Philip McManus

Vision of Hope Awardee

Philip J. McManus was born and raised in Elmhurst, Queens. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School and St. John's University before serving three years in the United States Marine Corps, including a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1969. Even while serving his country, Mr. McManus remained focused on his dream of becoming a lawyer, taking the LSAT in Da Nang while stationed in Vietnam. He went on to attend St. John's University School of Law and, in 1983, joined William R. Ahmuty, III and Henri A. Demers in forming Ahmuty, Demers & McManus LLP. Today, the firm has more than 65 attorneys, with offices in New York and New Jersey and a strong presence throughout the State and Federal Courts of the Tri-State area.

Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. McManus has been responsible for the supervision of the Firm's highest-exposure and most complex matters and is widely recognized as one of the most experienced and skilled litigators in the defense field. He regularly shares his knowledge and experience with the legal community, speaking before organizations including the New York State Trial Lawyers and New York County Lawyers on a wide variety of topics, including New York Labor Law.

His commitment to the legal profession has been matched by a lifelong commitment to the communities and institutions that have shaped him. Mr. McManus has been instrumental in the reconstruction and revitalization of numerous Little League fields throughout New York City, helping create and preserve places where generations of young people could play and grow. Today, that contribution has come full circle, as some of the very fields he helped restore are where his own grandchildren now play. His commitment to St. John's has been equally enduring, including establishing a scholarship at St. John's University School of Law in honor of his friend, Honorable Ted Jones, Jr., to support future generations of law students.

For Mr. McManus, a remarkable career in the law has always been about more than professional achievement-it has been about service, giving back, and leaving a lasting impact on the people and communities he holds dear.

Dylan Dennis

Perseverance Awardee

Dylan Dennis is a rising senior in the Northeastern University Honors Program on a pre-law track, and the President and co-founder of the Northeastern Type 1 Diabetes Link chapter - a university-approved student organization she built from the ground up to serve students living with T1D.

Dylan's leadership in this space began early: at 12, she helped lead a Color Run with the Diabetes Resource Network, an initiative that raised awareness and support for the broader T1D community. That early experience in organizing and mobilizing people became the foundation for the larger institution-building work she'd go on to lead in college.

Growing up without a Type 1 Diabetic community, Dylan wanted to create that on campus, so she co-founded and now leads the Northeastern T1D Link chapter, securing university approval and building it into a functioning organization that connects students, creates peer support infrastructure, and runs awareness and education initiatives. As President, she's responsible for the chapter's strategy, programming, and growth.

Dylan has also worked to extend her chapter's reach beyond Northeastern, coordinating joint events with T1D Link chapters at Boston College, Tufts, and Brown to widen the community available to students across the Boston area. She also partnered with her endocrinologist's office to train chapter members on how to recognize and respond to diabetic emergencies, and connected with Breakthrough T1D to collaborate on an annual motivational mail initiative that sends letters of encouragement to newly diagnosed diabetics.

Beyond the chapter, Dylan has been invited to speak in professional healthcare settings, including the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, where she was a panelist for incoming Type 1 Diabetic freshmen and their parents, taking on an informal mentorship and advising role for incoming students and their families navigating T1D in a college setting, drawing on both her lived experience and her organizational leadership to guide them.

From founding and running a university organization, to building partnerships across campuses and with medical and national advocacy organizations, to mentoring T1Ds and their families, Dylan's work reflects sustained leadership: building institutions and driving initiatives, not just participating in them.

Finley Frumberg

Perseverance Awardee

Finley "Fin" Frumberg turned eight on June 4. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at two and a half, and with celiac disease about a year later. Since then, he has grown up with glucose checks, insulin, and a strict gluten-free diet woven into everyday life. He is learning to manage more of his diabetes himself, even dosing for snacks, while his family helps him handle the parts that still need an adult.

Fin is funny, curious, and quick to make other kids laugh. He plays soccer, piano, skis, and asks wonderfully specific questions about animals, especially sharks and axolotls. He takes a great deal in stride, though having celiac disease can feel especially hard when a party treat everyone else can eat is off-limits.

Fin's perseverance shows up in those ordinary moments: adapting, speaking up for what he needs, and then getting back to being eight. His parents, Adrienne and Brian, and his older brother, Parker, are proud to celebrate him at the C3 Gala and grateful for the Diabetes Research Institute's work toward a cure.