On July 1, the Breakthrough T1D New Jersey Metro & Rockland County Chapter welcomed Andy Drechsler as the new President of the Board of Directors. A familiar face to many, Andy has been on the Chapter Board since 2020 and has been involved in many events including our Jersey Shore One Walk, the One Dream Gala and the Breakthrough T1D Golf Classic.

Andy and his wife Moira are the parents of four children. Three of them have type one diabetes (T1D). Their son Thomas (19) was diagnosed at just 22 months in 2005 in severe DKA. Their daughter Avery (21) was diagnosed at age 10 in 2012 and their son William (15) was diagnosed at age 5 in 2013. Their daughter Amelia (18) is T1D-free and is screened regularly.

Andy and Moira have been committed to the Breakthrough T1D cause since Tommy’s diagnosis. The Drechsler family has been involved in many Breakthrough T1D One Walks at the Avon by the Sea/Jersey Shore location. Both Avery and Tommy served as Youth Ambassadors, and more recently the family has attended the One Dream Gala.

Andy says, “Everyone living with T1D provides us with great inspiration. We also appreciate the parents and caregivers of T1Ds. We are so happy to see the improvements in pumps and CGMs for those living with T1D. We are also thrilled to see therapies to delay the onset of T1D. Ultimately, we are confident that cell therapies and the involvement of companies like Vertex will allow many to live without T1D someday.”

Andy spent most of his career in biotech and life sciences. His professional life intersected with his personal life when he helped start-up Provention Bio in 2017. Provention Bio was focused on intercepting and preventing autoimmune disorders. In fact, Provention developed and then launched TZield, the first approved drug proved to delay the onset of T1D. Provention was recently acquired by Sanofi.

The Drechslers currently reside in Avon by the Sea, NJ. Moira is a nurse practitioner at Jersey Shore Medical Center. Avery is a senior at Rutgers, Tommy is a sophomore at Rowan, Amelia is a freshman at Providence, and Will is a sophomore at CBA.

We are thrilled to welcome Andy into this leadership role with the Chapter Board. And as we welcome Andy, we would be remiss if we didn’t thank Dave Goodes for his service. Since 2020, Dave has led his fellow board members and played a vital role in executing fundraising, leadership, and advocacy activities to benefit local families and push our research forward.

We can’t thank Dave enough for his contributions to our community, and we can’t wait to see what Andy will accomplish for our community in the years ahead.