2025 DECA Virtual Medical Conference – Speaker Bios – Diabetes Education & Camping Association

Click a Presenter’s name to be taken to their bio on this page:

Melissa Rearson, MSN, CRNP – Medical Conference Chair
Tiffany Addington, MD, FAAP
Heather Feingold, MSW, LSCSW, LCSW
Nader Hasim, MD
Gail Robertson, PhD, ABPP
Zach Rose-Heim, MEd, BA
Lisa Gier, DECA Executive Director
John Latimer, Conference Technology

Melissa Rearson, MSN, CRNP – Medical Conference Chair

Melissa (Missy) Rearson is a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Division of Endocrinology/Diabetes at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia since 1993, and before that spent some time as a nurse on the unit where new patients with diabetes were admitted. Her clinical practice is in the outpatient setting where she sees patients with diabetes in the main Philadelphia Campus and in the PA suburban satellites. Her areas of interest include deciphering all of the new options in diabetes technology and helping patients and families to incorporate diabetes into their busy lives while finding joy in the journey! Missy has been attending camp as a medical staff member on and off since 2003. She has been the Lead Nurse since 2015 and works with medical director, Dr. Jackie Hatch-Stein to recruit and train the best camp medical staff team around! She also serves as a director on the board of the Diabetes Education and Camping Association. When she is not at camp or in the diabetes clinic, she cooks and bakes for her big extended family, practices yoga, hikes and looks for beautiful things all around her while planning micro-adventures any day she can.

Tiffany Addington, MD, FAAP

Dr. Addington completed her medical education at University of Kansas School of Medicine and pediatric residency at Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City (CM). She is currently a pediatric urgent care physician with Children’s Mercy Kansas City. She is the Medical Director for Children’s Mercy Kansas City’s East Urgent Care and the Director for Professional Development and Engagement for the Division of Urgent Care. In the professional development role, Dr. Addington is actively involved in mentoring pediatric urgent care providers through academic promotion. She is also working in the area of provider wellness to develop real-time data monitoring as well as incorporate individual-initiated methods to support wellness during the clinical workday.

Heather Feingold, MSW, LSCSW, LCSW

Heather Feingold, MSW, LSCSW, LCSW, is a seasoned social work leader with over a decade of experience in clinical care and team leadership. She currently supervises the Health Integration team at Johnson County Mental Health Center, guiding staff to support clients’ mental, physical, and behavioral health. Previously, she spent 14 years at Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, providing psychosocial care for children with diabetes and endocrine disorders, and serving in leadership roles. A dedicated mentor and educator, Heather has earned recognition for her contributions to staff development, research, and pediatric healthcare improvements.

Nader Hasim, MD

Nader Kasim is a pediatric endocrinologist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital at Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, MI and an assistant professor at Michigan State University—but in summer you’ll find him lakeside as the longtime medical director of Camp Midicha in Fenton, MI. A member of the ADA’s Medical Advisory Board for diabetes camps, he also helps steer the nonprofit Diabetes Solut1ons and co-plans adult Slipstream camps with Connected in Motion. Living with type 1 himself, Nader has test-driven nearly every pump, CGM, and DIY setup out there. When he’s not troubleshooting devices, he’s usually running, biking, or chasing his kids.

Gail Robertson, PhD, ABPP

As a board-certified child and adolescent pediatric psychologist, Dr. Robertson has served children and families clinically through Endocrinology for the last 10 years at Children’s Mercy Kansas City. She largely provides outpatient services to children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes and metabolic disorders, 22Q Deletion Syndrome, Turner Syndrome, as well as transgender and gender expansive children and adolescents. Her recent research is multi-faceted, with an underpinning thread of evaluating and improving outcomes, resiliency, and equitable care in youth through translational research. In addition, she enjoys providing time as psychology support at camps designed specifically for children with medical needs and has served as a mental health director for Joint Adventures (arthritis camp) and mental health support for Camp Planet D (Type 1 Diabetes) each summer!

Zach Rose-Heim, MEd, BA

Zach Rose-Heim is passionate about building sustainable systems that center the unique experiences of each individual. Throughout his career he has worked across sectors to solve challenges and create solutions that have a long-lasting impact on organizations and their constituents. He currently serves as the Director for the Office of Equity and Diversity at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, where he supports a team committed to excellent care for every patient and a welcoming workplace that enables it.