Brandy Barnes, MSW (President) has lived successfully with diabetes for more than 18 years. She received her Master’s of Social Work with a concentration in Health Settings from UNC Chapel Hill. Mrs. Barnes gained clinical research experience in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes at the UNCDiabetesCareCenter. She also has nonprofit experience working as a Marketing Manager with the American Cancer Society. Since 2000, she has served as a Board Member on the North Carolina Diabetes Advisory Council. Mrs. Barnes is currently employed in diabetes medication sales in Raleigh, NC.
John Buse, MD, PhD (Board Member) is the current President of the Medicine & Science Division of the American Diabetes Association. He is also the Chief of the Endocrinology Division of the Department of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Buse is a former Associate Editor of DiabetesCare and Clinical Diabetes. He is also the Vice-Chair of the National Health Institutes’ (NIH’s), largest diabetes study ever, called the ACCORD Trial. He is also an active clinician with a UNC-based diabetes practice in Chapel Hill, NC.
Suzanne Bourgeois, J.D. (Board Member) has lived successfully with Type 1 diabetes for more than 17 years. She recently received her Juris Doctor from LouisianaStateUniversity's PaulM.HebertLawCenter. Before law school, Suzanne worked with children at a local MentalHealthCenter. She is now an attorney licensed to practice in Louisiana and currently works at the LawCenter.
Laura Ely (Vice President) has lived successfully with Type 1 diabetes for more than 19 years. She is a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Psychology and Spanish. Since graduation, she has worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for both Type 1 and 2 diabetes studies at the UNCDiabetesCareCenter. For the last decade, Laura has been involved with Camp Carolina Trails, a camp for children with diabetes that promotes the importance of living with a Positive Mental Attitude.
Nancy Mayer, JD (Board Member) is an attorney at law who now runs a solo general practice concentrating on Elder Law, Disability Law and Immigration Law. Mrs. Mayer worked for USEPA for the past 30 years concentrating in air pollution policy and regulation development, implementation and enforcement. She has experience as a union steward with the American Federation of Government Employees where she specializes in American with Disabilities Act applications and federal arbitration. Mrs. Mayer is also an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys.
Anne Peters, MD (Board Member) is a nationally and internationally respected diabetologist and one of bestdoctors.com's "Best Doctors in America". She is professor of medicine and director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Programs. Dr. Peters treats a spectrum of patients, from Hollywood producers, writers, and stars who frequent her clinic in Beverly Hills to the poor who populate her free diabetes clinic in East Los Angeles. The former chairperson of the American Diabetes Association Council on Health Care Delivery and Public Health, Dr. Peters speaks nationally and internationally. She has appeared on Larry King Live, Dateline, CNN, E.R., and
the Discovery Channel, among others.
Tisa Roberts, MD (Board Member) is a graduate of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and has been in practice for five years. Her work has included experience in low-income clinics in the Raleigh and Benson, North Carolina areas. Her family history of diabetes has led her to seek out positions that provide clinical experience with this population. Currently, she is employed by Johnston Memorial Hospital at Johnston Family Care Center.
