Moira McCarthy Stanford

Award-Winning Author, Nationally Known Diabetes Blogger at Despite Diabetes, and Mother of a Young Adult with T1D

Moira McCarthy Stanford has been affiliated with JDRF’s New England Chapter for more than 22 years. She is connected to type 1 diabetes (T1D) through her daughter, Lauren Stanford, who was diagnosed at the age of 6. Since Moira’s daughter was diagnosed with T1D, she has been a dedicated supporter of JDRF. She is currently a volunteer on the Online Diabetes Support Team and a lead national speaker. In the past, she has been chair of JDRF’s Children’s Congress 2005, national chair of JDRF Grassroots Advocacy, national chair of Outreach, president of the New England Chapter, and has served on various national committees. Moira’s family organized one of the nation’s top Walk teams for years, and she has chaired her chapter’s million dollar-plus Gala several times. She is now an annual top fundraiser for the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes, and was awarded the Ride’s prestigious “Rose Promise” Jersey in 2013 and the Top Recruiter Jersey in 2014. Moira is a former national award-winning crime reporter and newspaper editor, and the author of two best-selling books: “The Everything Parents Guide to Diabetes” and "Raising Teens with Diabetes: A Survival Guide for Parents". She is also an avid skier, and is a contributing editor at SKI Magazine as well as the Travel Editor of the Boston Herald and a sports talk radio personality in Boston. Moira’s advocacy and tireless support of T1D research has landed her a spot as guest speaker on CNN Live and many other media outlets. She is also the creator of a well-known blog called “Despite Diabetes”. Moira lives in Plymouth, MA with her husband Sean and cat Frankie. They are avid boaters, tennis players and skiers.  Moira’s greatest skill and greatest joy is being “Rara” to her two grandchildren, Molly and Lucy.

Christina Martin

Professional Dancer, Motivational Speaker, American Ninja Warrior, Executive Director of the Type Zero Foundation, and Fitness Trainer, Living with T1D since age 13

Christina lives to dance and jump off obstacles all in the name of diabetes support! She is a professional dancer, fitness trainer for kids and adults, and founder of a non-profit organization for diabetes that she started as a teenager, Type Zero Foundation. Christina dances with nationally-winning hip hop crew, TheSQUAD, and has competed against the rest of the world while living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). She was invited on Season 11 of NBC’s TV show, “American Ninja Warrior,” where she competed as the first female with T1D on the show! While also studying sport and exercise science as a full-time student at the University of Central Florida, her goal is to help individuals and families feel stronger with diabetes. Through Christina’s unbreakable determination to live a healthy lifestyle with T1D, she has become an advocate for the T1D community and is committed to T1D education.

Quinn Banks, LICSW

Outpatient Clinical Social Worker, Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital

Quinn is a Clinical Social Worker in the Division of Endocrinology at Boston Children’s Hospital where she provides psychosocial care and treatment for patients and their families living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Quinn splits her time in the hospital and also works in the BCH Thyroid Center providing support to patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This year she has had the privilege of getting involved with the BCH Teen Advisory Committee in the Diabetes Program and has enjoyed working with this exceptional group of young adults.

Boston Children’s Hospital Diabetes Program Teen Advisory Committee

The Diabetes Program Teen Advisory Committee (TAC) consists of teens and young adults, ages 14-18 years, who have T1D. They meet once per month to guide and improve care for teens in the Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) Diabetes Program. The Diabetes Program TAC allows teens to connect with others their age with T1D while giving their input to the Endocrinology Team at BCH about areas of interest to teenage and young adult patients. The teens brainstorm ideas to make the program better for their age group and develop new programs to help teens and young adults take care of their diabetes independently.

Lauren Connors, BSN, RN

Elementary School Nurse, Arlington Public Schools, Living with T1D since 1988

Lauren has worked as an elementary school nurse in Arlington Public Schools (APS) for the past six years. She serves as the Diabetes Care Coordinator for APS where she works in collaboration with APS Nurses, type 1 diabetes (T1D) students and their caregivers. Lauren assists in developing care plans for students with diabetes as well as monitoring adherence, effectiveness and progress of plans. She facilitates and attends meetings between students, family/caregivers, individual school nurses, social workers, classroom teachers, Principals, and Endocrine teams as needed. In 2017, Lauren implemented a system where each student with T1D wearing a Dexcom CGM could be monitored via iPad from their school’s Health Office. Living with T1D for over thirty years allows her to share first-hand knowledge about all things related to T1D. In addition to a BSN, Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

John Cutter

Lieutenant Firefighter and Paramedic, MASSPORT, Living with T1D since age 18

John was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in July 2008 at age 18, just one month before going off to Anna Maria College to study fire science and play Division 3 lacrosse. He is a Lieutenant Firefighter and Paramedic at MASSPORT. John also serves on the Massachusetts Task Force 1 (MA-TF1), a specialized rescue organization comprised of highly trained Firefighters, Technical Rescue Technicians, Medical Professionals, Canine Handlers, Engineers, Physicians and Civilians with specialty skills from various cities and departments located throughout New England. MA-TF1 is one of 28 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces spread throughout the continental United States trained and equipped to handle any emergency or disaster that may arise. John is also an advocate for patient access for affordable T1D therapy and technology and enjoys spending his spare time playing ice hockey and golf.

Katharine Garvey, M.D., MPH

Director, Diabetes Program; Clinical Chief for Diabetes, Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital

Session: Ask the Diabetes Specialists

Dr. Garvey serves as Director of the Diabetes Program and Clinical Chief for Diabetes at Boston Children's Hospital and is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Garvey completed fellowships in pediatric endocrinology and pediatric health services research at Boston Children’s Hospital. She received an MPH from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Garvey has conducted health services research focused on easing the transition from pediatric to adult care for youth with T1D. Clinically, Dr. Garvey practices pediatric endocrinology with a special focus on children, adolescents and young adults with T1D. In her role as Director of the Diabetes Program, she leads innovations in pediatric type 1 diabetes care delivery in collaboration with team members across disciplines.

Jennifer Goldman, RPh, PharmD, CDE, BC-ADM, FCCP

Diabetes/Primary Care, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, MCPHS University

Dr. Jennifer Goldman has been practicing for 30 years and is currently Professor of Pharmacy Practice at MCPHS University where she teaches in the pharmacy and physician assistant programs. She received both her BS and Doctorate degrees in Pharmacy from MCPHS and completed a residency at the Boston VA Medical Center. She is board certified in advanced diabetes management and is a certified diabetes educator. She is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacists. Dr. Goldman has practiced in family and internal medicine with a focus in diabetes and cardiovascular disease since 1997. She is an academic preceptor for MCPHS PharmD candidates and post-graduate fellows. She has served on various statewide and national organizational committees and boards. Her research interests are in the area of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and the scholarship of teaching with multiple publications and invited presentations in these areas.

Lori Laffel, MD, MPH

Chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Section at the Joslin Clinic, Senior Investigator and Co-Head of the Section on Clinical, Behavioral and Outcomes Research at the Joslin Diabetes Center, and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School

Dr. Laffel is Chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Section at the Joslin Clinic, and a Senior Investigator and Co-Head of the Section on Clinical, Behavioral and Outcomes Research at the Joslin Diabetes Center, as well as a Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Under Dr. Laffel’s leadership, the pediatric program at Joslin has quadrupled in size and is recognized worldwide as a major pediatric diabetes center for clinical care and research. She has been the Principal Investigator and Program Director of Joslin’s National Institutes of Health-funded postdoctoral fellowship and early career development training grants for pediatric endocrinologists entering the field of diabetes research. Dr. Laffel is actively involved with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), as a member of the Boston Leadership Board, a recent past member of the National Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association, the National Committee for Professional Practice Guidelines, chair on the ADA’s Working Group on Transitions in Care for Young Adults with Diabetes, and past chair of ADA’s Youth Strategies Committee. She also has been a member of the Advisory Board of the International Society of Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes and a member on the Clinical Advisory Committee for JDRF. She was the co-editor on the recently released ADA-JDRF Sourcebook on Type 1 Diabetes through the Life Span. Dr. Laffel is also a member of JDRF’s Research Advisory Committee. Dr. Laffel is the recipient of the American Diabetes Association’s 2015 Outstanding Physician-Clinician Award, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce 2016 Pinnacle Award, and the 2016 University of Miami School of Medicine Hall of Fame Honoree.

Kieran Meehan

Groton School Administration Office, Realtor, and Beekeeper, Living with T1D since age 8

After being diagnosed at an early age, Kieran often looked at diabetes as something that is a part of his life but not running his life; participating in his first diabetes walk when he was 8 and steadily participating in them ever since. Kieran was guided by his parents to diligently manage his type 1 diabetes (T1D); frequently answering the question “what’s your blood sugar?” Diabetes is a large part of Kieran's family as his eldest brother also has T1D. Professionally, Kieran spent nearly a decade working for Harvard Business School managing their graduate housing program and he recently shifted to the Groton School Admission Office. In his free time Kieran works as a Realtor and is also an amateur beekeeper. Kieran has routinely advocated for T1D in his professional workplaces—acknowledging that awareness in all communities is the best way to shed light on this disease.

Allison Nimlos, MA, LAMFT

Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, Greater Than Counseling and Coaching, Living with T1D since age 8

Allison Nimlos is a licensed associate marriage and family therapist in Minneapolis, MN. She works in private practice where she specializes in chronic illness, particularly type 1 diabetes (T1D). Allison's passion for individuals and families affected by diabetes comes from her 25 years living with type 1 diabetes. Allison also enjoys working around issues of anxiety, depression, relationships and family conflict. Prior to her work as a therapist, she was Assistant Editor at DiabetesMine.com and has been a freelance writer on diabetes for more than a decade. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and toddler son. You can follow her on Instagram at @thediabetictherapist. 

Kelly Reardon

Broadcast Meterologist, WWLP-22News Springfield, Living with T1D since age 18

Kelly was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in November 2012 during her first few months of college. She is very active five days a week reporting in the field with heavy camera equipment, and goes live at the weather wall weekend mornings, proudly showcasing her Dexcom CGM. She was the emcee at the JDRF One Walk at Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA last year, and participated in the JDRF One Walk in Cleveland in 2017. She’s also an avid skier.

Danielle Sandage, LICSW

Outpatient Clinical Social Worker, Division of Endocrinology, Boston Children's Hospital

Danielle is a Clinical Social Worker in the Division of Endocrinology at Boston Children’s Hospital where she provides psychosocial care and treatment for patients and their families living with type 1 diabetes and other endocrine conditions. She is actively involved in research related to disease distress and its impact on daily functioning. Danielle also has an outpatient practice as a psychotherapist working with individuals, couples, and families in Lexington, MA.

Lauren Stanford

Community Organizing Director, Patients for Affordable Drugs, Living with T1D since age 6

Lauren is the Community Organizing Director at Patients for Affordable Drugs, the only independent national patient organization focused exclusively on achieving policy changes to lower the price of prescription drugs.  A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes at the age of 6 led her to become a lifetime patient advocate who, as a volunteer and in her career, has fought for everything from research funding to drug and treatment affordability.  Prior to joining the team at Patients for Affordable Drugs, Lauren worked on grassroots digital advocacy and public policy in the nonprofit sector.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political and Persuasive Communications and American Government from George Mason University in Northern Virginia, and was born and raised in Plymouth, MA.

Shannon Terrio, NP, CDE

Diabetes Nurse Practitioner and Educator at Boston Children’s Hospital, Living with T1D since age 9

Shannon Terrio is a nurse practitioner and certified diabetes educator at Boston Children’s Hospital where she provides education to patients and their families living with diabetes. A highlight of her tenure at Boston Children’s was working with Dr. Katharine Garvey on a research project in which teens with type 1 diabetes (T1D) become more engaged in the process of transition to adult care. This year she has begun working with the amazing teens involved in BCH’s Teen Advisory Committee who are working on projects aimed at bettering services provided to BCH patients living with diabetes.