On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, W!LD hosted its 3rd "Hot Breakfast, Hot Topics" reception in Florence before ATTD 2024. Nearly 150 emerging and established women leaders and their committed allies from around the world gathered to connect and learn over a hearty breakfast featuring Tuscan meats and cheeses. As with each of W!LD's breakfast receptions, W!LD provided Close Concerns' ATTD conference preview and created one-pagers and posters to assist attendees in distilling the plethora of learnings ahead at the conference. Dr. Francine Kaufman pointed out the trailblazing women luminaries in attendance during her welcome remarks, and Holly McGarraugh highlighted the incredible impact Dr. Kaufman herself has had on the field. Liz O'Hara then offered additional words of welcome and shared what W!LD means to her before Elaine Young kicked off a round of introductions with Kelly Close listening in from San Francisco. Dr. Robert Gabbay, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of the ADA, was in attendance and made the exciting announcement that Dr. Kaufman is slated to receive the Lois Jovanovic Transformative Woman in Diabetes Award during the ADA's 84th Scientific Sessions in Orlando.

From Wednesday, March 6 to Saturday, March 9, W!LD organized four guided tours of the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze and the Gallerie degli Uffizi. Over 50 attendees came together to learn about and experience Florence's rich art and culture, featuring highlights such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Michelangelo's Statue of David.

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On Friday, December 1, 2023, W!LD welcomed over 200 conference delegates to ADCES' 3rd annual Diabetes Technology Conference with a warm and nourishing breakfast. During the breakfast, W!LD introduced its 2024 season calendar, announcing upcoming "Hot Breakfast, Hot Topics" receptions at ATTD in Florence, ADA in Orlando, ADCES in New Orleans, and the Diabetes Technology Meeting in Burlingame, California.

On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, W!LD hosted its “Hot Breakfast, Hot Topics - EASD!” reception in Hamburg before EASD 2023. Conversation filled the venue as multiple dozens of emerging and established women leaders and their allies came together to connect over a nourishing breakfast. Numerous globally known luminaries were in attendance including EASD President Professor Chantal Mathieu, Professor Katharine Barnard-Kelly, Dr. Rich Bergenstal, Dr. Irl Hirsch, and more. Dr. Francine Kaufman gave a warm welcome to the attendees and pointed out the materials around the room, which included copies of Close Concerns’ EASD Preview, W!LD-exclusive one-pagers with EASD sessions sorted by categories, and posters highlighting must-see diabetes therapy and technology EASD sessions by women presenters. A slideshow of photos from past in-person W!LD events played on the projector screen. Near the end of the reception, Close Concerns Associates led multiple walking trains of attendees from the reception to the Convention Center for Professor Mathieu’s Presidential Address.

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On Friday, August 25, 2023, W!LD organized a gathering at the famous Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam with esteemed cardiologist Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod (Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute) following his standing-room-only presentation of the landmark STEP-HFpEF results on Day #1 of the European Society of Cardiology Congress (ESC) 2023. Attendees had the opportunity to connect with Dr. Kosiborod, and the Close Concerns team also had the pleasure and honor of gleaning additional insights about the trial from Dr. Kosiborod and his colleague Dr. Andrew Sauer (see the full conversation here). In the conversation, Drs. Kosiborod and Sauer share how the “paradigm-shifting” results reinforce the importance of targeting obesity as a root cause of many complications, including heart failure and cardiovascular disease.

At ESC, W!LD also attended an outstanding panel discussion on advancing women leaders in cardiology – with practical strategies to advance diversity in all fields, not just cardiology – and a powerful session on social determinants of health. Click the links to read highlights from these sessions.

On Thursday, August 3, 2023, W!LD hosted a cocktail reception at the Grotto Downtown in Houston before ADCES 2023. Dr. Francine Kaufman and Kelly Close, who called in from San Francisco, gave a warm welcome to over 130 attendees from more than 90 organizations followed by audience introductions. In addition to bringing together emerging and established women leaders and their allies for networking and community, W!LD was thrilled to celebrate Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (DCES) for the invaluable impact they have on people with diabetes. At the reception, W!LD displayed a digital board it created containing messages gathered from DCES and the broader diabetes community about memorable or impactful moments they have had as, or with, a DCES. W!LD also provided copies of Close Concerns’ ADCES Preview and one-pagers created by W!LD to highlight ADCES sessions in several categories. The evening was filled with conversation as attendees connected with colleagues new and old over drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

On Thursday, August 3, W!LD also hosted a group tour of the Rothko Chapel, a non-denominational and meditative space containing 14 powerful and thought-provoking abstract panels created by American muralist Mark Rothko. W!LD organized and facilitated additional trips to the Rothko Chapel on Friday, August 4 and Saturday, August 5.

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On Friday, June 23, 2023, over 250 emerging and established women leaders and their allies attended W!LD’s “Hot Breakfast and Hot Topics” reception prior to the start of the ADA’s 83rd Scientific Sessions. Just 122 steps from the convention center, Lou & Mickey’s served as a way station for attendees to fuel up on nourishment, conversations, and learnings on their way to ADA. W!LD provided copies of Close Concerns’ ADA Preview and exclusive one-pagers with ADA abstracts and sessions sorted by categories. The Close Concerns Associates were on-site to connect with attendees and chat about can’t-miss ADA happenings across diabetes technology, therapy, and more. Kelly Close and Katie Spayde offered warm words of welcome and highlighted W!LD’s mission to connect and empower women leaders to propel their careers forward.

On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, W!LD brought together emerging and established women leaders and allies at the Hopfingerbräu am Brandenburger Tor in Berlin for an evening of networking during the 16th International Conference on Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes. Dr. Francine Kaufman welcomed over 125 attendees from across 60+ organizations, and Kelly Close called in from San Francisco to give additional words of welcome and gratitude. Attendees connected with colleagues over German food and drink and celebrated the esteemed Dr. Irl Hirsch for his birthday.

On Monday, February 20, and Tuesday, February 21, W!LD learned about Berlin’s rich culture and history during two guided walking tours. Points of interest included the Brandenburg Gate, Charité University Hospital, remnants of the Berlin Wall, Reichstag Building, and Spree River.

On Thursday, December 11, 2022, over 50 W!LD members and ADCES delegates from across 30+ organizations gathered at Chicago’s Field Museum for an evening of networking, connecting, and learning before the start of the ADCES Diabetes Technology Conference. Attendees caught up with colleagues and formed new connections over heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks. And as part of W!LD's year-long focus on social determinants of health (SDoH), the event included docent-led tours of the Field Museum’s new, permanent Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories exhibit. This exhibit was specifically selected by W!LD because it highlights Native American and Indigenous people, a population disproportionately affected by SDoH.

On Sunday, December 11, W!LD visited the Art Institute of Chicago to see David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020 during the member-only viewing hour. Attendees gathered in the conference hotel for breakfast and conversations before walking together to the Art Institute.

Our Winter 2022 W!LD event was the fourth in a year dedicated to educating leaders about Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). Holly McGarraugh, an advisor for W!LD and advocate for patient access who has worked in leadership positions at companies such as LifeScan, Therasense, Abbott, and Glooko, set the stage with a synthesis of W!LD’s learnings around SDoH over the past year. Then, we welcomed back to W!LD Berkeley’s Dr. Sahar Yousef, who spoke on the neuroscience of navigating change and uncertainty. To round out the event, the esteemed “serial” Chief Medical Officer and obesity expert Dr. Barbara Troupin moderated a panel discussion on taking action and driving change in SDoH. Panelists included: Dr. Alice Cheng, an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and creator of The Med Ed Pledge;Dr. Clare Lee, an Executive Medical Director of Global Medical Affairs at Eli Lilly and Company; and Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas, Corporate VP of Scripps Health in San Diego and leader of the Project Dulce and Dulce Digital programs.

On Sunday, October 16, 2022, W!LD organized two tours of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s new Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity exhibit on the final day of the 2022 ISPAD Annual Conference. Over 30 W!LD members and ISPAD faculty and delegates gathered under renowned architect Jean Nouvels’ intricate honey-comb dome to view more than 150 masterpieces from well-known pioneers and artists of the 19th-century Impressionist movement such as Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cézanne. This event was hosted by W!LD in the spirit of bringing together emerging and established women leaders and allies working in and around diabetes to connect, network, and learn.

Our Fall 2022 W!LD event provided actionable learning on diversity and inclusion in clinical trials and was the third in a year dedicated to educating leaders about Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). The event kicked off with a panel discussion and audience Q&A moderated by Kelly Close. Panelists included: Stanford’s pediatric endocrinologist and clinical trial researcher Dr. Ananta Addala, AstraZeneca’s VP and Head of Medical US BioPharmaceuticals Dr. Rachele Berria, Harvard’s obesity medicine expert Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, and the Head of Digital Optimization for Walgreens’ new clinical trial business, Kendal Whitlock. They discussed the current state of inclusion in clinical trials, the vital need to increase diversity in trials, and how we can all take steps to improve health outcomes for patients. Then, Dr. Stanford presented a riveting keynote on racism and inequality in the field of medicine as well as their downstream impacts. W!LD members were invited to stay after for an exclusive bonus opportunity to connect with Dr. Stanford and ask questions following her keynote.

On Thursday, June 2, and Friday, June 3, 2022, nearly 150 emerging and established women leaders and allies joined W!LD in New Orleans for the ADA’s 82nd Scientific Sessions and our first in-person events. In addition to reflecting on insights from the Sci Sessions, W!LD members came out from behind the Zoom screen to catch up with colleagues from other areas in the field of diabetes and form new connections.

On Thursday, June 2, W!LD traveled just outside of New Orleans to the historic Whitney Plantation. This tour, enhanced by historian Dr. Whitney Nell Stewart, deepened our understanding of the root causes of health inequities and their connection to modern-day social determinants of health. On Thursday evening and Friday morning, W!LD members filled the bright and welcoming St. James Cheese Company for conversation—networking and exchanging ideas in the service of improving the short- and long-term outcomes of people with diabetes.

Our Spring 2022 W!LD event featured Dr. Felicia Hill-Briggs of Northwell Health, lead author of "Social Determinants of Health and Diabetes: A Scientific Review." This event was the first in a year dedicated to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). By outlining multiple challenges created by SDoH, Dr. Hill-Briggs’ presentation set a strong foundation for a year of education, building community, and working for change in our lives and professions. After Dr. Hill-Briggs presented, Dr. Francine Kaufman moderated an interactive Q&A in which you had the opportunity to ask questions and take a deeper dive into issues of SDoH that are relevant to your work as leaders in diabetes. Finally, prizewinning author Daniel H. Pink discussed The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward.