The American Association of Diabetes Educators, AADE, announced today that Kenneth J. Widelka has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer effective August 11. Widelka joined AADE in 2010 and has served previously as Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

“Ken has demonstrated a strong commitment to AADE’s mission and to the professional development of our members,” said AADE CEO Chuck MacFarlane. “He brings a wide breadth of association experience to the table and is well prepared to assume the COO role.”

“AADE has always been linked to the access and empowerment of diabetes educators,” Widelka said. “We look forward to continuing to meet member demands for innovative and quality programming and support.” 

In addition to his previous roles at AADE, Widelka was formerly an Associate Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of the American Bar Association. He has held other executive roles at Pearson PLC, McGraw-Hill and Tribune Co., focusing on organizational optimization, team building and financial leadership.

Widelka has served in teaching positions at DePaul University and is a Certified Association Executive and Certified Public Accountant. He received his bachelor and master’s degrees from DePaul University.

About the AADE:
Founded in 1973, AADE is a multi-disciplinary professional membership organization dedicated to improving diabetes care through education.  With more than 14,000 professional members including nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and others, AADE has a vast network of practitioners involved in the daily treatment of diabetes patients.  Collectively, our alliances, member practitioner networks, and academic partners uniquely position AADE at the locus of change for the future treatment of diabetes.  To learn more go to: www.diabeteseducator.org.