Sansum Diabetes Research Institute Welcomes Ada Conner as New Director of Development
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute is pleased to announce that Ada Conner has joined the organization as Director of Development. She is responsible for expanding fundraising opportunities at the non-profit organization through major gift and capital campaign development, planned giving programs, as well as corporate sponsorships and donations from individuals.
Robert Nagy, M.D., President of the Board of Trustees noted that “Ms. Conner is a welcome addition to our team. She has deep, long-standing roots in our community as well as a professional and successful fundraising background.” Executive Director Rem Laan added that “Ada understands what it takes to build sustainable non-profit funding. We are looking forward to working together to communicate our mission on a local level here in Santa Barbara as well as nationally and internationally. Her work will provide the financial support required to extend our excellent diabetes programs focusing on research, education and care.”
Ms. Conner’s career in community service began in 1987 when she worked with the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department in a supervisory position with senior citizens programs. In 1995, she became a Parks and Recreation Commissioner and served for sixteen years as a liaison to numerous non-profit boards and local government committees. During that time she also served on a variety of boards and committees including Board President of the Oaks Parent Child Workshop, Chair of the Peabody Charter School Site Council and Board President of the Santa Barbara Public Education Foundation. In addition, she worked with several non-profit organizations in the community as the Director of Special Olympics and as the Development Director for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Ms. Conner worked most recently as a consultant for Collaborative Communities Foundation and served as Capital Campaign Director for the Greater Santa Barbara Ice Skating Association.
About Sansum Diabetes Research Institute
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute is an internationally recognized research center devoted to the prevention, treatment and cure of diabetes. Dr. William D. Sansum, who brought renown to Santa Barbara in 1922 as the first physician in the U.S. to produce and administer life-saving insulin to patients with diabetes, founded the nonprofit organization in 1944. Today, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute remains an extraordinary place, improving the lives of people in Santa Barbara and worldwide who suffer from this serious disease.
Sansum Diabetes has gained global acclaim for its work to develop an artificial pancreas, its success in developing protocols to increase the incidence of healthy babies born to women with diabetes, and its work with people who have or are at risk for type 2 diabetes. Physicians and researchers continue to develop new treatment protocols for people with diabetes, including new drugs and medical devices.
It is our intention to use our past and present accomplishments to guide us into the future – to tap into the energy and commitment that made Sansum Diabetes Research Institute what it is today – a leader in diabetes research, education and care. For more information on Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, contact Sarah Ettman-Sterner at (805) 682-7638 or settman-sterner@sansum.org and visit www.sansum.org/.
