BDI Board of Directors

Kelly Close

Kelly L. Close is president of Close Concerns, Inc., a healthcare information firm exclusively focused on diabetes and obesity. Close Concerns publishes Closer Look, a real-time news service covering all goings-on in diabetes and obesity, as well as Diabetes Close Up, a quarterly industry newsletter. Kelly is also editor-in-chief of diaTribe, a monthly online newsletter focused on new research and products for people with diabetes (diaTribe.us) and is very active in dQ&A.

Close Concerns' market research business. Kelly and her colleagues attend over 40 conferences globally focused on diabetes and obesity, cover key medical literature in the field, and write quarterly about 60-plus private and public companies. Kelly's passion for the field comes from her extensive professional work as well as her personal experience as a patient with type 1 diabetes for over 25 years.

Her analytic expertise comes from nearly ten years researching medical technology and pharma. Prior to this, Kelly worked at McKinsey & Company focused in the healthcare practice. She began her career as an analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Kelly is widely viewed as an expert on the businesses of diabetes and obesity and as a frequent speaker on the public health implications of diabetes and obesity, she is a tireless supporter of patients. A longtime diabetes advocate, Kelly is on the board of directors for the Diabetes Hands Foundation and Behavioral Diabetes Institute. Kelly is a graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Business School. She lives in San Francisco with her children Coco, Lola, and Valentino and husband John, with whom she runs Close Concerns.

Michael Goodman

Michael Goodman is a retired Commissioner of the San Diego Superior Court after a twenty-eight year career. He now enjoys time with his family, friends and members of his religious congregation in addition to voluntary community service.

Mr. Goodman has received recognition for his work with the Small Claims Court Community Relations, Ethics in the Workplace and Consumer and Women’s Issues. Much of Mr. Goodman’s voluntary involvement with legal issues has been in the area of educating the public about rights and responsibilities. In this vein and his diagnosis as a type 2 diabetic, he has undertaken Board service with the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, helping to further the cause of treating the emotional side of the disease for children, adolescents and adults.

Susan Guzman, PhD
Director of Adult Clinical Services, the Behavioral Diabetes Institute

Susan Guzman, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in diabetes, both as a researcher as well as a clinician. As the Director of BDI Clinical Services, she developed and leads the multi-week depression series, “Feeling Good Again: Breaking the Depression/Diabetes Connection”. She was the project coordinator for BDI's Behavioral and Emotional Attitudes towards Diabetes (BEAD) study, which investigated the impact of type 2 diabetes following diagnosis, and has previously been involved in studies examining family-based interventions in diabetes as well as psychological insulin resistance. Her clinical interests include overcoming barriers to good management, family issues with diabetes, and the art of living well with diabetes.

Dr. Guzman has previously served as the psychological liaison to Scripps Health’s Diabetes Advisory Committee and team psychologist for the Healing Hearts Program at Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, a comprehensive lifestyle change program for people with heart disease.

Brian Haubenstock, CLU, ChFC
Financial Planner, Pinnacle Planning

Brian Haubenstock, CLU, ChFC is the President of the San Diego Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP) and is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). Mr. Haubenstock was awarded Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Life Underwriter designations by the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He holds a degree from Tufts University and attended the London School of Economics. Mr. Haubenstock has provided personal financial and estate planning services since 1982.

Susan Larue, RD, CDE
Diabetes Education Specialist, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Susan LaRue, RD, CDE is a Clinical Education Specialist at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where she uses her clinical and education experience in developing a broad range of diabetes programs and education materials. Ms. LaRue received a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Rochester Institute of Technology, did graduate work at Syracuse University in New York, and completed a Dietetic Internship at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Before accepting a leading role in diabetes education at Amylin, Ms. LaRue developed and managed the Professional Diabetes Education Program at The Whittier Institute for Diabetes. Her leadership roles include past president of the San Diego Association of Diabetes Educators. Ms. LaRue’s lifelong passion has been to improve the quality of life of those living with diabetes through state-of-the-art education about diabetes.

Gayle Lorenzi, RN, CDE

Gayle Lorenzi, RN, CDE has long been involved in the field of diabetes, with her experiences traversing the areas of clinical care, clinical research, education and advocacy. Since 1986, Ms. Lorenzi has been an active member of the study group for the landmark Diabetes Complications and Control (DCCT) study and the follow up Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study. The DCCT defined the relationship between glucose control and diabetes-related complications, and was instrumental in defining clinical goals and treatment methods for individuals with type 1 diabetes. The EDIC study continues to provide valuable insight into the long-term picture of type 1 diabetes and factors that influence the development of complications. Involvement in these studies has enabled Ms. Lorenzi to be actively involved in the translation of research findings into clinical practices and guidelines for diabetes care.

Ms. Lorenzi is a registered nurse, and maintains active involvement with several professional organizations that promote the health and education of individuals with diabetes, such as the American Diabetes Association and American Association of Diabetes Educators. She has worked within the pharmaceutical industry, and collaborated with various public health agencies and academic institutions to improve the understanding of diabetes by professionals and the public. She has been instrumental to continued growth of Camp Wana Kura, a day camp for children with diabetes in San Diego since its inception in 1990. She has published in several professional and lay journals and presented at local, national and international scientific conferences.

William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDE
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, the Behavioral Diabetes Institute
Associate Clinical Professor in Psychiatry, University of California San Diego

Dr. William H. Polonsky received his PhD in clinical psychology from Yale University and has served as Chairman of the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators, Senior Psychologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is an active researcher in the field of behavioral diabetes, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified diabetes educator. Dr. Polonsky has served on the editorial boards of numerous lay and professional journals in diabetes, including Diabetes Care, Clinical Diabetes, Diabetes Forecast, Diabetes Self-Management and Diabetes Health.

David Price, MD
Executive Director, Clinical Affairs – DexCom

Dr. Price became executive director of clinical affairs at Dexcom in June, 2010. His many responsibilities at Dexcom include clinical trials, publications, investigator- initiated studies and providing clinical input into new product development. Prior to joining Dexcom, Dr. Price worked at LifeScan for Johnson and Johnson and was responsible for clinical product development and clinical research. He has numerous patents and patent applications related to decision support. Dr Price is a diabetologist and held the position of clinical fellow at the Joslin Diabetes Center of New England Deaconess Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He ran a successful clinical practice focused on consultative diabetology for many years in Santa Rosa, California.

While in practice, he served as an investigator for numerous pharmaceutical and device trials in diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. He is a fellow of the American College of Endocrinology and held a clinical faculty appointment at University of California in San Francisco from 1990-2001. Dr. Price has authored many publications and has lectured on diabetes related topics to physicians, nurses, and the general public across the globe. His internship and residency were completed at the Maine Medical Center, medical degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine, and undergraduate training at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Price is from Cleveland, Ohio.

Wendy Young, RN, MSN, ANP, CDE
Diabetes Nurse Practitioner, Kaiser Permanente

Wendy Young, RN, MSN, ANP, CDE received a Master of Science degree in Nursing and certification as an Adult Nurse Practitioner from the University of California, San Francisco. She has served as a Clinical Professor for the UCSF School of Pharmacy and currently precepts other nurse practitioners, physician assistants and medical residents in managing patients with diabetes. Ms. Young has worked as a diabetes Nurse Practitioner since 1985. She currently has a clinical practice that focuses on managing patients with complications of diabetes. Her passion is to help prevent kidney failure in patients with known Chronic Kidney Disease.