The Young Leadership Committee (YLC) is a group of young professionals living with T1D or affected by T1D that are dedicated to raising awareness and funds for Breakthrough T1D. The committee hosts various fundraising, networking, and social events that connect the young professional T1D community and foster an environment of year-round involvement. If you would like to get involved, please read more about our new Chair, Jeff Terhune, and email the committee at jdrf.ylc.greaterchesapeake@gmail.com.

What do you look forward to in your new volunteer role as YLC chair?

Engaging with everyone in YLC. I plan to continue to find spots we can go to unwind and hang out at the end of the work day and have fun events on the weekends. I want to connect everyone in our community and make sure we provide support to all. I’d enjoy for anyone to reach out to me with any questions or ideas at Jeff.Terhune3@gmail.com – I’m looking forward to another successful year in YLC!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) connection.

I was diagnosed at 14 years old. My dad was in the Army and we were stationed in Atlanta, GA at the time. I was the first in the family diagnosed with T1D so though it was initially a bit unnerving for everyone, being a military family meant we were used to facing the unknown. We took this as an opportunity for all of us to better understand the disease together.

A year after I was diagnosed, we moved to Ft. Benning, GA where I attended high school before going to the University of Georgia. After graduation, I worked for Lockheed Martin in Tampa for 3 years before coming to DC this past August. Currently, I’m the Business Development Manager for STEMconnector – a Science, Technology, Engineering & Math consulting company focused on increasing the STEM talent pipeline.

Why Breakthrough T1D?

Breakthrough T1D is an organization that offers valuable resources I wish I would have taken advantage of earlier. I used to think that living a life where Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t control you means thinking about it as little as possible. When I finally understood that wasn’t the case, I knew Breakthrough T1D was the organization to go to. Within the past 6 months I’ve been involved, I’ve met great friends, learned more about diabetes care than I ever did before, and understood that successfully living with T1D meant taking it on by doing my part to find a cure.