DESA 2008 International Conference July 17-20, 2008 Toronto, Canada

Late Breaking Update!

"Meet & Train with the Olympians"

The list of Friends will be updated as more commitments are received. Missy plans an early morning easy run, special lunch for participants, and an evening track workout.

Open to all Conference registrants regardless of ability, for an activity fee of $25 paid upon signup at the registration desk.

Registration Now Open

Conference Program and Registration Form-click here

Registration Options:

a) Print a copy of the Registration Form & Fax or Mail it to DESA

or

b) Register Online by clicking here.

CAll for Applications

2008 DESA Athletic Achievement Awards & Lew Harper Memorial Youth Award

Applications are now being received though May 1, 2008

Program information here

Sisterhood of Diabetes- a special issue of the DESA Challenge Newletter..now online

--Inspiring accounts of how Exercise For Life changes lives

Doug Dressman Joins DESA as Executive Director
	"I am excited about this opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of DESA. We have unbelievable potential to serve people with diabetes by showing them not only the role that exercise and physical fitness plays in managing their disease, but how they can realize their dreams as an athlete."
Doug Dressman is a Cincinnati native who started his non-profit career with Junior Achievement of Greater Cincinnati. After four years with JA, Doug moved on to the Arthritis Foundation's Southwest Ohio Chapter and served as Development Director for four years before moving to Louisville where he lives with his wife Lorie and their two children, Nick, 21 and Lindsey 17. In Louisville he worked as Executive Director of the Kentucky Chapter of the American Diabetes Association for 7 ½ years before joining the Southern Region Staff as Community Development Vice President. Two years later he joined ADA's national office staff as the National Director, Priority Special Events, in the Field Campaign Department. After 12 years service with ADA he joined the National MS Society in March 2004. Doug spent 3 ½ years as the Kentucky Chapter President, National MS Society. In addition he served on the Chapter President's Council and Shared Services Advisory Council during his tenure. Both Doug and his wife Lorie have Type 2 diabetes and value the role of exercise, physical fitness, and nutrition in treating and managing diabetes. His passion is soccer and he referees high school and club soccer matches. Doug's son Nick plays soccer at Northern Kentucky University. Lindsey, his daughter, is a high school cheerleader in Goshen, Kentucky.

New Members of the DESA Board of Directors

DESA is pleased to announce that the folowing new Board Members were installed at the annual meeting in Colorado, June 29, 2007. Each will serve a term of three years.

Charles Renfroe	Missy Foy

Charles Renfroe is Director of Professional Alliances and Patient Advocacy at LifeScan, Inc., a Johnson and Johnson company. He is responsible for professional and patient relations and corporate contributions to diabetes organizations and patient advocacy groups in the United States. He sits on about 10 industry advisory groups for diabetes associations and is also on the Board of Directors for the Diabetes Education and Camping Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Silicon Valley Branch, as well as the camping committee of the Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley in California. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work in diabetes, including those presented by the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and Children With Diabetes. A long-time contributor to DESA, LifeScan, under Charles's direction, has supported the DESA Athletic Achievement Awards for 10 years, and regularly provides operational grants to support our work. Wnen Charles gets a chance to step away from work, he enjoys reading, writing, appreciating art in all forms and hiking/biking the trails of Northern California.

Missy Foy recently joined the Board of Directors at DESA. Missy has had Type 1 diabetes for ten years and has had a successful running career for much of those ten years. She was named the North Carolina Runner of the Year twice, spent two years as one of the USA Track and Field Association's Olympic Development athletes, was awarded the Life Scan International Athletic Achievement Award, became the first diabetic athlete in history to qualify for and run in the Olympic Marathon Trials, and, in 2005, achieved a top ten world ranking for a 50 mile ultra-marathon (with a #1 ranking for a 50 mile trail race). Missy has also worked in medical research for the last fifteen years with the Durham, NC VA Medical Center and with Duke University. Currently, she is also completing work on her PhD with a research focus on the history of diabetes care and health outcomes. Missy hopes that her work on the Board of Directors will help DESA achieve goals of expanding its connections with a growing diabetes community, enhancing the experiences of DESA's members, and creating new and innovative ways to provide information on exercise and sports participation for people with diabetes. Missy is an active participant on DESA's electronic bulletin boards and hopes that members will continue to offer opinions and ask questions of Missy and other Board members through the bulletin boards.

Sheri Colberg

Sheri Colberg-Ochs, Ph.D., FACSM, is an exercise physiologist and associate professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Having earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, she specializes in research on diabetes and exercise. She continues to conduct extensive clinical research specifically in diabetes and exercise with funding from the American Diabetes Association and others. Dr. Colberg-Ochs is the author of five (and counting) books: "The Diabetic Athlete" (2001), "Diabetes-Free Kids" (2005), "The 7 Step Diabetes Fitness Plan (2006), "50 Secrets of the Longest Living People with Diabetes" (Nov. 2007), and "The Science of Staying Young" (Dec. 2007). A second edition of "The Diabetic Athlete" will also be published in November of 2008. In addition to her books, she has authored well over 100 research and educational articles on exercise, diabetes, fitness, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles. An avid recreational exerciser, she has almost 40 years of personal experience as a type 1 diabetic athlete.When not busy writing, teaching, and researching, she spends time with her three boys (Alex, 13; Anton, 11, and RayJ, 8) and husband, Ray Ochs. Despite splitting her time among three boys involved in soccer, swimming, martial arts, and other activities, she manages to find time to exercise nearly daily herself, mainly just staying in shape at this point! Her favorite exercise is still swimming, but she also enjoys weight training, conditioning machines, cycling, and taking long walks with her husband without the kids.

Dr. Diana Berger is the Medical Director of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program in the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). She is on faculty at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the Division of General and Preventive Medicine. She completed a Preventive Medicine Residency with a Masters of Science in Community Medicine at Mount Sinai and a Research Fellowship at the Joslin Diabetes Center. She attended Dartmouth Medical School ('96) and Dartmouth College ('90). Her interests in diabetes include the emerging epidemic of type 2 diabetes in children, diabetes camping, diabetes registries, physical activity and healthy eating for diabetes prevention, insulin pump therapy, and exercise and sports for people with diabetes.

"Diabetic and Determined" by Abby Ellin

See this excellent article by Feature Editor, Abby Ellin, in the July 26,2007 edition of the New York Times.

Eighth International DESA Conference September 6-9, 2006

The Olympic Training Center at Papendal in Arnhem, The Netherlands was the site of an excellent program on the role exercise in diabetes management in both type 1 and type 2 DM.

• Conference Report
• DESA Athletic Achievement Awards presented
• International Board Meeting
• Proposed Oct 2007 Bike Race in Tuscany, Italy