Kerri Sparling

Writer and Author; Living with T1D since 1986

Keynote Address

Kerri Sparling is a writer, poet, and speaker who has dedicated her life to the power of patient narratives. Since 2005, she has been a leading voice in the patient advocacy space, sharing her personal story of over 37 years with type 1 diabetes and helping share stories from others in the patient community. Kerri has worked to bolster the influence of patient stories in the healthcare space, from academic journals to keynote presentations around the world.

She is best known for her work as a patient storyteller at SixUntilMe.com, and as author of Balancing Diabetes (2014), the poetry anthology, Rage Bolus (2021), and Six Until Me: Essays from a life with diabetes (2022). You can subscribe to Kerri’s newsletter at LifeWithType1Diabetes.com.

Molly Colvin, Ph.D. ABPP

Director, LEAP, MGH; Community Board Member, Breakthrough T1D Greater New England Chapter; Mother of a Daughter with T1D since 2014

Session: Developing School Partnerships to Support Learning in Children with T1D

Molly Colvin, Ph.D. ABPP is a developmental neuropsychologist, Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She has expertise in the assessment of children and adolescents who have neurodevelopmental and chronic medical conditions and often works closely with schools to develop special education plans. She completed a doctorate in cognitive neuroscience at Dartmouth College, a graduate program in clinical psychology at Suffolk University and postdoctoral clinical training at MGH and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She has been a T1D mom since August 2014.