JDRF announces new board members

JDRF, the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, announced today the appointments of Amber Bland, Michael Gunn, Stacie McIntyre, Robert Sanders, and Janine Wall as new Palmetto Chapter board members. Chapter boards and their members provide volunteer guidance to the chapter and play a vital role in executing fundraising, leadership and advocacy activities to ensure that its efforts remain aligned with the needs of people who live with the disease.

“We congratulate Amber Bland, Michael Gunn, Stacie McIntyre, Robert Sanders, and Janine Wall and are delighted to welcome them to the Palmetto Chapter,” said Kevin Simmons, executive director of JDRF’s Palmetto Chapter. “We’re confident that they will provide the strengths needed to advance JDRF’s goals of improving the lives of families facing this disease and creating a world without T1D.”

The Palmetto JDRF Chapter was formed in 1990 and has established an impressive track record in patient education programs, support groups, public awareness and advocacy.

Amber Bland manages vacation rental properties and is a stay at home parent to her daughter who is living with T1D. Michael Gunn started and now works at Forge Consulting, LLC. Stacie McIntyre is a registered dietician and certified diabetes educator at Lexington Endocrinology. She is also a fifteen year volunteer with JDRF. Robert Sanders is the President of Preferred Specialty, LLC and is the co-chair for JDRF’s Corporate Committee. Janine Wall is the Director of Marketing at PHTS Services, Ltd. and has served as PHTS’s JDRF One Walk team captain since 2007.

Type 1 diabetes strikes both children and adults at any age. Each year, more than 15,000 children and 15,000 adults—approximately 80 people per day—are diagnosed with T1D in the U.S. It comes on suddenly, causes dependence on injected or pumped insulin for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. JDRF is committed to an ongoing stream of life-changing therapies moving from development through to the marketplace that lessen the impact of T1D.

About T1D

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved. Its onset has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent T1D, and—at present—nothing you can do to get rid of it.

About JDRF

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. To accomplish this, JDRF has invested more than $2 billion in research funding since our inception. We are an organization built on a grassroots model of people connecting in their local communities, collaborating regionally for efficiency and broader fundraising impact, and uniting on a national stage to pool resources, passion, and energy. We collaborate with academic institutions, policymakers, and corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver a pipeline of innovative therapies to people living with T1D. Our staff and volunteers throughout the United States and our six international affiliates are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our vision of a world without T1D. For more information, please visit jdrf.org or follow us on Twitter: @JDRF or call (803) 782-1477.