Helena Gottschling, Chair of the JDRF Canada Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Jessica Diniz as their next President & CEO, effective January 1, 2024.
“We congratulate Jessica on her appointment and will benefit from her depth of experience in the non-profit sector, passion for the cause and fundraising experience” says Helena Gottschling. “The board is confident that Jessica is the right leader at the right time to help us build on successes to-date and drive our mission forward.”
Dave Prowten, who has led the organization for over 10 years as President & CEO will be retiring at the end of 2023 and he is looking forward to spending more time with his family. His leadership has been instrumental in increasing JDRF’s mission impact, extending research partnerships and passionately advocating for all Canadians living with T1D.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dave for his exceptional leadership and dedication to JDRF as President & CEO”, says Helena Gottschling.
Dave’s legacy includes establishing critical partnerships with government, partners and other diabetes organizations to further our mission, significantly improving the reimbursement landscape for all Canadians living with type 1 diabetes and representing the T1D community with conviction at every opportunity. It is now an exciting time to pass the torch over to his successor to build on the momentum JDRF has been experiencing and create lasting impact for the type 1 diabetes community.
Jessica Diniz is a seasoned senior executive with over 20 years’ experience in strategic fundraising and leading high-performance teams. Jessica joined JDRF in 2015, where she has led the strategy to pivot JDRF from being events-based, to a highly impactful, effective fundraising organization. Most recently, Ms. Diniz launched JDRF’s largest major gift campaign to-date, the JDRF’s $100M Campaign to Accelerate in 2020, shifting the organization to a donor-centred fundraising model. Prior to her time at JDRF, Jessica held senior roles at both Sunnybrook Foundation and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
“I am thrilled to take on this new challenge. In the past few years, JDRF has undergone transformational change in driving more dollars to its mission. I am excited to build on this momentum and continue to ask – how do we help Canadians living with T1D, in the most impactful way. It will be an honour to work alongside the incredibly talented JDRF staff, and deeply passionate and skilled volunteers towards this goal.” – Jessica Diniz
“It has been a privilege to lead JDRF and serve the passionate type 1 diabetes community. This is an incredibly exciting time in type 1 diabetes research and Jessica brings tremendous experience and extraordinary commitment, and I am confident she will lead JDRF to new heights and accelerate our mission.” – Dave Prowten
For more information:
Monica Kocsmaros
Chief External Relations Officer
E: mkocsmaros@jdrf.ca
T: 647 354 5598
