Meet our new Executive Director, Bill Parsons!

Tell us about yourself.
I’m a longtime volunteer, former member of Breakthrough T1D’s International Board of Directors (IBOD) and new Executive Director for Breakthrough T1D’s Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Chapter. I live in Bethesda, MD with my wife Kerry, fifteen year old daughter Natalie and twelve year old son Will, who was diagnosed with T1D when he was three.  In addition to having worked on Capitol Hill for 14 years, most recently as Chief of Staff to a Member of Congress from Maryland, I spent ten years as a traveling musician.  In fact, you can still find my CDs on I-Tunes (from which I continue to make tens of dollars annually in royalties).

Describe your history with type 1 diabetes and your relationship with Breakthrough T1D.
We’re about nine years into our adventure with T1D, which has included some of the toughest times and the best people I’ve ever known.  One of those people was Barbara Rapaport, who brought us our Bag of Hope after Will was diagnosed. She let us know everything was going to be OK.  I subsequently apprenticed with Barbara on the Major Gifts Committee of what was then the National Capitol Chapter Board before joining Breakthrough T1D’s International Board of Directors three years ago, where I spent eighteen months chairing the Research Committee.   I took on my current role as Executive Director of the GCP Chapter because Kerry and I decided the time was right to double down on Breakthrough T1D.  We’ve got a very bright future in front of us, and I want to be part of making that future happen.

Our family formed “Will’s Walkers” shortly after Will was diagnosed, and we haven’t missed a Walk since.  We are also regular Gala attendees, and I’ve now participated in six rides – two with my daughter Natalie, in Death Valley and Nashville, TN.  She’s completely hooked and determined to tackle either Tahoe or Amelia Island this year.

What events or activities do you volunteer for and why did you choose this specific event?
The best thing about all of the events is the incredible sense of community I get when I go.  Every time I look out over a Walk staging area, or a Gala ballroom, or a Ride course, I feel like, “That’s right – me and the army I brought with me.”  T1D doesn’t stand a chance. I intend to continue my engagement until we get this job done.

What would you say to someone who does not have a direct type-1 connection in order to encourage them to volunteer with the chapter? What would you say to someone that does have a connection to get them involved in the chapter?
In my experience, it’s true that most people who get involved with Breakthrough T1D have some kind of connection to T1D; having said that, some of my biggest heroes are those who don’t.  Whenever I’ve asked them why they’ve chosen to step up and support our mission even though they don’t have any direct connection, the answer I get back invariably involves the satisfaction that comes from knowing you are part of a world-class organization, working alongside some of the finest people you will ever meet, in what is going to be a successful effort to banish a really lousy disease from the face of the earth.  If you think about it, that’s a legacy any of us would be privileged to have.

What has been your most memorable volunteer experience with the chapter?  Why?
Riding with my daughter through a sea of helmet lanterns, at dark ‘o thirty in the morning, under the moon and stars, before the sun came up, in Death Valley.  While T1D can obviously be a frustrating and bedeviling disease, that moment (and plenty of others like it) are a reminder that working for a world without it can be an equally awesome, joyful and – sometimes – breathtakingly beautiful experience.

Breakthrough T1D has been an indescribable gift to our family – a source of support, hope and progress in the face of the daily grind that is T1D.  I’m honored to be your Executive Director, and we’ve got a fantastic team in the GCP Chapter – so please don’t hesitate to let us know whenever we can be of assistance.  Together, we WILL create a World without T1D.