Sunshine Abel, RN, is the proud mother of Sierra and Sailor. She attended her first Friends for Life Conference with her family in 2002, after her daughter Sailor was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was two years old. After attending that conference, Sunshine immediately knew she had found a new family and a new home. It was where kids with type 1 can look around and see other kids just like themselves checking their blood sugars and giving insulin. She then made it her mission to get her whole family involved anyway she could, to give back. Sunshine started volunteering in 2005 and has been working as a nurse and lead HCP in the Friends for Life youth programming since 2006. “To FFL First Timer families: At diagnosis, my husband and I thought what in the world do we do now. How will this disease ever be part of our everyday lives. It turned our lives upside down. Finding CWD and attending that first FFL, we realized this is where our T1D journey begins. It is where we gain knowledge that is golden and given irreplaceable tools to help better manage our lives now that we are living it with type 1. It is where we learn how to better educate those around us in our everyday lives. It’s therapy for ourselves as a parent trying to navigate through the emotions. But most of all, FFL is where we turn to for support when we need it and to give it, to the parent who just can’t get their child’s blood sugar up at 3 am. Having a child with type 1 diabetes makes me feel like I can conquer anything.”

Ashley Dasika is excited to be working in the youth program this year after coming to FFL conferences since the age of four when her younger sister was diagnosed at 11 months old. She didn’t wear an orange bracelet for long, though, because a year later, Ashley was diagnosed too at the age five. FFL is something her family looks forward to every summer. Ashley attends Tufts University in Boston, where she founded a Diabetes Link Chapter in addition to recently studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, where she interned at Madrid’s Diabetes Association. Ashley loves working with kids and is also a camp counselor at diabetes summer camp. Ashley is really excited to be a part of elementary team again this year!

Hannah Klippel was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of eight and attended her first Friends for Life Conference just four months later. This will be her 15th year participating in Friends for Life conferences, and she is excited for another amazing year with the Elementary team! She is forever grateful for the resources CWD has provided her and her family. Hannah considers her friends made through CWD her family, and she truly can't imagine her life without them!

Kelly Regan, BSN, RN, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of nine in 2008. She has attended the Friends for Life Conference since 2012 and has made many FFLs over the years! Kelly graduated from George Mason University in 2020 with a degree in Criminology and later obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from George Washington University in December 2024. Kelly now works as an Emergency Department Nurse at the Washington Hospital Center in DC. She is so excited for another great year with the Elementary Team and to see all her FFLs!

Kayla Van Eperen has three siblings - two with type 1 - and is mom to David. She has been attending CWD conferences and Friends for Life Orlando since 2003. Kayla graduated in 2017 from Marquette University with a degree in Elementary Education and Communication Studies. She is a 5th-7th grade Math Teacher in Madison, WI. She is very excited to be part of the CWD Youth Program staff this year because it is a place where everyone just “gets it.” It truly is a great opportunity to work with the elementary-aged children to continue the culture of not being alone at Friends for Life.