Tech Team
Our Tech Team oversees the technology and audio-visual systems that deliver our programming
Rachel Knight has music in her heart but no insulin production in her pancreas. Diagnosed at the age of 10, she never let diabetes stop her. She is currently a music teacher and musical theater director in Menlo Park, CA, and teaches children in Preschool through 5th grade. Most of Rachel's student's think she is part robot and get a kick out of spotting her robots (Omni, Riley, and Dex), asking where they are, and even trying to touch them. Rachel believes that her tendency to over pack is because of her diabetes. She likes to be over prepared and generally has glucose tabs, juice boxes, and overtapes on her person at any time. Rachel lives in the San Francisco Bay Area near her parents, sister, and two nephews. Rachel always looks forward to FFL events and can't wait to work with this year's Tech Team.
Will Nowak attended his first Friends for Life event in 2018 and has been returning to volunteer with the IT Team ever since. He is interested in learning about new developments in diabetes technology and participating in clinical trials in that space. Will and his wife Helen live in New Jersey with their two cats. He works as a Site Reliability Engineer and outside of work enjoys rock climbing, travel, and searching for the best Fettuccine Alfredo. Will is looking forward to seeing everyone at the next conference!
Matthew Pawlowski was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2002. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, majoring in Supply Chain Management and Entrepreneurship. Matthew has been coming to Friends for Life since 2003 and is proud that he has gone through the entire FFL education program. He has three sisters: Melissa (dx’d 2/95), Sarah, and Kayla, who are all FFL volunteers.
Jordan Squibb is a Creative Director focusing on post-production for a video and live events production company. He was introduced to type 1 diabetes when he met his wife, Sasha, over 10 years ago and has used his background to tell stories of those living with T1D. He attended his first FFL in 2022 and was instantly hooked and realized there was a lack of video content and wanted to help. You can find Jordan wandering around the conferences with a camera capturing memorable moments. Jordan is a fantasy movie, video game, and sushi-loving dog/cat dad.
Martin Yaravitz lives in Rochester, NY. He is father to Hannah, who was diagnosed in 2015 at the age of seven. As luck should have it, the family discovered Children with Diabetes that year and attended their first Friends for Life conference that summer. The experience at Friends for Life was almost as life changing as the diagnosis itself. Martin owns and operates an IT consulting company in the upstate NY area. He and his family are champions of Friends for Life and encourage any T1D family to check it out and get involved in some way.
Indicates Tech Team member with diabetes
