Allison Nimlos is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Certified Diabetes Care & Education Specialist and has lived with T1D herself for 30 years. Allison has a private practice where she offers both counseling services (to those residing in Minnesota) and diabetes education and coaching. She also runs Mindful Diabetes, an diabetes coaching membership, which offers monthly workshops on living and thriving with diabetes. Allison enjoys helping people with diabetes feel more empowered and confident in their diabetes management using evidence-based behavior change strategies and diabetes education. Allison is also the founder of the Diabetes + Mental Health Conference, which takes place in November 2024. Allison lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and two boys.

Anne Marie MacDonald (Hospod), MSc, M.D., is a modern health care professional and passionate medical thought leader who advocates for chronic disease self-management, preventive medicine, and healthy active living. She holds a combined undergraduate degree in Physiology and the History of Medicine from McGill University (Montreal, Canada), a Life Sciences degree from La Sorbonne University (Paris, France), as well as a Medical degree from the Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum (Krakow, Poland). Her expertise lies in healthy active living, behavior change, and chronic disease prevention and management. Dr. MacDonald has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for over 30 years and loves helping Type 1s reach their athletic goals. As a Type 1 Ironman athlete, she has also been chosen as a Diabetes Sports Project Champion.

Mark Walsh was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 8 and grew up with a sibling who also had Type 1 diabetes. He has a background in wireless software development and nearly 2 decades of experience in the insulin delivery space. He has played an integral role in diabetes camps since 2003, using his position in the industry while implementing both diabetes camps and family retreats. Mark knows first-hand the value of having a support network while managing a chronic diagnosis like T1D.

Dr Beth Braun a health psychologist has been specializing in diabetes management, nutrition,
and behavior modification for over 25 years. In private practice she works with
adults and children facing diabetes burnout, anxiety, and depression. She works closely
with JDRF, ADA and several diabetes camps running support groups and integrating.
body and mind wellness. She advocates for American Diabetes Association on the Safe at School advocacy team. Dr Braun sits on the ADA Mental Health Advisory Committee, creating materials to train therapists on diabetes.

Dr Braun is the Co- Director for KidShape, a family-based wellness program. There she
Helps develop curriculum to create healthy lifestyles and fight type 2 diabetes and pre-
diabetes in children. She has been featured in publications such as Newsweek, Oprah,
and 20/20.

Dr. Braun has lived with type 1 diabetes for 47 years and started her volunteer work.
with diabetes as the poster child for Philadelphia JDRF. She has known since she was a teen
that she wanted to help people with the emotional challenges of diabetes. In her free time, she is found hiking and kayaking around California.

BJ Garceau is a MMA fighter with Type 1 Diabetes, Marathon runner and healthcare professional with a degree in Mental Health.
Bj is a lot of things but a quitter is not one of them. Her motivational talks about not only living with T1D but ways to live your best life while fighting those high and lows. BJ has been a T1D for over 29 years and finds a way to make the hard things in her life feel light and energetic. Her positive outlook on life and energetic attitude are contagious and it’s no wonder she has grown quite the following on social media and in the world. No matter where she goes she leaves them a little brighter than they were before.

When Chrissy is not working as a therapist, she loves spending time enjoying nature, watching football and tennis, and using her creative brain, whether through DIY projects, painting, decorating her house, or finding the best deals at garage sales and making it into something beautiful (but it must be pretty!). Chrissy has had T1D since since was 4 years old.

Hilary R. Damaser received her B.A. from Swarthmore College in theatre and her J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law. She is currently a Principal Assistant Ohio Attorney General in the Executive Agencies Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. In this position, she represents the Department of Commerce, Division of State Fire Marshal, the Ohio Expositions Commission, the Department of Administrative Services, the Ohio Arts Council, and other agencies, boards and commissions. Previously, Hilary worked for the Attorney General in the Corrections Section and clerked for Justice Alice Robie Resnick of the Supreme Court of Ohio and for Judge Peter B. Abele of the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals. She is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in Administrative Agency Law. She is active in various roles with the Ohio State Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Hilary has done research on Ohio’s first women attorneys (licensed in 1874) and has appeared as one of them on several occasions.

Hilary has lived with type 1 diabetes for over 42 years, stretching from the days of urine testing to now sporting an integrated pump and CGM. She enjoys canoeing, downhill and cross-country skiing, light hiking, swimming, and other outdoor activities as well as reading and photography. She lives in Dublin, Ohio (outside of Columbus) with her husband and two teenage sons and serves on the City of Dublin Architectural Review Board.

Janis was well into retirement when diabetes “came” to her. She was incorrectly diagnosed with T2D in 2005 and it soon became apparent that her destiny was with T1s. Her son was diagnosed in 1999 with T1D so she was no stranger to it. That being said, she still had lots to learn. She has embraced the Libre system and more recently, the insulin pump (with assistance from her son and friends from CIM). She shares active rural living with her supportive husband, a retired engineer. Together they have weathered the pandemic but are missing their family, especially grandchildren. One jab done, one to go!

Dr. Kichler is a Clinical and Health Psychologist and Associate Professor int he Department of Psychology at the University of Windsor, who specialized in clinical intervention research focusing on psychosocial adjustment and coping with type 1 diabetes. She previously worked as a diabetes psychologist and certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) at two academic medical centers in the US for almost 15 years before starting at the University of Windsor in 2020. In addition, she is interested in how to most effectively support college-aged students with type 1 diabetes transition to young adulthood.

Being a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, a Certified Exercise Physiologist and a Professional Coach, my intention is to impart enough information and passion to my clients to create a lasting change in their health habits, mind-sets and physiques. I want to advance the health of those who choose to work with me, and have them experience a higher quality of life with increased energy and fulfillment.

Currently I work with clients of many ages and experience levels. I have a keen interest in working with diabetics (and non-diabetics) with the intention of promoting exercise, encouraging optimal food choices and maintaining healthy lifestyles and attitudes. Because of my personal attraction to the outdoors and to adventure travel, I am also very motivated to work with individuals who are preparing for active adventure travel.

Julissa is a psychologist, with a master's in family therapy. She is a diabetes educator and has an educational program in Spanish and that has given her the expertise in videoblogging, community building and mental health. Julissa lives with T1D and her relationship with it has been a curious one from the start. Most of her diabetes education came from social media: She didn’t know anyone with type 1 diabetes in real life, so the online community became her only source of all kinds of knowledge, from specific and useful information to really funny memes. But everything was mostly in english. Julissa didn’t know any blogs in Spanish. When she began to enter the community, she was very unpleasantly surprised by all the ignorance there is on this subject. This led Julissa to create her own blog "Diabetes tipo Ju". Julissa's initiative: Diabetes tipo Ju, is such an amazing and generous peer support and educational network for all families living with diabetes.

Karen was in her early 30s, a single mom with a five-year old son, teaching cooking as a means of natural healing, when she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This brought on a crisis of reevaluation, the realization that her fixed nutritional philosophy didn’t jive with the injection of insulin and other requirements of living with diabetes. For years, Karen had practiced yoga and meditation, and she convinced herself that these practices would protect her from any consequences of her diagnosis. Eventually, however, her condition asserted itself, and she had to listen.
A new way of eating was needed. Karen's first steps on this journey led her to a new doctor with a precise and rigid dietary method. While she collaborated with this doctor on a cookbook, The Diabetes Solution, she found that she needed a more flexible and expansive approach. Throughout these years, Karen had continued her teaching and consultation practice, helping people dealing with cancer and other conditions find ways to support healing through diet. She discovered that she was her own best teacher and, drawing on her deep nutritional knowledge and life of work in the kitchen, found new ways to live well and with ease. Karen finds joy and fulfillment in passing her healing methods to others.

Katrina was diagnosed with T1D as a teenager and has lived with it for over 13 years now. The hardships she faced navigating access to supplies was frustrating, and her involvement with insurance companies as a patient sparked her interested in the field. Upon graduating university and starting a career in the employee benefits realm, she brought her experience as an end-user to the inside (employer-side), and works with employers and their providers to ensure plans are providing adequate support for employees, and that employees are experiencing excellent service from those providers.

Katrina is a true “people person” with experience managing a business’s most important asset – their people. Through her passion for employee benefits and wellbeing, Katrina strives to ensure employees understand and find value in their benefit offerings. Her philosophy starts at the most basic needs of the employee and builds upon those to help each one reach fulfillment and maximum potential. Katrina currently DIY Loops using an old Medtronic insulin pump and the Dexcom G7.

Lauren is a certified life coach who specializes in supporting adults to cope emotionally with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Her clients go from overwhelmed and stressed to calmer and happier.

Lauren teaches clients how to feel better, so they can spend less time focused on T1D and more time on other areas of their lives. For example, past clients have started new jobs, stepped into leadership roles, began new romantic relationships, purchased houses, and made significant lifestyle changes.

As a trauma-informed coach, Lauren is based in Washington, DC. She has been living with T1D since 1979, diagnosed at age 3.

Lauren and her family have been avid volunteers with JDRF, an organization dedicated to funding critical T1D research, since 1980. She is also on the Board for the Mid Atlantic Chapter. Her work with JDRF and as a coach is a reflection of her passion for making a difference in the lives of those living with T1D.

Lauren is a PhD student at York University who lives with and studies T1D. Her research focuses on examining different exercise and technology strategies to improve blood glucose management during exercise in individuals with type 1 diabetes. Outside of the lab, Lauren loves playing with her dog, hiking, running, and trying out cafes around Toronto!

Doug spent over 35 years navigating the complex fields of Labour Relations and Human Resources, dedicating his career to conflict resolution, coaching, and managing change, with no two days being alike. Shortly after retiring, Doug encountered a new kind of challenge when he was diagnosed with diabetes in his early sixties, turning insulin management and the quest to understand blood sugars into his unexpected hobby. This marked another chapter of change management in his life, again filled with unpredictability. His journey with diabetes led him to become involved in support groups and with Connected in Motion, actively volunteering at Virtual Slipstreams and participating in the most recent Ontario Slipstreams. Doug has become a strong advocate for the Type 1 diabetes community, cherishing the value of sharing experiences to live well with the condition. Alongside his advocacy, Doug, with his wife Nadia, now also relishes the joys of being "Papa and Nonna" to their four grandchildren, while his collection of insulin pens and Libre sensors serves as a reminder of life's blessings.

Lucía Feito Allonca is a Spanish lawyer specializing in Patient Rights, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years. As a diabetes educator (DE) and an expert patient in cardio-metabolic chronic diseases, she also has a background in Psychology and holds a certificate in diabetes management for mental health professionals accredited by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Currently, Lucía advocates globally for the rights of individuals living with NCDs, a cause she passionately pursues in her professional, personal, and vocational capacities. As a member of the IDF's Blue Circle Voices and #dedocº, she is a well-known activist in the global diabetes landscape, with her areas of interest encompassing, among others, meaningful involvement of people living with non-communicable diseases in all activities, policies, and decisions that impact them at any level, digital health, and universal health coverage.

Rosalie Sarasua has been working in Community Engagement and volunteering with JDRF Canada for over 5 years. She has a background in finance and fundraising. Her passion project for the last 5 years has been to make the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) more accessible for those living with type 1 diabetes. She has delivered over a dozen presentations on the tax credit and has developed tips and tricks for filling out the form and has helped hundreds of people get money back from the CRA.

Sam Tullman, MPH, is the Head of Clinical Research for Quilt Health, and dedicated in this role and in his life at large to making healthy, life-affirming behaviors as simple as water flowing downstream. In his role with Quilt, he does this by aiding in the development of clinical biomarkers for anxiety, depression, and other behavioral health challenges, and then building games based on these biomarkers for individuals to more easily take care of themselves in everyday life. His previous work was in EEG (brain waves), and involved recording and analyzing the brain activity of meditation masters, death row inmates, and participants in a clinical trial of a classic psychedelic, as well as heading up the neuroscience wing of a neurotech retreat center. He received his MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Washington and BA in Biological Basis of Behavior from University of Pennsylvania.

In 2020, Sam cofounded the DiabetesSangha with a few dear friends in an effort to bring the benefits of meditation practices and intentional community to the Type One Diabetes community. He currently oversees all programming for the DiabetesSangha. He is a dedicated student of the Rinzai Zen Buddhism, but draws heavily in his practice from other Buddhist traditions, yogic practices, and modern Western psychology and Neuroscience.

Amy Burrows is an experienced CIM Guide and a key member of the diabetes community, having lived with type one diabetes for 30 years. Based in Beaverton, Ontario, Amy is passionate about the outdoors, especially canoe tripping with her friends, family, fellow type ones, and her dog, Caius. Professionally, she works in dentistry in Uxbridge as a Level 2 assistant and treatment coordinator. Amy's commitment to the diabetes community is highlighted by her early involvement with Connected in Motion (CIM), being part of the inaugural 2016 CIM Adventure Team. Her dedication to empowering those with diabetes is evident through her work and adventures.

Anna was diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of 4 in 1989. She lives in Warren, MI, and works in tech support for Apple. At the time of her diagnosis, the slogan for the American Diabetes Association was “decade for the cure,” a hopeful vision she has observed with interest over the years. Besides her diabetes, Anna also manages several other autoimmune diseases, which she discusses and shares insights about on her Instagram account @annabanana729. She recently attended her first Slipstream event in Colorado, an experience that enabled her to form amazing bonds, meet incredible people, and kindled her anticipation for future in-person events.

Doug spent over 35 years navigating the complex fields of Labour Relations and Human Resources, dedicating his career to conflict resolution, coaching, and managing change, with no two days being alike. Shortly after retiring, Doug encountered a new kind of challenge when he was diagnosed with diabetes in his early sixties, turning insulin management and the quest to understand blood sugars into his unexpected hobby. This marked another chapter of change management in his life, again filled with unpredictability. His journey with diabetes led him to become involved in support groups and with Connected in Motion, actively volunteering at Virtual Slipstreams and participating in the most recent Ontario Slipstreams. Doug has become a strong advocate for the Type 1 diabetes community, cherishing the value of sharing experiences to live well with the condition. Alongside his advocacy, Doug, with his wife Nadia, now also relishes the joys of being "Papa and Nonna" to their four grandchildren, while his collection of insulin pens and Libre sensors serves as a reminder of life's blessings.

After living with Type 1 diabetes for over 25 years, Janet loves to share her experiences and inspire others by proving that living with diabetes has no limits. No matter the season, you can find her participating in outdoor adventures with her dog Luna, teaching group fitness classes, planning the next camping roadtrip, and being a tourist-at-home in Ottawa, ON. After being in front of a computer all day, Janet loves motivating others (including herself!) to get moving for their mental and physical health through class.

Kristyn has been living with Type 1 Diabetes since 1992. She works leading teams and programs in the drug-development biotech industry in the Boston area. A native New Englander, she can often be found exploring new hiking trails or daydreaming how to weave the great outdoors, tasty food, wine and culture into future travel plans.

Nick is coming up on 25 years with T1D. Diagnosed in July 1999, he is an Adventure Team alumni with the 2017 team. He resides in Belleville, Ontario. Has two boys (12 & 17), owns & operates a small food court restaurant serving Greek & Mediterranean food. In his "spare" time, you can find him at the gym, on a hike or playing with his TWO Great Danes (Atlas & Sophie - feel free to ask about them!). Dad jokes are ALWAYS welcome! As a long-time supporter of CIM programming, the T1D community is as close as it gets to "family" for Nick. Welcome to the family!

Pauly Vugteveen (he/him) is a film photographer who lives with chronic illness in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is currently working on “Care Before Profit: A Diabetic Perspective on Healthcare Under Capitalism” for which support is provided by the Kalamazoo Artistic Development Initiative, a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. He publishes a free photography zine which you can request by emailing him at paulyvugteveen@proton.me.

Sarah Melcher was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was nine years old. She has been involved with the diabetes community over the years as a staff member at Camp Huronda, a Tween Lead at with Children with Diabetes, and in various roles with Connected in Motion. Sarah is a secondary school teacher, specializing in physical education.

Stephen Corral was diagnosed with T1D on Christmas eve of 2014 at the age of 38, 2 years after his older sister was diagnosed with T1D. Since then he figured out how to continue commuting by bike year round in central Maine and participates 5-6 Gravel bike races and road centuries per year. He’s attended both Northeast Slipstreams at Camp Caribou in Maine. In addition to cycling, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Lorien and his dog, Chloe, reading, cooking and baking, and fishing when he isn't pursuing a career in Health Care Data Science and project management.

Born and raised in the Midwest, Troy began to spread his wings in college. He was a competitive distance swimmer in high school and thought he would continue swimming in college. However, Ihe traded his speedo for a wet suit when he discovered Scuba Diving as a student studying Underwater Science at Indiana University. The underwater world quickly became Troy's passion and ultimately his career. After college, Troy lived in San Diego for five years before moving to a boat in the Caribbean, first in Turks & Caicos then the Bahamas where he lived his dream as a dive instructor, diving the world as he worked towards becoming a boat captain. Many of his favorite dive sites include Australia, the cold waters of the California coast, and the pristine blue waters of the Caribbean. Troy's second passion is cycling, fostered initially as a rider in the Little 500 Bike Race at IU and continued with the hope to someday soon ride across the US. Being diagnosed with T1D just 18 months ago shifted his path temporarily but has not dampened his sense of adventure. Being a Scuba diver and a cyclist are a big part of Troy's identity and fueled his motivation to quickly learn everything he could about this thing called Type 1 Diabetes! Troy was determined not to let T1D slow him down or change who he is.