Carolyn Billetdeaux, MBA, has worn almost every 'hat' in her 21 years with CWD – from youth attendee to volunteer to staff to Tween & Siblings program leader – and played a key role in developing the Siblings youth programming track. After taking a year off to pursue her MBA at IE Business School in Madrid, Carolyn returned to FFL in a behind-the-scenes role. She continues to act as a mentor for new program leaders, and also supports volunteer training, the FFL auction, and other CWD operations as needed. Carolyn loves spending time with her Friends for Life family and enjoys helping CWD continue to grow and thrive for the next generation of FFLs.

Jessica Costley is mom to 14 year old son, Nate (dx 10/18/16) and three daughters, Allie (11), Tatiana (24) and Misha (26). She first attended Friends for Life Orlando in 2018 and felt at home as soon as she stepped through the convention center doors and started hearing the familiar chimes of Dexcom alarms. Jessica is originally from Lancaster, PA, and now lives in the Orlando area. She currently works remotely in human resources and is happy to talk at length about travel, trip planning, and Disney!

Liz Dodson became a part of the CWD family in 2008 when she started dating her husband Jimmy, who has type 1. She spent several years volunteering in and coordinating Sports Central with Jimmy. Like all FFLs, CWD has given her a diabetes family -- a group of people who understand the unique dynamics of a spousal relationship that includes type 1. Her goal in being involved with CWD is to allow everyone impacted with type 1 to find their FFLs and build their own diabetes family. Her "day job" is in the world of corporate meeting planning, and she is excited to use these skills for CWD as the Conference Logistics Manager.

Nia Grant has been living with type 1 diabetes since 2007, and has been living her best life every step of the way. Having worked in several professions and traveling the world, Nia has gained a wealth of experience in living life with chronic illness. She plans to continue living adventurously and helping others with diabetes learn to advocate for and navigate through their own adventurous lives.

Marie Jarcho lives in Connecticut with her husband David and son Max (dx'd 2010, now in college). At their first FFL conference nine years ago, they saw immediately how impactful all the support they found there would be to living well with type 1 and the family has been helping out ever since. Marie is the coordinator of the Buddy Program for First Timers, is on the First Timer's Orientation Team and helps out at Registration welcoming FFL attendees. Back at home she works in Logistics for a battery/energy storage company.

Scott K. Johnson is an experienced patient advocate. He works with a wide range of stakeholders across the healthcare environment to help them establish effective communication with the patient community. His expertise in the diabetes social media space is recognized worldwide and he advises organizations within the healthcare, food, and consumer goods industries. Today he is Engagement Manager, USA for mySugr. He continues to manage his award-winning blog “Scott's Diabetes” when time allows. Scott is also a member of the Children with Diabetes faculty where he develops educational curriculums and content for the Friends for Life annual conference and regional events.

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 years IT Staff.

Benny Loebner Benny Loebner is married to Pam (First Timers Team) and the proud father of Sarah (dx’d 6/2002), who is a Physician Assistant at the University of Washington Diabetes Institute. He is also dad to Keith, who earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University in 2017, got married a few weeks later to Ellen, and just celebrated his son Jonah’s first birthday. The family attended their first CWD Friends for Life conference one month after Sarah was diagnosed, and they have been volunteering in various capacities ever since. Benny, an environmental geologist living in Los Altos, California, enjoys most sports and coaches and referees for the American Youth Soccer Organization. He is looking forward to meeting and greeting everyone.

Pam Loebner is a California public elementary school teacher who has worked in both special education and regular education classrooms for 41 years. Since becoming a CWD mom, Pam has assisted the district nurse with education for families and teachers when newly diagnosed or newly enrolled students arrive. While always working as an advocate for student needs, Pam focuses on being an advocate for equal access to all school activities for children with diabetes. Pam and her family discovered the CWD website 30 minutes after her daughter's diagnosis in June 2002 when Sarah was 9 1/2, and attended their first conference just a month later. "It was like coming home," she says.

Bonnie Martin is mom to Sean, currently serving in the US Air Force and Sarah (dx’d in 2009), who is a 2020 graduate from the Nursing Program at Niagara University. Bonnie and her husband, Howard, live in Derby, NY. The family attended their first FFL conference exactly one year after diagnosis in 2010 and have been attending ever since. Bonnie has volunteered for many years becoming a staff member in 2018, and she finds the conference invaluable. Bonnie is thankful for her “FFL family” and everything she has learned for herself, her daughter and her family. At home, Bonnie works for a local school district.

Howard Martin lives near Buffalo, NY, with his wife Bonnie and daughter Sarah, who has type 1 diabetes. Son Sean is currently serving in the US Air Force. After Sarah’s diagnosis in 2009, Howard and family attended their first Friends for Life in 2010, and every one since. Howard recently started an IT consulting business after a 30-year banking career.

Shari Michaelson hails from Ajax, Ontario. Along with son Tayler (age 26, diagnosed in 2004) and daughter Connor (age 14), Shari has attended Friends for Life conferences since 2009. After their first FFL Orlando, Shari realized that every summer has to include FFL. Shari looks forward to volunteering with the Registration Team again this summer after being the lead of the Registration Team at FFL Canada this past November. She is thrilled to give back to an organization that has supported her family for so many years. Friends for Life is a uniquely inclusive event where you feel like everyone is family.

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 the San Francisco Bay Area 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!

Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE, BC-ADM, is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. She has spent her career of 40 years and counting involved in diabetes care and education. She owns and operates a consulting practice, now based in Asheville, NC. Hope is the author of several best-selling consumer books and resources published by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) including Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy and Eat Out Eat Well – The Guide to Eating Healthy in Any Restaurant. She has authored many articles, blogs and other print material aimed towards people with diabetes, including of late, Tandem Diabetes Care’s Lemonade from Lemons blogs. Hope has also authored or co-authored many diabetes related journal articles. Over the last decade she has been actively involved with promoting the role and value of peer support to people with diabetes, caregivers and healthcare providers and recently led a writing group that published a Perspectives in Practice paper on the topic for Association for Diabetes Care & Education Specialists. She was President of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE, now ADCES) in 2016 and currently serves on the Academy and Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation Board. This is her first year volunteering for the CWD conference in Orlando and she’s thrilled to be involved.

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.