Diabetes CEOs Rank Among Top Nonprofit Earners

October 23, 2025

The fourteenth annual review examines executive compensation at two of the largest diabetes-focused nonprofits, assessing pay, best practices, and making recommendations. All data are gathered from publicly available IRS Form 990s for the latest fiscal year (FY). This analysis covers chief executive officers (CEOs) and the next four top-paid executives at each organization.

CEOs, second only to the board, hold the most influence on an organization’s priorities, strategic direction, and culture. They are the guiding force to fulfilling annual goals, with the power to lead to exceptional progress or downfall.

JDCA supports competitive pay to attract, retain, and reward outstanding leaders. High compensation for exceptional work that materially progresses the mission is appropriate; high compensation for weak performance is not. For diabetes nonprofits, pay should be primarily performance based, measured by progress toward a T1D cure.
 

CEO Compensation

Chief executive officers at diabetes charities are among the highest-paid in the nonprofit arena. In a comprehensive list of seventy-five US chronic-disease nonprofits, ADA’s Charles Henderson and Breakthrough T1D’s Aaron Kowalski were the 6th and 11th highest-paid CEOs, respectively. In FY24, Henderson took home $1.3 million in total compensation while Kowalski took home $930 thousand (see Appendix A).

CEO Charles Henderson saw a bump in compensation from last year, from $1.1 million in FY23 to $1.3 million in FY24, earning more than double the next-highest-paid ADA executive. 82% of Henderson’s compensation was guaranteed base pay.

Henderson’s compensation amounted to about 1% of the ADA’s revenue ($152 million). In contrast, the highest-paid CEO on our list, the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Nancy Brown, received compensation that amounted to 0.5% of the organization’s revenue ($1 billion) and, more importantly, 72% of this was performance based.

Kowalski took home approximately $931 thousand, about 0.4% of the organization’s income. One quarter of his compensation was performance-based.

The key question for the T1D community to ask is: ‘Was enough done to justify the lofty compensation?’
 

T1D Top 5 Executive Compensation

Breakthrough T1D

The top five executives collectively earned $3.4 million, equal to 1.3% of the organization’s FY24 revenue (see Appendix B). Most compensation was fixed base pay, consistent with prior years.

Two of the five top-earners at Breakthrough T1D are former managing directors of the T1D Fund, a subsidiary venture philanthropy that invests in T1D research. Following the trend of prior years, T1D Fund members had the most incentive-based pay.

• Stephen St. Peter, the second-highest paid, earned $823 thousand (42% performance-based).
• Helen Katie Ellias, the third-highest paid, earned $615 thousand (37% performance-based).

Both have since left the organization.

American Diabetes Association

The top five executives collectively earned $3.2 million, 2% of the ADA’s revenue.

The highest earners are similar to last year, as the majority of compensation was fixed and guaranteed base pay. Only three of the five top earners received an incentive bonus.
 

Recommendations

Adopt a Performance-Based Pay Structure

Performance-based pay is standard in the for-profit sector, rewarding the CEO’s ability to deliver tangible results. This compensation approach aligns shareholders and executives while ensuring accountability.

Most nonprofit organizations do not follow this model. Instead, compensation is given through base pay, guaranteed regardless of performance. JDCA believes nonprofits should adopt a cure-focused, performance-based pay structure to drive measurable progress to a cure.

Adopt a ‘Say on Pay’ Model

‘Say on Pay’ refers to the for-profit practice of giving shareholders and other constituents the right to vote on compensation. This lets executives know their compensation is tied to fulfilling specific objectives and gives shareholders a voice.

Conversely, most nonprofits resist adopting a ‘Say on Pay’ model. Nonprofit donors are the equivalent of for-profit shareholders, but their voice is lost despite providing millions of dollars every year to support these organizations.

Adopting a ‘Say on Pay’ model would align nonprofits and donors, creating a solid structure where fulfilled donor interests are reflected in executive compensation. This would motivate nonprofit CEOs to align strategies with what donors want most—and what is likely the nonprofit mission already—which is to deliver cure progress.

Appendix A: 75 Chronic Disease Nonprofit CEOs Ranked by Total Compensation

Appendix B: Compensation of the Top Five ADA and Breakthrough T1D Executives