosed in 1975 at the age of twenty-eight with Hodgkin’s Disease. At the time of his diagnosis, doctors had only recently developed a method of treatment that could cure the disease. His interest in medicine, born from personal experience, combined with his love of history, set him on the path to writing his book: BREAKTHROUGH: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle, which St. Martin’s Press published in September 2010.

Mr. Ainsberg continues to work in the financial sector. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Medley Capital Corp. and AG Mortgage Investment Trust.

In 2009, Mr. Ainsberg was named the Chief Operating Officer for the Lehman Brothers Inc., In Liquidation Bankruptcy, which represents the largest and most complex bankruptcy in American history.

A widely recognized securities expert witness, Mr. Ainsberg has testified in a number of securities fraud cases on issues involving due diligence, regulatory compliance, suitability, valuation, and securities damages.

Mr. Ainsberg received his BBA and MBA degrees in accounting and finance, respectively, from Baruch College and was a member of its Board of Trustees from 1995-2011.

An avid traveler, Mr. Ainsberg has visited all fifty states and seventy-four countries on seven continents.

He has also visited every baseball stadium and presidential museum in America.

He currently resides in New York City, where he was born, educated, and has spent his entire career.

An award-winning registered dietitian nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, and past chair of the Diabetes Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RDN, CDCES, CDN, is the author of 4 diabetes books. Two of which received Hermes Gold Creative Awards: Living Well with Diabetes 14 Day Devotional and Diabetes Guide to Enjoying Foods of the World. Learn more about her work at www.constancebrownriggs.com and follow her on Instagram @yourdiabetesnutritionexpert and FB @LivingWellWithDiabetes.

Daniel DeSalvo, MD, (or Dr. Dan as his patients call him) is a pediatric endocrinologist at Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children’s Hospital where he serves as Director of Strategic Collaboratives.  As a sophomore at Baylor University, his life changed forever when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which ultimately directed his career path.  After graduating from Texas A&M College of Medicine, he completed Pediatric Residency at The George Washington University School of Medicine where he was appointed Chief Resident, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Stanford University. Now, as a pediatric endocrinologist his greatest passion is helping others live well with diabetes, and he considers it a remarkable privilege to shepherd families on their diabetes journey. He currently serves on the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative, Beyond Type 1 Scientific Advisory Council, and College Diabetes Network Clinical Research Advisory Committee. As a patient-oriented clinical researcher, his primary focus is on emerging diabetes technology including closed-loop automated insulin delivery systems. Dr. Dan enjoys an active life, which includes running, cycling, swimming, skiing, hiking and playing sports with his two young boys!

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.

Kajal Gandhi, DO, MPH, is an assistant professor of pediatrics and pediatric endocrinology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric endocrinology, and completed her training in pediatric endocrinology from Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine. Her primary research interests include medical education, improving diabetes care and outcomes through quality improvement programs, as well as investigating ethnic/racial disparities in type 1 diabetes, ultimately to create a culturally sensitive diabetes education curriculum for medical providers and patients/families. She is co-medical director of the Diabetes and School Health (DASH) program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and participates in the national T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative.

Julie Gettings, PhD, is the clinical psychologist within the Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Gettings works with youth and their families on improving adherence to diabetes management tasks, coping with chronic illness, improving family functioning surrounding illness management, and treating symptoms of mental health disorders. Prior to the current position, Dr. Gettings was the diabetes psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and served in a similar role. Dr. Gettings is involved in clinical research with a particular focus on mental health screening for youth with chronic illness.

George Huntley is a founding member of the Diabetes Leadership Council (DLC) and currently serves as the CEO of both the DLC and its affiliate, the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC). He has been living with type 1 diabetes since 1983 and has 3 other family members also living with type 1. A passionate advocate for people with diabetes, George served as the National Chair of the Board of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in 2009. George is also the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Theoris Group, Inc., an IT and engineering professional services firm based in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he has been the plan administrator of a self-insured, employer based health plan for over 20 years. In addition, George serves as the Treasurer of Children with Diabetes.

Jeff Karitis, CFP^®, CEPA^®, is a Wealth Managment Advisor based in New York City, were he and his group have been providing wealth management strategies for a select group of business owners, executives and families since 1999. He holds the CFP® (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional) and CEPA (Certified Exit Planning Advisor) designations. Jeff resides in New York's Hudson Valley with his family and retired racing greyhounds. Previously, he served as Co-President of his local JDRF Chapter and on the Executive Board of the Great NYC Chapter. His daughter was diagnosed with T1D in 2014 and their family have been attending Friends for Life Orlando since 2016. Jeff has been volunteering since 2021 as co-lead of the DoFFLs group.

R. Stewart Perry grew up in Lexington, Kentucky. Since 1983 he has been the co-owner of Perry & Perry State Farm Insurance, one of the largest State Farm Insurance agencies in the state of Kentucky and is a Diabetes Consultant and Advocate. Stewart’s family has been dramatically affected by diabetes. His son had type 1 diabetes, both parents, and sister have all had diabetes during their lifetime. He has lost a son, uncle, grandfather and great grandmother to complications of diabetes. Stewart was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1990. Since that time, he has been actively involved in Diabetes issues and groups. . Stewart was the Chairman of the National Board of Directors and the Chair of the National Advocacy Committee for five years at the American Diabetes Association. Stewart is a member of the Kentucky Diabetes Network and a founding member of the Fayette County Diabetes Collation. Stewart was appointed by two different Governors of Kentucky to the GET FIT KY Board and The Diabetes Research Trust Fund Board. Stewart is one of the founders of the Diabetes Leadership Council and currently serves as Chairman of that organization where he has been instrumental in passing Diabetes Action Plan legislation in 28 states. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition and served as interim CEO for three months. He is a very well know speaker in diabetes circles on advocacy related topics. Stewart serves on the board of Children with Diabetes.

Stacey Simms is the host of the award-winning podcast Diabetes Connections and was named one of Diabetes Forecast Magazine's "People to Know: 2017." Stacey's son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2006, one month before he turned two, and Stacey started blogging about her family's experience with T1D a few week later. For more than a decade, she hosted Charlotte’s Morning News on WBT-AM, the city’s top-rated morning radio news show. Stacey's been named to the Charlotte Business Journal’s Forty under 40 and as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Mecklenburg County by the Mecklenburg Times.

Marissa Town, BSN, RN, CDCES, is Clinical Director for Children with Diabetes and oversees the medical content on the website and develops the adult programming at Friends for Life conferences. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 2 years old and grew up as an attendee of the Friends for Life conferences since the beginning in 2000. Marissa also works part time at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to help improve health equity for families with T1D.

Jessie J. Wong, PhD, is a pediatric psychologist and clinical researcher in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Stanford University. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Arizona State University and completed postdoctoral fellowships in health services research and diabetes psychology at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University, respectively. Her research focuses on the intersection of mental and physical health and diabetes self-management among children, adolescents, and families. She is an NIDDK K23 awardee and is currently leading a study that seeks to optimize family-based interventions for adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their parents.