Lifetime Achievement Award (f.k.a. Living Legend Award)
Recognizes an individual who exemplifies the proud history of diabetes care and education while serving as an extraordinary role model.
Carolé Mensing, RN, MA, CDE, FAADE
Carolé has impacted countless lives in her career spanning 50 years of service to diabetes care and nearly as many to AADE. Her career as a diabetes educator and nurse has brought her to places like the Joslin Diabetes Center and the Johnson and Johnson Institute, where she worked to further key concepts in the advancement of educational strategies, teaching learning components and self-care education in a team environment. Her volunteerism has included past Board positions at AADE and the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators where she currently serves as Past Chair. She is also a Past President of Health Care and Education at the American Diabetes Association. She is a previous winner of the Allene Van Son Distinguished Service Award and currently serves as co-chair of the AADE7 Self-Care Behaviors revision workgroup. She has long been a Diabetes Education Accreditation Program auditor and a contributor to, as well as editor of the first three editions of the Art and Science of Diabetes Education Desk Reference.
Allene Van Son Distinguished Service Award
Recognizes outstanding contributions and service to AADE. Criteria include the number of years of quality service, demonstration of leadership, contribution to AADE publications, and promotion of AADE and the diabetes care and education specialty.
Teresa L. Pearson, MS, RN, CDE, FAADE
As President of Innovative Healthcare Designs, Teresa consults with various clinical organizations around the country regarding care model redesign, and clinical quality improvement in diabetes care. She advocates for a population health approach focused on improving clinical outcomes in value-based purchasing models. In a previous role she served as the Director of Diabetes Care for Fairview Health Services in Minnesota where she provided direction and oversight for diabetes care services in over 40 primary care sites and 8 hospitals. Her diabetes experience spans more than 25 years during which time she has served on numerous boards and committees locally and nationally for diabetes related organizations such as AADE, The American Diabetes Association, the Institute of Clinical Systems Improvement and the Diabetes Advisory Committee for the state of Minnesota for which she is a past chair. Her service to our community extends to numerous national and international advisory boards and key opinion panels for a variety of diabetes related companies. An AADE Fellow, she is a frequent guest speaker locally, nationally and internationally having delivered well over 1,000 presentations and authored over 50 publications on diabetes care. She is the Editor-in-Chief of AADE In Practice and is an AADE Master Trainer for the National Diabetes Prevention Program.
Diabetes Educator of the Year Award
Recognizes an active AADE Member and CDE who has made a special contribution to the field through dedication, innovation and sensitivity in patient care. The recipient receives a travel and education grant to share his/her expertise with fellow care and education specialists.
Supported by LifeScan, Inc.
Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM, CDE
Diana received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Doctor of Pharmacy from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and completed her residency at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. She is currently a diabetes educator and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Diabetes Center where she initiated a program with physicians to give people with diabetes access to diabetes education on their first visit. She is the Continuous Glucose Monitoring Program Coordinator and partners with diabetes nurses and dietitians to offer diagnostic continuous glucose monitoring in the context of shared medical appointments at her clinic. Diana is also an active volunteer with AADE, serving as the Ohio Coordinating Body Leader, a member of AADE’s Technology Workgroup, the DANA Editorial Board, and the BC-ADM Credentialing Oversight Committee.
Innovative Use of Technology Award
Recognizes a member who supports the innovative use and integration of technology into practice.
Jennifer LeBlanc, BSN, RN, CDE
Jennifer has over 15 years of combined clinical, research, industry and management experience, specializing in diabetes. She is currently the Director of Professional Education and Care Advisory at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. Jennifer accepts this award on behalf of Dr. Nuha El Sayed and Jo-Ann Rizotto of the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical Center. This team of educators developed ACT NOW, a shared decision-making framework and tool to reduce the sense of burden felt by people with diabetes and healthcare professionals when using CGM and other diabetes-related technologies. ACT NOW facilitates the interpretation of CGM data, insulin dose adjustment and related diabetes planning. This tool generates outcomes that emphasize better retention techniques and experiential learning, while reducing misconceptions.
Strategic Initiative Award
Recognizes a member whose work reinforces AADE’s Strategic Goals in Diversity or new Models of Care to achieve the outcome inspired by AADE’s mission and vision.
Michael J. Rush, PharmD, BCACP, CDE, NCTTP
Michael currently serves as the Director of ONU HealthWise and Director of Pharmacy Residency Programs at Ohio Northern University. Michael accepts this award on behalf of ONU Healthwise, a clinical team that developed a unique collaboration of services in order to provide diabetes care services to a medically underserved area. Through the creation of a rural mobile health clinic, they were able to overcome several barriers preventing access to care – a key pillar of AADE’s new strategic plan. Using a mobile format, they brought the clinic directly to the communities that need them. When faced with a shortage of healthcare professionals, they employed student health professionals. To overcome cost, they secured grant funding to offer services free of charge. In 2011 Rush became a board certified ambulatory care pharmacist (BCACP) and was awarded the Upsher-Smith Excellence in Innovation Award for his work in developing the ONU HealthWise program. In 2018 Rush received the Ohio Pharmacists Association “Under 40” award for distinguished service to the profession of pharmacy.
AADE Rising Star Award
Recognizes a diabetes care and education specialist who has less than three years of diabetes care and education experience and has demonstrated leadership and commitment in their practice.
Julia E. Blanchette, PhD(c), RN, CDE
At the Cleveland Clinic Diabetes Center, Julia has a special interest in working with and building the transition from pediatric to adult diabetes care program. A current PhD candidate at Case Western Reserve University, Julia’s dissertation focuses on financial stress factors, psychological symptoms and self-management outcomes in young adults with type 1 diabetes. She hopes to improve diabetes education and clinical care for young adults who face many barriers and suboptimal self-management outcomes. Julia is the healthcare director at Camp Ho Mita Koda for children with type 1 diabetes and was instrumental in saving the camp from shutting its doors in summer 2017. She believes that diabetes camps provide an empowering community for children with diabetes. Julia has volunteered for numerous publication and presentation opportunities, and currently serves as the co-chair for AADE’s Pediatric and Camp Educators Community of Interest.