Emmet O' Sullivan
2024 Perseverance Awardee
Emmet O'Sullivan is a 17-year-old senior at New York's Regis High School. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 13, he is a prolific advocate in the type 1 community. He is the author of the Amazon best-selling children's book Drew Discovers Diabetes. From appearing on podcasts to telling his story at DRIF fundraisers, delivering presentations in college classes signing books at health fairs, organizing teen meetups, to writing TV scripts, Emmet is partnering with a host of organizations to create awareness of type 1 diabetes and empower young people living with the disease. He is also the founder of policyplayground.org, a site that allows users to write to US senators in minutes about bills before Congress, including two diabetes-related bills.
A reigning New York State High School debate champion, co-editor of his school newspaper, and co-president of the school business club, Emmet recently joined the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation's Young Leaders Advocacy Group, part of the DRIF PEP Squad focused on peer-to-peer support within the diabetes community.
Christine Lally, RN, CDCES
2024 Compassionate Care Awardee
Christine Lally is a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator working at The Robert I. Grossman, MD and Elizabeth J. Cohen, MD Pediatric Diabetes Center at Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone. She provides education and support to patients, families, and caregivers, and helps them fit diabetes management into their lives in a healthful way. Chris serves as the School and Camp Liaison for the diabetes center, offering education and support to families, school nurses, and staff.
James Aronstein
Special Guest Speaker
James Aronstein is a 16-year-old junior at New York's Trinity School where he plays on the tennis team. James is also an avid New York Mets and Rangers fan. When he was eight years old, James was selected to be the New York Mets Kidcaster and announced part of a Mets game on live television. Subsequently, he has pursued his deep interest in analyzing sports data and statistics.
James was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in October 2022, one month into his freshman year at his new high school. With significant effort, James quickly learned how to manage his diabetes independently and became a youth ambassador for Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF). He is passionate about helping other kids and teens diagnosed with diabetes and furthering awareness about the disease.
Francesca DeCurtis
Special Guest Speaker
Francesca DeCurtis is an 18-year-old second-year student at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is active in the Cinema Studies department and the school's 135-year-old musical comedy group, Mask and Wig. She grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and graduated from LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts with a concentration in theatre.
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in November of 2021, Francesca quickly became an advocate and volunteer within the diabetes community. In the summer of 2022, she was an administrative intern at the California headquarters of Beyond Type 1 and continues her diabetes advocacy and volunteer work within the community. An important voice of teen support with Breakthrough Type 1 (formerly JDRF) and the Diabetes Research Institute's newly formed PEP Squad Young Leader Advocacy Group, Francesca is working to restart the University of Pennsylvania's Diabetes Link chapter, bringing together other students with type 1 diabetes. She plans on continuing to support and uplift those living with type 1 and is grateful to Drs. Cara Tillotson and Ileana Vargas and other devoted staff at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, as well as Dr. Samuel Master of New York Presbyterian, for their continued help along her type 1 journey.
Kylie McDonald
Special Guest Speaker
Kylie McDonald is an 18-year-old freshman at St. John's University and 2022 C3 Gala Perseverance Award honoree. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of eight, Kylie made it her goal to spread awareness and help others living with this disease and is planning to become a nurse to take that support to the next level. When time allows, Kylie volunteers at local hospitals, is active in musical theater, participates in clubs such as the Red Cross, and loves to attend shows and concerts in the city. She is presently working to create a club at St. John's to spread awareness of type 1 diabetes. This is Kylie's third year speaking at the C3 Gala, and she is honored to be able to support such a valuable research program at the Diabetes Research Institute.
Evan Morris
Special Guest Speaker
Evan Morris a 14-year-old freshman at New York's Bronx High School of Science, where he is a member of the fencing team. He is also exploring the robotics team while pursuing coursework in math and engineering. Evan enjoys watching NASCAR auto racing, building model railroads, and producing short films in his free time.
Evan attended the Barton Center for Diabetes Education's Camp Joslin in Massachusetts, as well as the Cleveland Clinic's Camp Ho Mita Koda, where nearly a century ago the first six children in the United States received insulin manufactured by Colonel Eli Lily shortly after its discovery by Dr. Frederick Banting and his team in Toronto. In 2019, Evan attended Camp Nejeda at Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he was named "Most Likely to Cure Type 1 Diabetes."
A 2019 C3 Gala Perseverance Award honoree, Evan is thrilled to join us in honoring his friends and peers living with type 1 diabetes. Until there is a cure, Evan and his family rely on this supportive community to raise awareness and secure necessary research funding.
Miles Nunez-Erasme
Special Guest Speaker
Thirteen-year-old Miles Nunez-Erasme is an 8th grader at Rippowam Cisqua School in Westchester County, where his favorite subjects are math and science. A 2023 C3 Gala Perseverance Award honoree, Miles enjoys basketball, running track, and competing on the school's soccer team. He also loves family travel, whether a road trip to Virginia or a visit to his favorite place, Maui.
Miles maintains an inspiring and positive outlook when asked about type 1 diabetes, often helping others understand the differences between type 1 and type 2 with patience and grace.
Miles and his family thank Drs. Tiffany Schumaker and Corinne Catarozoli and Nurse Practitioner Emily Coppedge, for helping him stay optimistic about his teen life with type 1 diabetes.
Vivian Turner
Special Guest Speaker
Vivian is a 19-year-old sophomore at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana majoring in psychology. Vivian is a 2019 C3 Gala Preserverence Award honoree who grew up in Livingston New Jersey and attended Livingston High School where she was an honor roll student and a member of the varsity cheerleading and lacrosse teams. At Indiana University she was recently inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, is a member of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, and is involved in various philanthropic opportunities.
Vivian was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 13 after her father, Ryan Turner, learned of his diagnosis at the age of 42. Vivian's Aunt was diagnosed at the age of 27. Since her diagnosis, Vivian has taken a very positive approach to living with type 1 and never lets her diagnosis prevent her from doing anything. She plans to continue to help support efforts to find a cure and is very grateful to all doctors and staff at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. Vivian is honored to be invited as a Special Guest Speaker at this year's C3 Gala.