Last week, JDRF Greater Bay Area Chapter leaders joined others from across the country in Washington, DC, for the annual JDRF One Conference. In addition to intensive learning modules and breakout sessions, attendees met with their Members of Congress to discuss the financial, medical and emotional costs of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Leaders also thanked Congress for renewing the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) which secured $300 million in new federal funding for T1D research. In addition, conference attendees urged Congress to support policies that preserve protections for pre-existing conditions and keep out-of-pocket costs predictable and reasonable for insulin, and encouraged them to continue progress toward approving and covering life-saving technologies as they become available.

Our Bay Area group included board members Mark Fischer-Colbrie, Karen Jordan, Dr. Jennifer Schneider, Wyeth Goodenough, and staff members Nicole Friedland, Emily Sliwkowski, Janette Gitler and Stephanie Nelson. Our chapter won a total of eight awards. These included:

• Top NATIONAL 3 year Chapter Growth

• Top 2 Regional Year-Over-Year Gross Growth Rate

• Top 2 Regional Year-Over-Year Net Growth Rate

• Top 2 Regional Advocacy Work

• Top 2 Regional Outreach Execution

• Top 10 NATIONAL Beta Society Score

• Top 2 Highest NATIONAL Gala Gross Revenue

• Highest Performing Financial Metrics

Congratulations to the JDRF Greater Bay Area Chapter!