Kelly L. Close (born December 28, 1967) is an American writer, speaker, and advocate for people with diabetes.
Close was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 18. She received a BA in English and Economics from Amherst College in 1990 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1995. She began her career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and later served as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. In 2002, she founded Close Concerns in San Francisco, CA. That year, the company launched a monthly electronic diabetes business newsletter called Diabetes Close Up,[1][2] and in 2006 the company launched a newsletter for diabetes patients called diaTribe. To date, she remains the Editor and Chief of both newsletters.
As an advocate for diabetes patients, she also sits on the boards of dLife and the Children With Diabetes Foundation[3] and she serves as an advisor of the Diabetes Hands Foundation. She is a recognized authority on the business of diabetes, having appeared on numerous national TV and radio programs. She is quoted in print media including The Wall Street Journal, and she is the author of a popular blog about diabetes.