The American Diabetes Association Welcomes 2026 Principal Officers and Members to the National Board of Directors

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Diabetes Association® (ADA) welcomes the 2026 principal officers and board of directors. The 15-member board comprises forward-thinking and innovative medical, scientific, education, and executive business professionals who will strategically lead and focus efforts to ensure the ADA continues to advance the mission upon which it was founded.

"We are thrilled to welcome our 2026 board of directors," said Charles "Chuck" Henderson, the ADA's chief executive officer. "We look forward to the contributions of these talented and knowledgeable leaders as we fight for a world free of diabetes and all its burdens. We also want to thank our outgoing board members, Francisco Prieto, MD and Gretchen Youssef, MS, RD, CDCES. Their hard work, dedication, and commitment to fighting for all people affected by diabetes is appreciated."

The principal officers of the board of directors serving through 2026 are:

• James Tai, Chair
  
  James Tai's broad life sciences and health care experience spans a wide array of outpatient provider services for chronic diseases to venture capital for life sciences companies. He sits on the board of directors for a variety of transformational health care companies that aim to improve health equity and access for underserved communities.
  
  
  
  He is currently the chair of both the ADA's Innovation Committee and ADA's Board Development Committee. In these roles, James has been instrumental in shaping and accelerating the growth of the ADA Innovation Fund—helping to expand its strategic vision, strengthen its investment pipeline, and position the ADA Innovation Fund as a catalyst for novel diabetes and obesity solutions.
  
  
  
  
• Mario Rivera, Secretary/Treasurer
  
  Mario Rivera is a senior executive with experience leading large-scale global operations for Fortune 500 companies, primarily within the health care industry. Most recently serving as chief supply chain & logistics officer for CVS Health, where he's led a team of more than 10,000 colleagues that developed and executed the company's strategy to transform their supply chain network to become America's premier health and wellness destination. Mario has served on the ADA's Finance Committee since 2023 and Innovation Committee since 2025.
  
  
  
  
• Enrique Caballero, MD, President of Medicine & Science
  
  Dr. Caballero is an endocrinologist, investigator, and educator working as the director of international innovation programs in the Office for External Education at Harvard Medical School (HMS). He is also the director of Latino diabetes health in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, as well as associate scientist in the Division of Global Health Equity at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the immediate past chair for the ADA's Health Disparities Committee.
  
  
  
  Dr. Caballero has a strong and long commitment to helping resource-limited populations. He founded the Latino Diabetes Initiative at the Joslin Diabetes Center and the Diabetes Program within the Spanish Clinic at the BWH, both affiliated with HMS.  
  
  
  
  
• Amy Hess-Fischl, MS, RDN, LDN, BC-ADM, CDCES, President of Health Care & Education
  
  Amy Hess-Fischl has been an advanced practice registered dietitian nutritionist, diabetes care and education specialist, and certified pump trainer for over 25 years. For the last 19 years, she has worked at the University of Chicago within the departments of pediatric and adult endocrinology, directly caring for people with diabetes of all ages on insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. Additionally, she is the quality coordinator for their ADA Education Recognition Program (ERP). Amy served as co-chair of 2022 National Standards revision, and she was chair of the National ADA ERP committee from 2019–2023. Celebrated for her work, she received the 2022 ADA Outstanding Educator in Diabetes Award. She is currently the editor of the ADCES in Practice journal.
  
  
  
  Amy is passionate about highlighting the role of diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) and feels strongly that it should be available to all people with diabetes throughout the lifespan, as well as believes in incorporating diabetes community care coordinators into DSMES services.  

The elect officers for 2026 are: 

• Sean Pittman, JD, Chair-Elect
  
  Sean Pittman is the founder of Pittman Law Group, where he leads a national practice on government affairs, administrative, education, and corporate law. As a trusted legal advisor, Sean counsels local governments, hospitals and health systems, aviation/port authorities, universities, corporations, associations, and Fortune 500 companies.
  
  
  
  Sean's leadership has led to him serving as president of the Orange Bowl Committee, professional boards of the National Football Foundation, the Florida State University Foundation, College Football Hall of Fame, the Florida State University College of Law, and as chairman of the Children's Home Society. Sean is chairman of the Big Bend Minority Chamber, former general counsel of the National Bar Association, and a recipient of the Johnnie Cochran Lawyer of the Year Award. He was recognized with induction into the Tallahassee Barristers Hall of Fame, and as a finalist for president of Florida State University.
  
  
  
  Sean is a nationally recognized civic leader, political commentator, and author of Amazon bestseller "Disaffected!"
  
  
  
  
• John (Wig) Wigneswaran, MD, MBA, Secretary/Treasurer-Elect
  
  Dr. Wigneswaran is a health care executive and board member with more than two decades of experience leading clinical strategy and operations, transformation, and innovation across some of the nation's largest health care organizations spanning payer, provider, pharmaceutical, and retail sectors. He brings expertise in enterprise operations, quality and safety governance, workforce development, enterprise transformation, and long-term strategic planning to the boards he serves.
  
  
  
  Dr. Wigneswaran holds an MD from Tufts University School of Medicine and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. He is board-certified in nephrology, completing his training at New York-Presbyterian Cornell with active medical licensure in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Ohio.
  
  
  
  
• Jennifer Green, MD, President-Elect of Medicine & Science
  
  Dr. Green is a professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology at Duke University and a faculty member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). Dr. Green's research has focused on strategies to treat diabetes and reduce the risk of cardiovascular, kidney, and other complications. She is an executive committee member for GRADE, a federally funded, long-term comparative effectiveness study of glucose-lowering medications for type 2 diabetes, and has held clinical and operational leadership roles in numerous large, international trials designed to determine the cardiovascular effects of newer glucose-lowering medications (including TECOS, EXSCEL, and Harmony Outcomes).
  
  
  
  She is an executive committee member, principal investigator of the U.S. coordinating center at DCRI, and U.S. national representative for the global EMPA-Kidney and EASi-Kidney trials. Dr. Green has also held multiple roles with the ADA, including serving for several years on the organization's Professional Practice Committee and as a member of the ADA-EASD consensus statement writing group. She is currently an associate editor of Diabetes Care®.
  
  
  
  
• Elizabeth Beverly, PhD, President-Elect of Health Care & Education
  
  Dr. Beverly is a full professor of primary care at Ohio University and the Ralph S. Licklider, D.O. Endowed Professor in Behavioral Diabetes. A nationally recognized expert, she leads research on the psychosocial aspects of diabetes, rural health disparities, and health care professional education. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School and holds a PhD in biobehavioral health from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Beverly has served as principal investigator on 35 external research grants focused on diabetes quality improvement, virtual reality training, and psychosocial care in Appalachian communities.
  
  
  
  She co-directs the Southeastern Ohio Regional Quality Improvement Hub and co-directs the NIH-funded Diabetes Institute Summer Interprofessional Research Experience for undergraduates. In 2023, she received the Ohio University Presidential Research Scholar Award for her work in diabetes. Her work is known for advancing team-based care and translating research into real-world solutions.

The remaining 2026 board members are: 

• Mandeep Bajaj, MBBS
• Rodica Busui, MD, PhD
• Joshua J. Neumiller, PharmD, CDCES, FADCES, FASCP
• Christopher Ralston, JD
• Robin Richardson
• Rhodes B. Ritenour, JD
• Patti Urbanski, MEd, RD, LD, CDCES, FADCES

"Together, the members of this board bring tremendous expertise and dedication to the mission of the American Diabetes Association," said James Tai, 2026 board chairman of the ADA. "With their leadership is sure to come continuing progress in diabetes research, advocacy, education, and community support."

For more details about the ADA board of directors, visit diabetes.org/Board.

About the American Diabetes Association 

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation's leading voluntary health organization fighting to end diabetes and helping people thrive. This year, the ADA celebrates 85 years of driving discovery and research to prevent, manage, treat, and ultimately cure diabetes—and we're not stopping. There are 136 million Americans living with diabetes or prediabetes. Through advocacy, program development, and education, we're fighting for them all. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (800-342-2383). Join us in the fight on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Spanish Facebook (Asociación Americana de la Diabetes), LinkedIn (American Diabetes Association), and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn). To learn more about how we are advocating for everyone affected by diabetes, visit us on X (@AmDiabetesAssn).       (Asociación Americana de la Diabetes), LinkedIn (American Diabetes Association), and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn). To learn more about how we are advocating for everyone affected by diabetes, visit us on X (@AmDiabetesAssn).   

Contact: Virginia Cramer, (703) 253-4927

press@diabetes.org 

 

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SOURCE American Diabetes Association