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Jen Block, FNP, RN, CDE, CDTC, pursued a career in diabetes education, clinical research, and diabetes clinical care after she was diagnosed with T1D 19 years ago. Jen has recently joined the team at Bigfoot Biomedical, Inc. where she works as the Director of Clinical Innovation. She enjoys participating in Friends for Life, and is looking forward to working in the Grandparents Program this summer! |
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Jane Hunsche, RN, is the mother of Kara and Philip and wife of Dave. Kara was diagnosed in 2001 at the age of 6. Jane has been advocating for Kara and others with diabetes ever since. Jane is a Registered Nurse; she worked in Neonatal Intensive Care for 21 years has now moved on to Adult Home Care. Jane teaches adults with type 2 how to care for their diabetes. She says she is "thrilled to be able to give back to CWD families for all that has been given to us." |
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Pam Loebner is a California public elementary school teacher who has worked in both special education and regular education classrooms for 25 years. Since becoming a CWD mom, Pam has assisted the district nurse with education for families and teachers when newly diagnosed or newly enrolled students arrive. While always working as an advocate for student needs, Pam focuses on ensuring equal access to all school activities for children with diabetes. Pam discovered the CWD website 30 minutes after her daughter's diagnosis in June 2002 when Sarah was 9 1/2. Pam and her family haven't missed a CWD conference since. |
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Henry Rodriguez, MD, is a highly regarded pediatric diabetologist and collaborative type 1 diabetes clinical researcher who led the Indiana University (IU) DPT-1 Regional Recruitment Center and served as the highly successful IU TrialNet Clinical Center’s Clinical Director for 10 years. He joined the University of South Florida College of Medicine in 2010 as a Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Director of the USF Diabetes Center. He has led expansion of clinical, educational, and clinical research activities at USF including launch of the USF T1D Exchange Clinical Center, markedly increasing local TrialNet recruitment activities, and partnering with industry in investigating novel therapies in type 1 and pediatric type 2 diabetes. Dr. Rodriguez is the Protocol Chair for the NIH-funded TrialNet Pathway to Prevention Study and serves on numerous TrialNet committees. He is a member of the ADA National Board, Professional Practice Committee and the Research Grant Review Committee and has been a longstanding volunteer with JDRF and a staunch supporter of diabetes camps. He has also been the member of working groups addressing insulin pump therapy in children and the transition of young adults from pediatric to adult diabetes care providers. His clinical and research foci are the improvement of lives impacted by diabetes while pursing prevention and a cure. |
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Janet Rodriguez BSN, RN, CDE, is the insulin pump and CGM specialist and a certified diabetes educator at the USF Diabetes Center in Tampa, FL. She cares for adult and pediatric patients. She is a certified trainer for ACCU-CHEK, Asante, Animas, OmniPod, Medtronic, and Tandem insulin pumps as well as Dexcom and Medtronic CGMs. She participates in diabetes research. Her interests are in data management software, data interpretation, and insulin adjustment. She has volunteered at diabetes camps for 20 years. She was previously a Pediatric ICU nurse. |
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Peggy Scoggin, MSN, CDE, has been a nurse since the 1970s. Her nursing career veered toward diabetes education in the mid 1980s when her two young children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She has been a CDE (diabetes educator) for the past 25 years in pediatric, adult and pregnancy programs, but primarily has focused on children/teens and families living with diabetes. Currently, she is supervisor/lead CDE of the CHOC Children's Hospital Pediatric Diabetes Program in Orange, California. Her passion has been developing creative educational classes for children and teens so that they get a good start with diabetes. She has also developed classes addressing preconception issues for young women and preparation for college's exposure to risky behavior. Peggy joins the Grandparent Faculty as a CWD veteran mom and now a grandmother herself. |
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Joe Solowiejczyk, RN, MSW, CDE is a diabetes nurse educator and family therapist who has has been working as a clinician in the diabetes field for over 35 years. In addition, he's a "person living with diabetes, type 1" for over 50 years. He is author of the recently released book "A Type 1 Diabetes Guide to the Universe" and is president and founder of A Mile In My Shoes, a consulting company that provides counseling and education to patients and their families as well as training and supervision for healthcare professionals. He is a nationally and internationally well-known public speaker and trainer, integrating his personal experiences of living with diabetes into unique and creative treatment strategies for adults and families. As a Diabetes Educator and Family Therapist he specializes in making the link between how families communicate and support each other to how children manage and take care of their diabetes, helping both children and families cope more effectively with the daily challenges of living with diabetes. He has a particular expertise in working with teens who are having difficulty with their diabetes, helping them and their families adopt more effective coping strategies. |
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Heather Speer, MPH, CCRC, CDE, is a CWD mom and CDE who has worked tirelessly for the last 20 years with thousands of families who have children with type 1 diabetes. She has served as coordinator of the PADRE Foundation's Fashion Show, Golf Tournament, Teen Surf and Snowboard Camps and Family Social events. She has developed education and support programs for kids with diabetes and their families. Heather instituted an emergency kit program for all newly diagnosed children at Children's Hospital Orange County when her daughter Stephanie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age three in 1990. Heather joined the CWD Ask the Diabetes Team in 1996. She lives with her husband Steve in Newport Beach, California and continues to work with children and families at CHOC. At Friends for Life, Heather is part of the Grandparents' Faculty. |
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