Objective
Acora Partners will provide comprehensive strategic and operational support to Stephanie Pearson, AVP of Global Access. This support encompasses her work on the ALIGN-T1D Coalition and the T1D Index, as well as future projects aimed at increasing the impact of T1D initiatives, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Acora's responsibilities will include executive communications, stakeholder relationship management, developing Breakthrough's operational capacity for ambitious projects, and administrative assistance to balance departmental priorities.
Acora’s support will cover:
Stakeholder Relations
Board & executive-level communications:
We will partner with Stephanie to create a clear strategic narrative that simplifies project models for the Board, team, and key partners/funders as well as ongoing communications that are essential to keep everyone aligned. This includes: develop monthly update memos for the board and prioritized communications for key stakeholders you need to bring along.
Defining coalition governance model:
Acora will work alongside Stephanie and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to design and clarify the ALIGN-T1D coalitions’ governance model. This will include, at minimum,(1) topline clarification of roles and responsibilities of key stakeholder groups, (2) RACI model to clarify decision making roles, (3) cadence of communications across groups, and (4) grantmaking model.
Secretariat Management Support:
Acora will join all meetings with ALIGN-T1D contributors, including monthly Co-Chair meetings with CHAI and any ongoing working sessions between Stephanie and CHAI. Our role will be to provide strategic and operational support as a neutral third party–taking notes, tracking action items, offering thought partnership, and helping to advance the work. We will support meeting preparation and follow up, contribute to agenda development, ask critical questions, and provide light research or strategic framing as needed. We will also step into key meetings as needed to serve as a backup facilitator to CHAI.
Operational Capacity
Standing up an operating model:
Acora will work with Stephanie to break down the ALIGN-T1D strategy and other initiatives into clear workstreams, define objectives and key results (OKRs), and assign staff leads. Together, we will establish an operating model that keeps on progress week to week, month to month, and quarter to quarter.
Building out the Breakthrough T1D core team:
Acora will support Stephanie in assessing team capacity and identifying needs to successfully manage all projects. As appropriate, Acora will support drafting job descriptions and partnering with HR on recruitment.
Mentorship and onboarding new hires:
As new staff join in early 2026, Acora will support onboarding and integration, orienting the team to cadences and norms, and handing off key activities to shape effective collaboration. Once the team is fully onboarded, Acora will continue to provide mentorship as needed, helping to ensure Steaphnie can focus on high-level strategic leadership while Breakthrough’s internal team builds ownership and prepares to take on full Secretariat responsibilities in Phase 2.
Ongoing Management Support
The scope will include two weekly meetings with Stephanie: one to review overall operations and priorities, and another to track the partnership’s operations and progress. Additional team stand-ups will be added as needed. These sessions will capture weekly action items and hold space for emerging priorities.
A monthly reporting process will be established as Stephanie’s team grows, with workstream leads presenting progress against goals and OKRs. Acora will document updates in a centralized format, ensuring regular tracking on progress, key tasks, and adjusting priorities as appropriate.
Regular strategy sessions will support major decisions, distinct from weekly operations check-ins, and will focus on gathering context, evaluating options, and aligning direction. The approach will remain flexible to shifting dynamics.
Background Rationale
By 2040, global T1D prevalence is projected to more than double, with the fastest growth in low- and lower-middle-income countries, yet health systems remain unequipped to manage care or deliver a cure. This partnership directly addresses the fragmented philanthropic landscape supporting these health systems by developing a shared strategic framework, measurement standards, and information gathering system to be used by partners to inform their giving.
This year, Breakthrough is co-founding a first-of-its-kind global partnership, ALIGN T1D, that aspires to align up to $100M per year in philanthropic investments in T1D care and systems across a portfolio of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by 2040. The partnership will convene the major funders in global T1D access over the next 15 years to support 10+ LMICs in building the infrastructure they need to reduce T1D prevalence and enable large-scale distribution of a future cure.
Acora will work closely with Stephanie, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and the coalition’s partners to ensure the success of the coalition through Phase 1 of the project, which launches in September 2025.
Breakthrough’s role as Secretariat of the global partnership is highly impactful yet significantly complex. Acora will support Breakthrough in standing up the strategic, operational, and management capacity to support the program through its many iterations and stages of work, until it can fully function on its own within Breakthrough’s organization.
The T1D Index is an initiative which measures the scale and impact of T1D across the globe, reporting critical data to everyday consumers and key stakeholders in the fight against T1D with rigor and usability. The Index measures how many people live with the condition, the healthy years of life it takes from people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), and what can be done to reduce its impact. Type 1 diabetes has never before been measured in this way or at this scale, making this initiative critical to moving the work to eliminate T1D forward.
Acora will similarly support Breakthrough's work on the T1D Index, contributing to its mission and continued operational success.Comprehensive Strategic Support
Finally, Acora will provide high-level, bespoke strategic support to Stephanie and her team across her entire portfolio, ensuring they can continue to deliver on Breakthrough's mission.
Description of Project
Breakthrough T1D will engage a consultant to provide comprehensive strategic and operational support for its Global Access portfolio. This initiative is designed to increase the impact of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) projects, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The consultancy’s work will focus on key initiatives such as the ALIGN-T1D Coalition and the T1D Index, and will include support for executive communications, stakeholder management, operational capacity building, and administrative assistance.
ALIGN-T1D Background: This year, Breakthrough is co-founding a first-of-its-kind global partnership, ALIGN T1D, that aspires to align up to $100M per year in philanthropic investments in T1D care and systems across a portfolio of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by 2040. The partnership will convene the major funders in global T1D access over the next 15 years to support 10+ LMICs in building the infrastructure they need to reduce T1D prevalence and enable large-scale distribution of a future cure.
T1D Index Background: The T1D Index is an initiative which measures the scale and impact of T1D across the globe, reporting critical data to everyday consumers and key stakeholders in the fight against T1D with rigor and usability. The Index measures how many people live with the condition, the healthy years of life it takes from people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), and what can be done to reduce its impact.
The consultancy’s key support areas include:
Stakeholder Relations
The consultant will develop a clear strategic narrative to simplify project models for the Board, team, and key partners, and will manage ongoing communications to ensure alignment, buy-in, and the opportunity to leverage these projects for additional fundraising in support of Breakthrough’s mission.
For the ALIGN-T1D Coalition, the consultant is partnering with Breakthrough T1D and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to define the coalition's governance model. Their work will clarify the roles and responsibilities of key groups, establish decision making models, define communication cadences, and outline a grantmaking model.
As a neutral third party, the consultancy will also provide Secretariat Management Support for the ALIGN-T1D Coalition. This involves attending meetings with all contributors, taking notes, tracking action items, providing thought partnership, and assisting with meeting preparation and agenda development. The consultant will also serve as a backup facilitator for CHAI when needed to ensure Conflicts of Interest are appropriately avoided.
Operational Capacity
The consultancy will help establish an internal operating model for Breakthrough's work that ensures mission success. This work will include breaking down the ALIGN-T1D strategy and other initiatives into distinct workstreams, defining Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), assigning staff leads, and creating a system to track progress consistently. The consultancy will also assist in building out and mentoring Breakthrough’s core team, who will take on responsibility for the ALIGN-T1D Secretariat role, key T1D Index management, and other projects.
The consultancy’s work will span from assessing current capacity and gaps to supporting the recruitment process to helping Breakthrough’s team develop their internal norms and work cadences to ensure success.
Ongoing Management Support
The scope of work includes regular check-ins to review overall operations and track progress on the ALIGN-T1D partnership, capturing weekly action items and addressing emerging priorities. A monthly reporting process will be established for team leads to present progress against goals and OKRs, with all updates documented centrally.
The consultant will also facilitate separate strategy sessions to support major decisions. These sessions will focus on gathering context, evaluating options, and aligning on a direction, while remaining flexible to dynamic shifts in the work.
Anticipated Outcome
Through our work together, the Global Access team will be further strengthened and set up for success across their many large, impactful initiatives. This partnership will support individuals in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), enhance data accuracy, and enable Stephanie’s team to better serve Breakthrough’s internal and external stakeholders.
With our support, Breakthrough will be able to hire the team it needs to manage the Secretariat, successfully raise funds from coalition partners and distribute them to in-country grantee partners to advance a thoughtful strategy to reduce the prevalence of T1D in LMICs, and attract new global funders to our shared agenda.
Our collaborative efforts on the T1D Index will support data scientists and researchers in their quests to understand and improve the lives of PWLTD, ensuring the brightest minds can be focused on one of the most important chronic health challenges of our time.
Relevance to T1D
Acora’s work with Breakthrough will enable the Global Access team to serve as the Secretariat to a first-of-its-kind global program to coordinate and align philanthropic capital aimed at reducing the prevalence of T1D in LMICs and ensure LMICs are prepared to receive and distribute an eventual cure. This collaboration lays the groundwork for a transformative global partnership with the potential to save millions of lives.
Furthermore, the T1D Index and Stephanie's broader portfolio of work are crucial for global researchers and funders. They provide the necessary insights to understand the worldwide status of T1D, enabling the appropriate definition and implementation of interventions to safeguard the well-being of people living with T1D.