Leadership
Meet our volunteer board members, staff and advisors
George Huntley
CEO
ADA Chair of the Board 2009
George is a founding member of the Diabetes Leadership Council and currently serves as the CEO of both the DLC and our 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.
Stewart Perry
Board Chair
ADA Chair of the Board 2008
R. Stewart Perry grew up in Lexington, graduating from Tates Creek High School and attended the University of Kentucky. Since 1982 he has been the co-owner of Perry & Perry State Farm Insurance. He is also a very successful Diabetes Advocate and Consultant on Government Relations and affairs, working primarily in states affairs.
Larry Ellingson, RPh
Board Vice Chair
ADA Chair of the Board 2004-2005
Larry K. Ellingson of Fountain Hills, Arizona, holds a BS in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, North Dakota, and an Executive MBA from Babson College in Babson Park, Massachusetts. Larry retired from Eli Lilly and Company in May 2001 after serving as leader of global diabetes for Lilly for more than half of his career. He held several other positions at Lilly including Director of Pharmaceutical New Product Planning for gastrointestinal, skeletal, endocrine, infectious diseases, and any additional marketed products in those areas in the late 1980’s.
Larry Smith
Treasurer
ADA Chair of the Board 2005-2006
In addition to serving as a current board member of the DLC, Larry Smith is the founder and manager of a national marketing research and consulting firm in Lexington, Kentucky. His business performs marketing research for firms in a number of industries, particularly the financial services industry.
Hunter Limbaugh
Secretary
ADA Chair of the Board 2012
Hunter Limbaugh served as Chair of the Board of the American Diabetes Association in 2012. Based in Columbia, South Carolina, Hunter is currently the Southeastern Counsel for the Wine Institute. He has been an active litigator for over 20 years and a Government Relations professional for over 15 years. He is a former SC legislator and Chief Legal Counsel to the SC Governor. He was admitted to the Bar in 1982.
Edward T. Hawthorne
Board Member
ADA Chair of the Board 1999-2000
Edward T. Hawthorne served as ADA Chair of the Board from 1999 – 2000. He is currently the COO, Managing Director and Partner of CE3 Solutions. Hawthorne has a dynamic professional background, having held various positions within Bank of America. Most recently, he served as West Regional executive for the Customer Service & Solutions organization where […]
Karen Grishaber
Board Member
ADA Board Member, 2003-2006
Prior to joining the DLC Board, Karen Grishaber worked in corporate branding at several Fortune 500 companies (Rockwell, GE and Abbott). She retired from Abbott in 2015 after managing commercial operations for Abbott’s Animal Health Division. Karen currently works as a personal branding specialist and coach who helps professionals identify and express their unique […]
Donna Ryan, RN, RD, MPH, CDE, FAADE
Board Member
AADE President 2018 and Board of Directors 2012-2019
Donna Ryan currently is the Regional Director of Population Health for Ascension Health – Sacred Heart Health System on the Florida Gulf Coast. She holds dual licenses as a registered nurse and registered dietitian. She earned her Master’s in Public Health from California State University, Northridge in 2004 and her Bachelors in Science at the […]
Alyce Thomas, RDN
Board Member
DDPG Chair, Chair-elect 2017-2020
Alyce Thomas is a Nutrition Consultant for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, NJ. She is the immediate Past Chair/Industry Relations Chair of the Diabetes Dietetic Practice Group (formerly Diabetes Care and Education) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is a member of the Eunice […]
Janel Wright, JD
Board Member
ADA Chair of the Board 2015
Janel Wright is an Administrative Law Judge with the State of Alaska’s Department of Labor. She served as the Legal Director for the Disability Law Center of Alaska, Alaska’s Protection and Advocacy agency. Prior to appointment as the Legal Director, she served as a Staff Attorney. The emphasis of her practice was representing children who […]
Erika B. Emerson
Executive Director
Erika B. Emerson is Executive Director of the Diabetes Leadership Council. She has more than 20 years of health policy and advocacy experience, including health care and pharmaceutical public policy, issues management, strategic communications and stakeholder relations. Her biopharmaceutical industry experience and understanding of the U.S. health care system lend unique insight to state and […]
Lisa Smith
Development Director
Lisa Smith is the Director of Development for the Diabetes Leadership Council (DLC). Prior to joining DLC, Lisa served as a director of development for Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas; Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma; The University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She […]
John Anderson, MD
Medical Advisor
ADA President, Medicine and Science 2013
Dr. John Anderson practices Internal Medicine and Diabetes at the Frist Clinic in Nashville, TN. He has served as President of the multispecialty medicine clinic, Chair of the department of medicine, and Chair of the Board of Trustees for Centennial Medical Center, a 650-bed tertiary care referral hospital. He has been consistently listed as one […]
Desmond Schatz, MD
Medical Advisor
ADA President, Medicine and Science 2016
Desmond Schatz, MD, is the Medical Director of the Diabetes Center, Professor and Associate Chairman of Pediatrics and Director of the Clinic Research Center at the University of Florida. He has been involved in Type 1 diabetes research since the mid-80s and has published more than 300 manuscripts and book chapters. He is the principal […]
Gerard B. Nee, CPA, CVA
Strategic Advisor
ADA Secretary-Treasurer 2010
Gerry Nee is licensed as a CPA in New Jersey and has earned his Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA), and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. Gerry has valued businesses […]
Stan Panasewicz
Strategic Advisor
ADA Treasurer 2003-2006
Stan Panasewicz’s esteemed career spanned more than 37 years with Johnson & Johnson, Inc., having recently retired in January, 2015.
Stephen H. Smith
Strategic Advisor
ADA Chair of the Board 2001-2002
Stephen H. Smith has served as a government relations consultant for the past 44 years, and is currently the President of Capitol Strategies, Inc., a company he created in 1995. He served as Chair of American Diabetes Association boards at every level of the organization, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Association’s national […]