Meet Alex Barker!

Tell us about yourself:
I was adopted from Santiago, Chile, but grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland. I recently moved back from living in Nashville, TN the last 10 years. I attended Vanderbilt University (where I met my boyfriend, Ryan) and then worked for the Breakthrough T1D Middle Tennessee chapter for 5 years. Ryan and I moved up to Washington, DC in December. I am INCREDIBLY blessed that there was a job opening at this chapter, and I am so excited to be a part of our team!

Favorite things: I love to cook/bake, play with my three cats (Missy, Henry, & Genevieve), watch movies, work out/go for a hike, take adventurous vacations, and spend quality time with family and friends.

Describe your history with type 1 diabetes & your relationship with Breakthrough T1D.
My first interaction with T1D was one of my very close friends from college, Lisa. Knowing her was a bit of a calling to me to be even more involved with Breakthrough T1D. I love and believe wholeheartedly in our mission and knew that I could make a difference in the lives of those living with and affected by T1D by working for Breakthrough T1D.

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?
As someone who came to Breakthrough T1D with a limited understanding about T1D and about all the incredible work Breakthrough T1D does, I was astounded upon seeing the hard working staff and volunteers that call this group their family. The drive and determination to see a cure come to fruition is addicting and that motivated me to become more involved with our organization. Seeing my work come to life and making a difference in the lives of the families I worked for was really inspiring. No one asks to be a part of Breakthrough T1D through a T1D diagnosis, but the family that we have is unbreakable, and I believe that together, we can create a world without type 1 diabetes!

Meet Zack Folan!

Tell us about yourself:
I am a 32 year old father of three – nine and seven year old daughters and a one year old baby boy – and they are absolutely the lights of my life. I’ve spent my entire professional career in the world of sports business.

Favorite things: I’m a MAJOR fan of Star Wars (there’s a Vader quote on my office whiteboard as I type), love talking politics, enjoy learning about history, have a passion for science (space, specifically – call me if you have never looked through a telescope at the night sky and I’ll be happy to meet you somewhere so you can have your mind blown) and genuinely believe that a stranger is simply a friend you haven’t met yet.

Describe your history with type 1 diabetes & your relationship with Breakthrough T1D.
I was diagnosed with type 1 at age 18 on December 7th, 2001. No form of diabetes runs in my family, so it was a fairly big surprise for me. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a position that did more than just make money for a company.  Being able to work for Breakthrough T1D and be part of improving the lives of people with T1D is  a dream come true.

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?
Have you ever wanted to put your time and effort into a project that has positive real life consequences, helping hundreds of thousands of kids and many more hundreds of thousands of adults, and the millions of their family members across the US, with tangible and noticeable results? There’s no better way to do that than to support the Breakthrough T1D cause of turning Type One into Type None!