We are seeking new members for our Board of Directors!

Saleh Adi, MD

Saleh is a pediatric endocrinologist who dedicated his career to caring for children with T1D. He was first touched by the magic of Bearskin Meadow camps in 1996. He has since returned to Bearskin almost every year as a Medical Staff volunteer, to experience and contribute to the profound impact that a week in the mountains can have on a child or family living with T1D and enjoy the unparalleled beauty of Sequoia National Forest. Saleh was the Founding Director of the Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes at UCSF, where he recently retired to get busy volunteering for his favorite non-profit organizations including DYF, Tidepool, and JDRF. He joined the DYF Board in 2021.

Abby Carney

Abby Carney was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in February of 2000. She attended family camp at Bearskin Meadow immediately after diagnosis, and attended for many years, eventually becoming an LIT and a camp counselor. DYF and Bearskin Meadow have always been seen as a space for encouraging independence, advocacy and community that became the foundation of Abby’s mindset for living with diabetes. Abby has always had a passion for educating others that living with diabetes is something you can appreciate and learn from, not a setback. She has done this in many ways, including her hobbies, like dancing professionally in the NFL for 4 years and participating as a team captain. Currently, Abby works as a Candidate Experience Lead at Meta, helping create personalized experiences for candidates in the interview process at scale through her team across North America.

Scott Cler, Vice President

Scott Cler’s oldest son, Sam, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2018 at the age of 10. After attending the Spooktacular Retreat, his family immediately realized the value of camp and the community it creates. Scott has spent more than twenty years working in the film business. Currently he works for Amazon Web Services as a Global Alliance Manager for Media & Entertainment.

Matt Curran

Matt’s daughter, Allie Lou, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 3.5 years old. Over the past several years, Allie Lou has thoroughly enjoyed attending DYF camps and events. Each time Allie Lou comes back from these events feeling more confident and deeply banded with other kids living with T1D. Allie Lou’s transformative experiences, coupled with DYF’s remarkable mission, led Matt to join the board in 2019. Matt is a Principal at Equilibrium, a sustainability-driven real asset fund manager.

Arlene Goligowski, Secretary

Arlene is a marketing and communications professional with more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Arlene and her family attended Bearskin Meadow Family Camp only three months after her son, Andrew, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2019. It was inspirational to find such community, resilience, and positivity at BMC. Arlene joined the DYF Board of Directors in 2020 to help reach as many families and individuals impacted by T1D as possible allowing them to experience the magic and life-changing impact that DYF programs offer. Always striving to make a difference, she is passionate about volunteering her time to DYF as well as 4-H and FIRST Lego League Jr.

Colleen Riley Haupt

Colleen is the founder of American Board for Child Diabetics (ABCD), a non-profit foundation that strives to benefit under-insured and uninsured persons affected by type 1 diabetes. She has taken her personal experience with diabetes, and her passion to help people to drive the development of ABCD. Having a niece and two grandchildren managing type 1 diabetes, Colleen saw first-hand the challenges faced by many families who go through financial hardships, having to find ways to get the needed supplies to keep their children healthy during these challenging times. Through successful fundraising efforts with ABCD over the last 8 years, Colleen has also provided much needed funds to DYF in support of the camp scholarship program. She has a long professional history working as an executive in information technology for a variety of computer companies including Hewlett-Packard. She is now the owner of her own IT Consulting firm, GSD Consulting.

Mary Massella, RN, MS, FNP

Mary Massella is a Family Nurse Practitioner at La Clinica, a federally qualified health center in East Oakland. She trained at UCSF where she minored in diabetes care, a passion that is reflected in both her work with vulnerable and underserved communities and her past and continued volunteer experience with DYF at Bearskin Meadow Camp and Campamento Familiar. She is also an assistant clinical professor at UCSF’s Dept. of Family Healthcare Nursing where she hopes to inspire future nurse practitioners to address health inequities and improve health outcomes for those with chronic conditions, particularly those affected by diabetes. Mary shares a passion for Cuban music and dancing with her partner of 19 years and loves the outdoors. You can find her and her family camping, paddle boarding, river rafting, swimming, or rock climbing in her spare time. She joined the board of DYF in March 2021.

Ravi Potharlanka, Treasurer

Ravi Potharlanka has been associated with DYF for the last 10 years. His daughter was diagnosed with T1D at age 2, and his family has been to several camps over the years. He is a huge believer in the spirit of community and camps – experiencing for himself the impact DYF has made in his family’s life and many others in the greater Bay Area.

Ravi is a telecom/media executive and entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the industry. He started his career in the wireless industry in early 90’s – working at PacTel Cellular (AirTouch), Nextel (Sprint) and Teligent. In 2001, he joined FiberTower (a seed-stage wireless company) and stayed on through its merger and public listing in 2016 – serving as its President and then Chief Operating Officer. In 2011, he co-founded LocusPoint in partnership with Blackstone to acquire, develop, and monetize TV spectrum assets and transition them for mobile wireless use. He currently focuses on advising and investing in seed and early-stage tech companies, investing in commercial real estate assets, and leading Wine Country Radio (serving Sonoma County and Napa Valley) as its President/CEO. He is passionate about conservation, wildlife, nature, and climate change. During his spare-time he likes to read and travel, and pursue his passions in birding and nature/landscape photography.

Ravi has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering (Honors) from National Institute of Technology (NIT, Trichy), India.

Allison Reggiardo

Allison, better known as “Al” at camp, is currently studying nursing at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. Since her diagnosis with T1D in 2004, she and her family have spent nearly every summer at Bearskin Meadow Camp. Her family still sings the “Allie smells like insulin” song every time she does a site change. Al went from camper, to LIT, to counselor, and eventually to Assistant Camp Director of BMC for two summers. DYF programs have become her second home, and she is thrilled to be giving back to an organization that has brought her so much confidence, resilience, friendship, and support.

Pete Reno, Board President

Peter Reno is an executive at Berlin Packaging after selling his company, Diablo Valley Packaging, in late 2015. Pete was previously CFO at Anchor Glass Container in Tampa, Florida. Pete’s oldest daughter, Elle, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2004 when their family was living in Tampa. Pete immediately became involved in the T1D community via JDRF where he focused on the JDRF Walks and fundraising with corporate clients. After moving to the Bay Area in 2006, the family found Bearskin Meadow and attended family camps from 2007 to 2013. With more time available and after reflecting on the impact of the incredible DYF camp experience, Pete joined the DYF Board in early 2018 to give back to the organization that provides so much support to T1D families. In his free time, Pete enjoys golf, photography, biking and international travel.

Melinda Slatt-Friedeberg

Melinda (Mindy) Slatt-Friedeberg learned firsthand the poignant role DYF fulfills shortly after the youngest of her three children was diagnosed with T1D in 2017.  DYF’s family weekends provided an opportunity to be part of a warm, insightful community at a critical time.

Mindy has an extensive background in real estate, interior decorating, and she holds an MBA with an emphasis in Human Resource Management.  She works as a consultant for several real estate companies, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Slatt Capital. She is excited to put her skills to work for DYF.

Vera Switek

Vera learned of the diabetes community when her daughter was diagnosed with T1D at almost 8 years old. Within 6 months, the two attended Spring Family Retreat and their relationship with DYF was born. Vera was grateful for the support both she and her daughter received, and the friendships that were formed. The value of these camps is priceless, and Vera eagerly searched for a way to give back, thus becoming a member of the board. Vera is currently the Vice President of Talent at Scribe Therapeutics. She has over two decades of life sciences talent acquisition leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Vera received her B.S. in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Kat Yabut

Katarina or “Kat” is an entry level Master’s of Nursing student to become a Family Nurse Practitioner at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California. She also works as a Research Assistant at Stanford University in the Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes Division with the Project ECHO Diabetes team. Kat was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of five in 1997 and became involved with DYF in 2017. She has found her passion in supporting others with diabetes and aspires to become a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist in the future. In her spare time, Kat enjoys eating, playing video games, listening to podcasts while sewing, and hanging out with her significant other and family.