We want to clarify any confusion in light of the recent communication from former T1D Fund Board members and advisors regarding governance changes that we have detailed to the community, on a number of occasions, since the changes were made six months ago. Their claims are incorrect and misleading.
On May 8, 2026, the Breakthrough T1D (BT1D) International Board of Directors (IBOD) acted unanimously, consistent with its fiduciary duty, to tighten certain financial controls at the T1D Fund, ensure that the Fund’s activities were transparent to BT1D and the IBOD, and make changes to the Fund’s board. We stand by that decision. Here are the key relevant facts and inaccuracies in the various statements over the last several months from certain former Fund board members and advisors.
- They claim the Fund’s independence was eliminated but, since the Fund’s inception and throughout the tenure of the former Board member and advisors, the Fund has been a wholly owned subsidiary of BT1D. It is the Fund’s independence to make investment decisions that has been the hallmark of its success, and that independence has been upheld.
- They claim the governance change undermined the Fund’s model. This is incorrect. The Fund continues to operate under essentially the same governance and operating guidelines it has used since its inception: a wholly owned subsidiary of BT1D with investment and operational independence, a dedicated board, a standalone Investment Committee, a team of highly trained healthcare and investment professionals, and an unchanged mission and focus.
- They claim we lack transparency. This is incorrect. A comprehensive overview of the Fund’s governance has been publicly available on our website for several months. It explains how the Fund is governed and provides more transparency for the public than other peer venture funds do.
- They claim our action was unwarranted. A subset of these Fund board members explored a variety of novel Fund structures, new subsidiaries, and affiliates. They did so without consulting the entire Fund Board: in particular, excluding BT1D executives and overlapping members of the IBOD. These activities, if executed, could have potentially jeopardized BT1D’s tax-exempt status and violated donor restrictions. Taken as a whole, these actions were, at a minimum, a violation of trust and potentially a more substantive governance issue. Counsel reviewed the underlying communications and activities and concurred. Suggestions that our action was unwarranted, unsupported by adequate review, or in violation of donor restrictions are incorrect.
None of that diminishes what these individuals have done in our shared fight to cure T1D, and we thank them for those efforts. We take responsibility for the fact that our actions contributed to a rupture in trust with our former colleagues, and we wish that we could have reached consensus on these governance matters before taking action last May. For that, and for the hurt it has caused, we are sorry.
We have tried to resolve this privately. We returned or redirected contributions from members of this group, not as an admission of wrongdoing, but as a gesture of good faith. Our offers to meet were declined or met with unilateral conditions. We welcome a constructive conversation with anyone in this group to come to a resolution.
In the meantime, BT1D and the T1D Fund continue to advance our mission, with strong fundraising, on schedule in their respective campaigns. Donor contributions are up 34 percent, and staff retention is up 10 percent. We hold the highest ratings from Charity Navigator, the Better Business Bureau, and Candid because we are an efficient and effective organization directing nearly 80 percent of donor dollars to the mission. Our total grant funding, sponsored by the T1D community, now tops $2.6B supporting around 550 active grants, and we fought for and won the first congressional funding increase in 20 years for the Special Diabetes Program. The T1D Fund is on track for another record year, having deployed $27 million since May.
All of this progress has come under the leadership of our chief executive officer, Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., the first chief executive in our history who lives with T1D, a scientist by training, and a respected leader in this community for more than 20 years. Breakthrough T1D is stronger today than it has ever been, and his leadership is the reason why.
We appreciate our former colleagues’ contributions to this cause, but their attempts to undermine our organization are a harmful distraction from the mission. We have been transparent and tried to reconcile our differences and that door remains open. It is our hope that we can find a productive path forward together, but until then, we will be tirelessly focused on our shared mission of curing this disease.
Breakthrough T1D International Board of Directors (IBOD)
Karen Shishino Jordan—Daughter was diagnosed in 2008; Karen was diagnosed with T1D in 2023.
Carlton McMillan—Wife diagnosed at age five.
Michael Alter— Lives with T1D.
Mike Boyle—Son was diagnosed in 2007.
Elizabeth Caswell—Husband and two of their three sons live with T1D.
David Cramer—Daughter lives with T1D.
Faith Glazier—Lives with T1D.
Helena Gottschling—Son lives with T1D.
Claudia Graham, Ph.D., MPH—Has lived with T1D for more than 40 years.
Jeremy Lott—Son diagnosed in 2022.
Per Lundin, Ph.D.— Lives with T1D.
Ron Miller—Daughter was diagnosed in 2008 at age five.
Jennifer Schneider, M.D.—Husband lives with T1D and daughter was diagnosed at age two.
Drayton Virkler—Daughter diagnosed at age 10.
Janet Woodcock, M.D.—Husband lives with T1D.
T1D Fund Board of Directors (FBOD)
Joe Lacher —Joe was diagnosed with T1D in college. Both sons, now adults, were diagnosed as children.
Grant Beard—Daughter was diagnosed in 2006 at age 14.
Mike Boyle (also IBOD)—Son was diagnosed in 2007.
John Cammett—Diagnosed with T1D at age 32, the same age his mother was when she was diagnosed in 1963.
Karen Shishino Jordan (also IBOD)— Daughter was diagnosed in 2008; Karen was diagnosed with T1D in 2023.
Aaron J. Kowalski, Ph.D.—Aaron has lived with T1D for 42 years and his brother has lived with T1D for 49 years.