Jennifer Schneider, M.D.

President

Dr. Jennifer Schneider currently serves as President on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board, as well as on the JDRF International Board of Directors. She is the President & Chief Medical Officer of Surf Bio, leveraging a novel biotechnology platform to develop enhanced therapeutic solutions for Diabetes, Oncology, HIV, COVID-19, and other therapeutic areas. She advises several early stage medical device companies and is a visiting scholar at Stanford. She also served as EVP for health and wellness for the Palo Alto Unified School District and developed a comprehensive diabetes plan for students in the district.

Prior to her work in the diabetes space, Dr. Schneider practiced orthopedic surgery at Stanford and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, her MD from Georgetown University, and completed her general surgery internship and orthopedic surgery residency at Stanford University.

Dr. Schneider’s daughter, Taylor, and husband, Dain, both live with T1D. Her husband developed T1D as an adult, and just a few years later their daughter developed T1D at the age of two.

She accompanied Taylor to Washington DC when Taylor participated in Children’s Congress in 2011, and together they have met with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo on several occasions as part of JDRF’s advocacy efforts.

Hans ten Cate

Vice President

Hans ten Cate currently serves as Vice President of the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. He is the Chief Operating Officer of Tilt Five, an augmented reality technology company that aims to bring holographic gaming into homes. Hans has been an executive in the video game industry for 20 years, serving in multiple creative and business roles at Electronic Arts and Sony PlayStation. His daughter, Tabitha, was diagnosed with T1D at age 8. He quickly became involved with JDRF and helped initiate the launch of JDRF’s Game2Give in 2019. His goal as Vice Chair of JDRF’s G2G Advisory Council is to connect gamers, gamer makers, and entertainment to work toward a cure for T1D.

Jennifer Dole

Member

Jennifer Dole currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Board. She is Chief of Staff at the Office of the COO at VSP Global, a vision and healthcare company. She was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at the age of 36, while pregnant with her second child and soon developed T1D. She was first introduced to JDRF in 2017, when she participated in the Ride to Cure Diabetes. After discovering the JDRF community, she has worked to ensure that other newly diagnosed individuals are able to access the crucial information she lacked, to effectively regain control of their lives. Jennifer previously served on the JDRF Northern California Inland Chapter Board.

Erin Durfee

Chair of Corporate Development

Erin Durfee currently serves as Chair of Corporate Development on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Board. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended UC Berkeley where she earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She began her career consulting for Accenture in the US, Europe, and Asia. She then returned to San Francisco and joined two early-stage Software-as-a-Service companies managing customer and partner success. At Salesforce she was a Customer Success leader and also developed an engaged global T1D employee community. She later took the role of VP Customer Success at Intellimize leading Success, Support, and Professional Services. Today, Erin is VP of Customer Success at SAP.

Erin was diagnosed with T1D in 2010 and became involved with JDRF shortly thereafter. Erin lives in San Francisco and is an avid runner, cyclist, skier, equestrian, and world explorer.

Kim Fisher

Chair of Research

Kim Fisher currently serves as Chair of Research on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Board. She is also a volunteer clinical trial educator for JDRF where she works to ensure patients and families have the opportunity to learn about important clinical trials for T1D. She became involved with JDRF when her daughter Nina was diagnosed with T1D in 2019.

Professionally, Kim runs executive education programs in Product Management at UC Berkeley. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director of The Women’s Technology Cluster (WTC), a San Francisco business incubator, where she helped over 50 companies raise over $350 Million in

Venture Capital and grow significant revenue. She also raised over $25 Million to build a 60- person company and one of the first “podcasting” businesses. Kim has a BS from Wharton and an MBA from UC Berkeley. As a leading female CEO, she has been featured in five books and has appeared on the cover of US News & World Report. In addition to the JDRF Northern California Community board, Kim has also served on many Advisory Boards including the Haas School of Business and Nokia Innovent.

For fun, Kim does Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, and enjoys multi-country bike rides with her husband John and with her daughters Nina and Lila.

Wyeth Goodenough

Member

Wyeth Goodenough currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Board, previously serving as Chair of Board Development. He grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended Northwestern University where he earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and captained the Northwestern Tennis Team. After several years working in consulting for Accenture, Wyeth returned to Northwestern to earn his M.B.A. at the Kellogg School of Management. Today, he is Chief Customer Officer at Ironclad. Prior to that position, he was a Vice President at Salesforce, helping to drive the company’s Strategic Alliances.

Wyeth has actively participated in JDRF events since his daughter Reese was diagnosed with T1D in 2016. He lives in Ross, CA with his wife Sarah Rafanelli and their three young daughters: Sadie, Reese and Ellis. Wyeth is an avid runner, cyclist and golfer and has even been known to DJ from time to time.

Jim Horalek

Member

Jim Horalek currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Board. He has been involved with JDRF for over two decades, ever since his daughter Kendall was diagnosed with T1D at the age of two. He brings more than 25 years of practical business experience in numerous leadership roles, primarily in sales and marketing. Jim is currently Director of Public Sector Sales at Citrix. Former responsibilities were the Director of Government Sales with Jive Communications after eight years at Cisco Systems as the Director of the California Public Sector Sales Operation. Before that he worked for Nortel Networks in various roles ranging from Managing Director of the Western Regions to operations, customer service, marketing and sales leadership. He attended California State University Long Beach where he earned a degree in Psychology and Business Management.

Jim has been passionately active with JDRF in various roles including Chair of Board Development, Chair of Fundraising, Chair of Corporate Development, Chair of Strategy, Chair of Board Development, President of the East Bay Branch Board, and twice serving as President of the Greater Bay Area Chapter Executive Board. He currently serves as a member of the Northern California Community Board. Jim also works with the Diabetic Youth Foundation, providing education and camp experiences to young people with T1D.

Jim and his wife, Deneka, live in Danville, California.

Hale Johnston

Member

Hale Johnston currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Board. He was diagnosed with T1D as an adult in 1987. He is Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer at Berkley Enterprise Risk Solutions (a Berkley Company), and previously was President of Hale Strategic Consulting.

Hale has over 30 years of leadership experience in the commercial insurance industry. He assembles customer-centric solutions that draw from all levels of the enterprise in order to deliver superior competitive value to elite clients. He positions teams to win in a highly dynamic and increasingly competitive commercial insurance marketplace. He earned a BA in History and Political Science from William Jewell College.

Hale came to the Bay Area from Kansas City where he chaired that Chapter Board until 2000. He now lives in the East Bay. ​

Karen Jordan

Member

Karen Jordan currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Board, previously serving as Research Chair and Board President. She also currently serves on the JDRF International Board of Directors, and is currently serving on the T1D Fund Board. Karen became involved with JDRF when her daughter Ali was diagnosed with T1D in 2008.

Her previous non-profit work includes service on different boards including, among others, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Stanford GSB Alumni Association and the Portola Valley School District. She was a member of the group who founded Summit Prep, a charter school profiled in Waiting for Superman. She also serves on the Stanford Healthcare Community Council.

Karen earned her B.A. in Economics-Business from UCLA and her MBA from the Stanford University GSB. She has also completed TPW’s year-long program on strategic philanthropy. She has worked as an investment banker and with the Mayor’s Office in Los Angeles.

Amy Lewis

Chair of Leadership Giving

Amy Lewis currently serves as Chair of Leadership Giving on the JDRF Northern California Community Board. She was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in Communications and earned an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco. Amy worked closely with campaign chair and author, Robert N. Klein, on the California Stem Cell Initiative (Prop 71), passed in 2004. Amy went on to play a key role in establishing the $3B California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, serving in several roles during her 12 year tenure.

Amy’s younger sister, Melanie, was diagnosed with T1D in 1979 at just 10 months old. Amy’s first experience with JDRF was as an intern at the Albuquerque branch in 1999. Her involvement with the organization has continued as both employee and volunteer in both Seattle, WA and the Northern California Chapter, most often supporting the Hope Gala. She currently serves as Co-Chair of Leadership Giving.

Amy lives in Ross, CA with her husband Chad, and two young children, Lauren and Maxwell.

Carlton McMillan

Chair of Board Development + Nominating

Carlton McMillan currently serves as Chair of Board Development & Nominating on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board, previously serving as Chair of Corporate Development. He became involved with JDRF soon after he married his wife Ansley, who was diagnosed with T1D at age five. In 2016, Carlton spearheaded a partnership between Airbnb and JDRF, and served as Team Captain of their Corporate Walk team. In addition, he and Ansley served as co-chairs of the San Francisco Walk committee in 2016 and 2017.

Carlton has been with Airbnb since May 2012, joining as an early member of the finance team. Serving as the Controller for Airbnb’s product and marketplace, he built a team of 30+ to support several functional areas including payments, product, technical accounting, and internal systems, with a focus on financial data integrity. Carlton recently accepted a new position leading Strategic Finance and Operations for Airbnb’s developing philanthropic arm (known as “Human”), which currently focuses on housing and support solutions for vulnerable populations, most notably refugees, disaster victims and medical patients. Prior to joining Airbnb Carlton worked at Frazier & Deeter, LLC, a public accounting and financial advisory firm based in Atlanta, serving public and private company clients in technology, financial services, manufacturing and real estate. Carlton received a B.S. in Management from Georgia Tech, with a concentration on finance and accounting.

Carlton and his family live in San Francisco.

Nick Mitchell

Member

Nick Mitchell currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. He lives with T1D and participates in the JDRF One Walk each year. He is Chief Financial Officer at Baco Properties, a privately held real estate investment and management company headquartered in San Francisco. He is an experienced Chief Financial Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry. He holds a BA focused in Accounting from University of Southern California.

Nick is involved in JDRF community building, engaging adults with T1D, and helping to grow our Hope Gala.

Steve Park

Member

Steve Park currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. He is the Vice President of TRI Commercial, a commercial real estate agency specializing in the sale and leasing of office properties. Steve has been involved with JDRF since 2008. His wife Jennie has T1D, giving him a personal connection to JDRF’s efforts to find a cure. For the past several years, Steve has been actively involved in JDRF’s events including One Walk, Greg Vaughn Celebrity Golf Tournament, and especially the One-Party Gala, where he served as the Chair three years in a row. Steve previously served on the JDRF Northern California Inland Chapter Board, as past President and Chair of Nominating & Board Development. As Nominating Chair, Steve led the efforts on post re-org of the JDRF Northern California Community Board consolidation process.

Tammy Powers

Member

Tammy Powers currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. She is the Chief Nurse Executive at Sutter Davis, with a focus on women and children’s services since 2015. Her main connection to the diabetes community stems from her treatment of many T1D patients, often partnering with Dr. Prakasam from the Center of Excellence in Diabetes and Endocrinology. Tammy has also partnered indirectly with JDRF for over a decade through her work in healthcare, initially in Spokane, Washington. Tammy previously served on the JDRF Northern California Inland Chapter Board.

Missy Reller

Chair of Advocacy

Missy Reller serves as Chair of Advocacy on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. In August 2014, her daughter Avery was diagnosed with T1D and she and her family have been advocating on behalf of JDRF ever since. Her family has participated in the Silicon Valley One Walk and Avery attended JDRF’s Children’s Congress in Washington DC in July 2017. Missy also served on the committee for the 2018 Hope Gala.

Missy is an active community volunteer in her hometown of Palo Alto, where she resides with her husband and three children. She currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Palo Alto Community Fund. She spent six years serving Palo Alto Partners in Education in multiple roles including Executive Vice President and as Chair of multiple committees.

Her professional experience includes therapeutic work with both emotionally disturbed children and individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Missy obtained a M.A. in psychology from the University of San Francisco and received her B.A. from the University of Denver.

Paola Reynoso

Chair of Outreach

Paola Reynoso currently serves as Chair of Outreach on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. She has been involved with JDRF since her son Damian was diagnosed with T1D at the age of three in 2016.  Her family participates in the JDRF One Walk each year as “Antidote Team Damian” and Damian has served as Fund A Cure speaker for our 2021 Summer Classic and 2022 Tee to Table events.

Paola has partnered with JDRF National to develop a new Spanish Bag of Hope and additional Spanish resources. She also hosts our monthly Spanish E-meet & Greet Zoom gatherings.

John Salter

Member

John Salter currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. He is a Co-Founder and Partner of Raine. John is responsible for Raine’s digital media and gaming practice. Prior to Raine, John was Global Head of Digital Media at UBS Investment Bank where he had worked for over eight years in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Group in San Francisco. Prior to UBS, John worked in the Internet and New Media group at Volpe, Brown, Whelan & Co. in San Francisco.

While at Raine, John has worked on a variety of advisory assignments, including Epic Games’ $1.25B capital raise, the sale of Playtika (a unit of Caesars Interactive) to a consortium led by Shanghai Giant Network Technology, SoftBank’s sale of its majority stake in Supercell to Tencent, the sale of Double Down Interactive (a unit of International Game Technology) to an affiliate of DoubleU Games, Legendary Entertainment’s sale to Wanda and SoftBank’s investments in Legendary Entertainment and Supercell, among other transactions. John is on the board of directors of DraftKings, Zumba Fitness, Huuuge, and Beachbody, all Raine portfolio companies.

John has a B.A. from Stanford University.

Anu Sharma

Member

Anu Sharma currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board, previously serving as Vice President and Co-Chair of Corporate Development. She is a healthcare strategist and innovator with 16 years of operating & management consulting experience. She has scaled concepts from startup through commercialization and has worked directly with several top healthcare industry players on significant strategy and operations issues. Across these roles, she has engaged extensively with CXOs and Boards at both public and private companies. She has a proven record of achieving exceptional results in ambiguous, fast-paced environments with complex stakeholder dynamics.

Currently, Anu is a founding executive team member at Burd Health, an enterprise-focused healthcare startup founded by Steve Burd who became nationally recognized for bending the company’s healthcare cost curve through pioneering programs in cost transparency, wellness, and incentive-based plan designs.

Prior to Burd Health, as Principal at Booz & Company, Anu led complex engagements with major health plans and health systems (e.g. Aetna, United Healthcare, Kaiser, and Catholic Health Initiatives) on corporate strategy, M&A, and enterprise-wide cost reduction. Aside from her professional work, Anu advises leading VCs on healthcare investments and startups on go-to-market issues. She also works with health-focused non-profits on strategy, organization design, and fundraising issues.

Anu lives in San Francisco with her husband and two beloved dogs.

Francine Vorhees

Member

Francine Vorhees currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. She is the founder of Vorhees Consulting, and a retired partner of Moss Adams, where she was the leader of the Trust & Estate Group and co-leader of the firm’s Estate Planning Group. Her sister was diagnosed with T1D at a young age, as were two of her cousins, which motivated Francine to support JDRF. In 2016, she was honored at the Northern California Inland Chapter Annual One-Party Gala. She has served on the Northern California Inland Chapter Board since 2010 and was the President for two years. As Board President, Francine led the efforts on post re-org of the JDRF Northern California Community Board consolidation process.

Dan Wright

Member

Dan Wright currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. He is CEO of DataRobot, where he sets the strategic direction and manages the company’s fast-growing business operations around the world. DataRobot is the leader in enterprise AI, with the vision of enabling all organizations to use AI to solve their hardest challenges. Prior to joining DataRobot, Dan served as Chief Operating Officer at AppDynamics, the leader in application performance management (APM). In 2018, he was the Corporate Chair of the San Francisco JDRF One Walk.

Dessi Zaharieva

Member

Dessi  Zaharieva currently serves at large on the JDRF Northern California Chapter Community Board. She lives with T1D and is an Instructor at Stanford, working with Dr. David Maahs. She completed her PhD at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her PhD research was focused on strategies to reduce hypoglycemia around exercise in adults with T1D. She holds many honors and awards, including: ISPAD-JDRF Research Fellowship, International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) (Dec 2020), and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, CIHR (2015-2018).

Kellee Hearn

Executive Director

Kellee Hearn is the Executive Director of the JDRF Northern California Chapter. She joined the chapter as Development Director, Community, in 2015, and served as Associate Executive Director from 2019 through 2021. Her nonprofit career began at JDRF in 1998 as a Walk Coordinator for the East Bay Walk and Inaugural Monterey Walk. Initially she was introduced to JDRF as a participant of a corporate Walk team. “The organization resonated with me as my mom was diagnosed with T1D when I was a child,” she says. In 2001, she became the Branch Manager for JDRF’s Silicon Valley office. What inspired her to come back to JDRF? “The passionate and collaborative JDRF community, whether it be volunteers or staff,” she says.

While Kellee was away from JDRF, she worked with various nonprofits in roles of development, communications and program expansion. Most recently, she was the Development and Communications Director at Girls Inc. of the Island City, successfully increasing both outreach and visibility in the community, as well as income for the organization through various fundraising strategies. She was lead staff on several committees and was heavily involved in volunteer engagement and board development. Previous to that, she was Development Director at the Northern California National MS Society, leading the development team with a focus on staff development and an emphasis on peer to peer fundraising. Kellee holds a B.S.in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Dana Baker

Development Coordinator - Golf and Gala

Dana Baker joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter as a Development Coordinator in 2021 after working for the Inland Chapter in Sacramento since 2019. She has also served in several volunteer positions with JDRF, including as Chapter Board Member, Gala Committee Member, and Fund A Cure Chair. In her current role, Dana organizes and implements the event activities for Hope Gala, Tee to Table and Summer Classic. Prior to joining JDRF, Dana was Director of Sales at UpSpring Baby – a startup company creating innovative products with clinical support for new mothers – and was a sales and management executive at TAP Pharmaceuticals. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Management from Whittier College.

Dana says, “My daughter Madeline was diagnosed in 2014 at the age of 11. In my role at JDRF, I want to have a positive impact on those whose lives have been impacted by T1D.”

Outside of work, Dana’s teaches a spin class, and enjoys spending time with family and traveling.

Frank Bitonte

Development Director - Golf and Gala

Frank Bitonte joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter in 2009 after a friend introduced him to the organization. He was very impressed with the commitment of the staff, volunteers and donors, and so the decision to accept the position of Development Director overseeing social events was easy. Before joining JDRF, Frank’s career was spent designing jewelry and tabletop accessories, which have been featured in retail stores, galleries, and museum stores around the country. He also volunteered extensively for The Community Health Project, now Called Lorde Community Health Center, in New York, which sparked his interest in non-profit work. He has a B.F.A. in Jewelry Design from SUNY, New Paltz, and an M.F.A in Painting from Bard College.

Frank is inspired by his friends who have T1D, one of whom has been living with the disease for 37 years. “I also thoroughly enjoy working with the volunteers who are very active within the chapter. I tend to be very goal oriented so raising as much money for research as possible is the bottom line,” he says.

As an artist, Frank finds himself immersed in creative projects during his free time. He tries to get to the studio as often as possible and is always searching for the perfect design piece at local flea markets.

Shelly Jensen

Marketing & Communications

Shelly Jensen has been working with the JDRF Northern California Chapter for more than ten years, first as a volunteer and now in marketing and communications for our chapter. She has over twenty years of experience in marketing and communications. Over the course of her career she has directed marketing efforts and led teams for high profile architecture and design firms, art dealers and galleries. She graduated from the University of Dayton with a B.A. in Philosophy and then from Kent State University with an M.A. in Art History.

“I have T1D and so it has felt very empowering to work with this great organization,” says Shelly. “I know that JDRF will lead us to a cure. It’s funny how life works out, though. If not for this disease, I never would have met the remarkable people I get to work with each day!” Shelly has been living with T1D for 20+ years and manages her blood sugar with the OmniPod insulin pump and Dexcom CGM.

Shelly has two children and is very active with their schools. She also tries to make time for family beach outings, hikes and picnics on the weekends.

Kimberly Meininger​

Development Manager

Kimberly Meininger joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter as a Development Manager, Mid-Level Gifts, in 2022. Kim comes to us with extensive experience in nonprofit fund development, project management and volunteer management. Most recently, Kim served as Marketing, Communications, and Fund Development Associate at Parisi House on the Hill in San Jose. Before that, she was a Fund Development Associate at Chamberlain’s Children Center, Inc. and Resource Development Assistant at Asian Americans for Community Involvement. Kim holds a B.A. in English and Comparative Literature with a Minor in Child Development from San Jose State University.

Kim has been involved in database management, donation processing, tracking, reporting, managing campaigns and appeals, planning events, and all manners of donor and entire audience communication and grants management. She says, “I am excited about working more directly with donors and our T1D community. Getting to meet other parents during my time here has been especially rewarding.”

Kim’s son Derek was diagnosed with T1D in 2018. She says, “Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate working for a nonprofit whose mission has so personally impacted my own family. As part of the JDRF team, I am blown away to learn that JDRF has played a role in every advancement that made the treatments my son uses to manage his diabetes possible. JDRF won’t stop until a cure is found, and I am thrilled that I get to contribute to a cause so closely aligned with the passion in my heart.”

Outside of work Kim enjoys spending time with her family in Morgan Hill. She is a Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill and is involved in her kids’ school and sports activities. “I am also a total beach bum, love trying new foods, and traveling, hiking, or otherwise adventuring,” she says.

Kevin O'Scanlon

Associate National Director, Leadership Giving

Kevin O’Scanlon is Associate National Director, Leadership Giving, focused on both the Northern California and Southern California Chapters. Prior to this position, Kevin was the JDRF Northern California Donor Relations Officer, and before that was Development Director, overseeing the JDRF One Walk and Peer to Peer fundraising for the chapter.

Before joining the staff, Kevin volunteered for JDRF for many years. As a professional DJ, he provided entertainment – and earned many fans – at the JDRF Walk as well as served as the San Francisco Walk Chair. Walkers loved his music choices but also his upbeat attitude about living with T1D. Personable and driven, he brings a strong background in business development, events, planning and management, most recently serving as Sales and Marketing Manger at the San Francisco office of Sound in Motion. Kevin earned a B.A. in Theater Arts at University of California, Santa Cruz.

Kevin was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at age five. From the very beginning, he has been involved with camps, fundraising, outreach, and mentorship. “I am very excited that I have the opportunity to now focus my attention exclusively on this organization. The Walk is an amazing opportunity to connect with so many families and individuals who are focused on a common goal, and share a common struggle.” he says. “I am inspired by the fact that I am part of something that is bigger than me. I am part of an organization that is changing the world.”

Kevin continues to DJ private events in his spare time. Other favorite activities include spending time with his wife Diana and dog Napa, traveling, swing dancing, hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, wake boarding, and scuba dive. He also brews his own beer.

Judy Parra

Development Manager - Walk, Ride and Third Party Fundraisers

Judy Parra is a Development Manager at the JDRF Northern California Chapter.  In this role, Judy works with the Peer to Peer team on Walk, Ride, and Third Party Events, as well as supporting chapter operations.

Judy has a very strong knowledge base and understanding of JDRF’s mission, goals, systems, our T1D community. Before assisting our chapter as a temp, Judy was the Office Manager for the JDRF LA Chapter for over five years. Community building and development come naturally to Judy; she brings new skills to the role that help increase engagement with our Peer to Peer programs and achieve our Chapter’s goals.

Judy says, “I love meeting new people and helping them along their JDRF journey, whether it’s connecting them with another T1D family, introducing them to a new program or helping them reach their fundraising goal. At the end of the day we all have the same goal and that’s to create a world without T1D.”

Outside of work Judy likes to craft, travel and spend time with her family, especially her five nieces and nephew.

Cara Pierce

Development Manager - Hope Gala

Cara Pierce joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter in 2021 as a Development Manager overseeing the Hope Gala. Prior to this role, Cara was a Fundraising Assistant at Lafayette Partners in Education, Senior Contracts and Finance Manager at Esprit International Limited, Senior Royalty Contractor Auditor at BMG Entertainment, Inc. and Contracts and Finance Manager at Cable & Wireless Internet Services, Inc. She is highly skilled in communication and organization strategies, event management and project management. Cara holds a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Lafayette College and J.D. from Pepperdine Law.

Cara says, “My maternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, and brother-in-law all had/have T1D. My grandfather died from T1D complications when I was very young. I only have three black and white memories of him – one being he, my grandmother, and myself going into Boston for his dialysis. I was drawn to JDRF because I want to help families, like mine, who have or had loved ones with T1D.”

Outside of work, Cara enjoys spending time with her family and friends, including long walks on the weekend. She and her husband are actively involved in their children’s sports and schools.

Jennifer Pliner

Outreach Manager

Emily Riley

Director of Donor Relations

Emily Riley joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter in 2015 and is currently Director of Donor Relations. In this role, Emily works closely with our Chapter’s executive team and volunteer leadership to strengthen stewardship and engage and grow our pipeline of major gifts. Prior to this role, Emily was a Development Director, overseeing Peer to Peer fundraising and JDRF One Walk corporate sponsorship. Prior to joining JDRF, Emily was Intern Program Manager at LifeMoves (formerly InnVision Shelter Network). She earned her B.A. in Sociology from University of San Diego, where she was Vice President of Philanthropy for Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Lambda Chapter. Emily received the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential from Nonprofit Leadership Alliance.

Emily’s husband Alex lives with T1D and she is touched by the impact that the disease has on people’s lives. “I’ve learned how consuming T1D can be. The better people understand what it is like to live with T1D, the more we can rally folks around the cause. I am incredibly excited to be part of this organization,” she says.

When Emily is not working, she enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with loved ones.

Hannah Schuchart

Development Coordinator

Hannah Schuchart joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter in 2022 as a Development Coordinator. In this position she works closely with the chapter executive team, supporting our chapter board and donors. She came to us from Rafael House of San Francisco where she assisted low-income families and families experiencing homelessness. She is skilled in CRM/database and is passionate about non-profit work and supporting our community. Hannah holds a B.A. in Sociology and Minor in Criminal Justice from Saint Joseph’s University.

Hannah says, “My passion for devoting myself to others is fueled by the amazing team and community that I am surrounded by here at JDRF. Having such inspiring coworkers who tirelessly commit to the service of our T1D community motivates me. I am so grateful to be apart of such an amazing mission.”

Outside of work, you can find Hannah doing yoga, training for marathons and adventuring with her friends.

Noelle Tuominen

Development Manager - Walk

Noelle Tuominen joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter in 2022 as a Development Manager, co-leading the JDRF One Walk, NorCal. She aspires to make an impact on the community that welcomed her so warmly when her two children were diagnosed with T1D. She says, “Our one-year-old held on tight to that Rufus bear in ICU and I was so lucky to be introduced to the JDRF NorCal team when we were first navigating life with T1D and a toddler. I hope to be that bright light for other families and show them how much of an impact JDRF can make on their T1D experience.”

Prior to joining our team, she was a Brand Manager at KidLinks, a music nonprofit bringing music therapy to children. She was also the Social Media Lead for California’s Insulin4All Chapter at T1International, a Senior Stylist at Stitch Fix, and the Marketing & Communications Director at the Junior League of Oakland-East Bay, Inc. Noelle studied social media marketing at California State University – East Bay.

Noelle’s young son and daughter both live with type 1 diabetes (T1D). She chronicles her experiences and everyday life with T1D through her website Type 1 Kid Type A Mom Navigating Motherhood with 2 T1D Toddlers.

Stephanie Vidulich

Sr. Director, Development Operations

Stephanie Nelson is our Sr. Director of Development Operations. She joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter in 2014 and brings with her a spirit of collaboration and proactivity. Prior to her current position, Stephanie was a physical therapy aide at ValleyCare Health System in Pleasanton, CA. She graduated from University of Arizona with a Bachelors of Science in microbiology and chemistry.

Stephanie has been living with type 1 diabetes (T1D) since she was eight years old. Her endocrinologist suggested she connect with JDRF. “From the moment I attended my first Walk I was hooked!” she says. As a result, Stephanie has been attending events and fundraising for JDRF for over 17 years. “As I grew up, I became a Youth Ambassador as well as a volunteer. I feel so honored to be part of the JDRF staff now. I have found my perfect career, where I am making a difference in the lives of many who go through the daily struggles of T1D and working toward a day when we can say there is a cure,” she says.

Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her family and two golden retrievers. She also likes to travel and experiencing new places and cuisines.

Qiana Wylie

Senior Development Manager - Walk, Ride, Third Party Fundraisers and Young Leadership Committee (YLC)

Qiana Wylie joined the JDRF Northern California Chapter in 2020, and is currently a Senior Development Manager leading the JDRF One Walk, NorCal, the JDRF Ride Bay Area Team, and the NorCal Young Leadership Committee. Qiana brings many years of experience in nonprofit, community outreach and fundraising. Most recently, she was the Institutional Giving Manager at The Marine Mammal Center, working with corporations and foundations and stewarding strong partnerships that supported the organization. Prior to this, she was the Corporate & Community Engagement Specialist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Qiana holds a B.A. in Sociology – Comparative Studies and World Development from the University of California, Davis.

Qiana says, “I feel incredibly honored to take my experience into a new role at JDRF and help create a world without type 1 diabetes. I’m really excited to be part of a team that continues the great legacy of JDRF programs while expanding their impact within the Greater Bay Area community.”

Qiana was diagnosed with T1D in July 2019 and knew very little about the disease at the time. She says, “When I got the call from my doctor, I thought this diagnosis meant that I would be limited and unable to do many of the things I enjoy – camping, traveling, snowboarding, eating pizza – all of which I’ve done since!” Seeking community and support, she reached out to JDRF, learned about the organization’s important work, joined the Young Leadership Committee, and participated in the 2019 San Francisco One Walk. She says, “Within a few weeks, I knew that I wanted to be more involved.”

Outside of work, Qiana enjoys exploring San Francisco by foot, visiting national parks, hiking to a good view, and spending quality time with friends and family