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The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.
Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes.
Learn more at BlueCircleHealth.org
Decisions about insulin, diabetes
technology, education, and insurance
are often made in rooms most of
us will never enter, and that
can make advocacy feel like a job
reserved only for policy experts.
But your lived experience may be
actually the most valuable thing you can
bring and is often the missing piece.
Today, I'm talking with Susan Weiner
about how small, practical actions
can help move diabetes policy forward,
even if Washington isn't in your plans.
But before we continue, I need to
remind you that we're not providing
medical advice or endorsing any
specific products or brands.
We'll always encourage you to consult your
healthcare team for personalized guidance
Susan, it's so good to have you here.
You know, we've known each other for
a long time, so this feels less like
an official podcast interview and
more like a chance to catch up about
something we both care deeply about.
Thanks so much for joining me
Absolutely.
It's my pleasure.
I welcome the opportunity always
to chat with you and catch up,
and especially about advocacy.
I can't wait for this conversation.
I'm excited.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You know, you've spent so much of your
career making diabetes information
more practical, compassionate,
and human, but I'd love for our
listeners to hear it from you.
How do you describe the work that you
do, and what's kept you so connected to
the diabetes community over the years?
A lot of the work that I do is taking
practical information and scientific
information and turning it into
strategies for everyday life, and
whether that's with a client or person
that I work with that lives with
diabetes or another chronic condition.
And for healthcare professionals,
there's a lot of information there.
I love to turn everything into
real life, what actually works
for people in their life.
So that is all about collaboration.
Nothing should just be told to a person.
Everything is about collaborating
and meeting a person where they are.
And all of the work that I do in
diabetes is to support people who I
love in my family and my friends who
live with diabetes, and people that
I've met over the years, just like
you, who are living with diabetes.
Hearing your stories and everything that
you do and things that you are passionate
about, I stand behind, and I advocate for,
and that's really what my work is about.
And whether that's one-on-one
working with somebody or working on
committees, speaking, writing, all
the events and organizations that I
work with, it's just what I love to
do, what I'm very passionate about.
I hope that comes across.
It definitely does come across, Susan.
You're like a, a beacon that
has been there for, um, solid,
compassionate diabetes care
for as long as I can remember.
So, uh, it, it means a lot to me to, to
have a chance to catch up with you again.
You recently joined advocates from
across the diabetes community at DPAC's
Community Hill Day in Washington, and
some of my Blue Circle Health colleagues,
including Len, Sarah, and Sherry, were
there, too, and we're, we'll use that
experience as a starting point today.
But our larger conversation is really
about making advocacy feel more
approachable, really wherever and
however someone chooses to participate.
So before we get into what
happened in Washington, I'd love
to understand how advocacy became a
part of the work that you're doing.
Um, was there a particular experience,
maybe a person or a recurring barrier,
that made you realize that helping
people individually really wasn't enough,
that that broader change on that, uh,
um, advocacy level was also needed?
Interesting point, Scott.
I, I love that you asked me this question
because we don't think of advocacy
all the time in the smaller sense.
We just go completely full on to
the higher- Mm … policy level.
But the truth is, as a diabetes care and
education specialist in private practice
and as a registered dietician, I am
always advocating for one-on-one with the
clients, the patients that I work with,
whether it's for an insurance denial or
not having medical nutrition therapy or
wanting them to be able to have their
children screened for type 1 diabetes,
for a whole host of different issues.
So a lot of that came up.
But in my practice, I know we'll talk
more about this of what happened when
we went to Washington, I really was
alarmed at people who need medical
nutrition therapy, because of my work
as a registered dietician, and med-
and not understanding what medical
nutrition therapy is, so that that is
something that people are missing out on.
It's not telling people what to eat.
It's advocating to help them take whatever
is going on medically and translating
that into the information that they need.
And a lot of people lose access to
medical nutrition therapy, or MNT-
Uh-huh … when either insurance
changes or they're on Medicare.
So that is something that I'm very
passionate about, in addition to,
uh, getting screened early for type 1
diabetes, insulin access, the Obesity
Care Act, Chronic Care Pain Management
Act, and, and all of those other things.
But that's something that's often
overlooked and makes such a huge
difference in people's life.
It's all about what you eat, right?
A lot of the times when you're
looking at different pieces and how
that is affected by your culture,
your budget, your lifestyle.
So that's one thing that I'm
very passionate about that
is often not talked about.
Yeah, absolutely.
A- a- as a healthcare professional
advocating alongside people living with
diabetes, how do you contribute your
deep expertise in all of those areas
while also keeping the lived experience
and, and patient voices at the center?
That's something that I see
you especially strong at.
Well, thank you for saying that.
To me, advocacy is standing besides
a person with diabetes, alongside a
person who is living with diabetes
to support what their goals are.
It's all in collaboration, and into that,
I bring more healthcare professionals,
people on the healthcare team who
never thought about what advocacy
means at all the different levels.
So a person's lived experience,
a person's story is what is
important in making changes.
And the more that people get into the
conversation, all our voices together,
that's what makes a very big difference.
Not one person's small voice,
but everyone's voices together
Yeah.
What do you think most often keeps
people from becoming involved, and,
and what would you say to someone
who maybe worries that advocacy
is too political or too big or too
time-consuming or complicated for them?
It really ties into what you just
mentioned, that it's leveraging
those small voices, but together
it makes a big difference.
One of the big ones, just to get started
with, is that people don't think that
their voice is going to be strong enough,
and that it might be time-consuming,
and that they're not a policy expert.
The truth is that your lived
experience and your story is what
is going to stick with people.
That is what people
remember, a specific story.
And they can relate to that story
perhaps not only through, and this is
at higher levels, not only through your
story, but how that might have affected
a family member, a community member.
Yeah.
And at levels of senators and congressmen,
how it affects their constituents.
We are all constituents.
So getting started at whatever point
you're ready to get started at is
so important to share your voice.
And then that also inspires other
people to share their voices.
Yeah, very true.
When, when the opportunity arose to
participate in DPAC's 2026 Community
Hill Day, what, what made you say yes?
What were you hoping to learn or
contribute through that experience?
And, and we're gonna start kind of digging
into what that looked like for you.
So I am on the scientific advisory
council for Beyond Type 1, and this is
a volunteer role that I'm so passionate
about, and they do such great work.
And they are supporters and partners with
DPAC, so I came with the Type 1 group.
They're the first ones to reach out
to me to participate, so that was an
amazing experience to go with all those
champions of Beyond Type 1 with DPAC.
But DPAC does such incredibly
important work, and I believe in
their vision, their policies, and
their support to make changes, and so
I was inspired to come to Hill Day.
Yeah.
Wonderful.
Well let's, let's take listeners
inside the experience a little bit.
Most of us only see, like, the
photos afterward- Yes … and
the social media posts.
So let's, let's talk through what
actually happens during a Hill Day.
So you, you, many of you
arrive in Washington.
How did DPAC prepare this amazing
group for those meetings, and
what were you reassured that
you maybe didn't need to know?
You mentioned, like, you don't
need to be a policy expert, right?
Right.
So before we even came to Hill
Day, Deepak did an amazing job
of sending us tutorials, videos.
We even took a prep quiz so that you can
see if you had a good understanding of
some of the basics before we even arrived.
And when we had our preparation day,
which is the same day we arrived, we
went right to preparation day, which
was the day before we went on the Hill.
This was jam-packed with
incredible information.
So we received a great folder,
which I actually brought.
I don't know if this will translate
well, but this is the folder that we
received, and the reason that my folder
looks so messy is because I use it.
I still use it.
It has incredible information in it.
Yeah.
And the… And it was great.
So the day involved going through, in a
very organized way, discussion of what
to expect, but also through all the
different bills so that we would have
a good understanding of what are the
bills that we can discuss when we're
meeting with the different staff in the
different offices, which was incredible.
We were even able to view… They
put on a little mock role-playing
what might happen in the meetings.
And then at the end of this
fantastic meeting day, we were
able to meet with our groups.
I'm from New York, and because we are
all in a larger group from New York, our
New York group was split into two groups.
And in my group, I had the privilege
of working with Sherry and with
Sarah, which was phenomenal.
We really did a great job together.
It was fan- fantastic.
Everybody had different strong points,
and together that worked amazingly well.
So at the end of the day of
learning everything that we're
going to be seeing the next day,
we met together in our small group.
Why this was very important is that
we wouldn't speak over each other, and
we would each get our points across.
We each took a different piece that
we would focus on in the meetings.
Also knowing, and Deepak totally
prepared us for this- Not to be
upset if our 30-minute meeting
was not a sit-down meeting.
It could've been in the hallway,
which two of our meetings were.
If it wasn't 30 minutes, it
could've been a five-minute meeting.
And we prioritized what
we wanted to get across.
So I do not live with type 1 diabetes.
People who live with type 1 diabetes
may have talked about their diagnosis
story and why it's important to them
to promote the early T1 screening bill.
Yeah,
I c-
I spoke about diabetes self-management
training and support and medical
nutrition therapy as a way of an example.
So we all had our pieces, and it
really was seamless and phenomenal.
And I wanted to add, Scott, that
an excellent thing that DPAC
also did was a really basic dos
and don'ts of what to expect.
Yeah.
And what was one of the don'ts, which
was great, please don't expect to meet
with the actual senator or congressman.
You're going to meet with staff,
and that's super important because
they're really going to have the
time to listen, and they're going
to relay your messages directly.
They have the ear of the
senator and/or the congressman.
So that was really helpful.
That was great.
Yeah.
I can only imagine, you know, how
important it is for DPAC to sort
of set those expectations for you.
Well, so take us into your…
You know, you got that day
of, of preparation beforehand.
Right.
And then you walk into your first meeting.
What was that like for you?
Did it, did it match what they described?
Tell us, like hel- take us through that.
All of these meetings were very exciting,
and even with everything anybody could
think would ever about what's going
on in Washington, and we all do, and
there's a lot happening in Washington,
it's very awesome to walk through
these halls and to see everything.
It's a fantastic, excellent experience.
Um, even though it might not have the
outcome as immediately as we would like
it to have, we know that sharing our
voices over time will have an impact,
and that's what we want it to have.
Our first meeting was with Senator
Gillibrand's office, and that was
very exciting, and that staff member
was phenomenal and very interested
in any and all things diabetes.
We had our full 30-minute meeting,
and it was our first one, so we had
decided before we went in who would
take the lead, introduce us as, as
a group, what we were there for.
Although they have it on their
agenda, we took 30 seconds to
explain that and share our names.
They shared their business cards.
It was really an excellent experience.
And we went through our discussion
points, taking a breath so that
they can ask questions in between.
Yeah.
And this meeting went phenomenally
well because that staff member shared
a personal story about a family
member with diabetes who would have
benefited from the Early Screening Act.
So this was a fantastic conversation,
and we left that feeling really great
before we went into our next meeting.
Towards the end of the day, and I think
this is important for people to hear,
we had a meeting with a person that
was not the staffer that we expected
to have the meeting with, someone
who probably had this position for,
I don't know, all of 30 minutes So we
met in the hall, standing up for five
minutes, and we kept it very simple.
Only one of us spoke.
We, we knew to do that.
I'm glad it was the last meeting of
the day, and we left it with that.
We really… And of course, we send
thank yous afterwards via email.
We left it with, "Please, when you settle
in, contact us any time, or DPAC for more
information." So that went really well.
It was a great learning experience.
Yeah, and it sounds like you were
well prepared for, for y- just being
able to stay, kind of stay on your
toes with those last-minute changes or
having to take those hallway meetings.
During those meetings, whether
you're first or last or anywhere
in between, were there moments when
you noticed a staff member lean
in or, or ask follow-up questions?
You described how that first one
there was that personal connection.
Yes.
What did your experience throughout
the day teach you about the
role of those personal stories?
Personal stories were everything
And when people, even on your team,
Sarah shared her personal diagnosis
story, and they took that away.
Every time she shared it, that very
much impacted them, and they were able
to relate to that, and they were able
to say, "Really, we didn't know that.
We're going to take that back with us."
In terms of Diabetes Self-Management and
Training Act, they really took that away
as well because of the need for that
and the need for a breaking in care.
The Diabetes Act, which it's a very m-
it's an acronym for a very long bill- Yeah
… so I w- I won't go through all that.
But what it talks about is when
people's insurance change, their
diabetes care doesn't change.
They may be on the same technology
and insulin pumps for many years, and
all of a sudden they're on Medicare,
and they lose access to those
technologies, which affect everything.
So I spoke a lot about that when I
saw their ears perk up about a family
member or a community member that went
through a change in their insurance.
So we leaned in and, and stayed very
flexible, that's part of my role and
what I do during my career as well, to
follow the meeting to where it went.
And they were mostly extremely
interested in what we had to say.
And you have to take it also,
Scott, I think, that they're going
through these meetings all day long.
Right.
So if you leave them with a story
or something that's important
that they can relate to, that's
what will resonate with them.
And Deepak also did a fantastic job of
giving us the bills and the numbers of
the bills so that if they needed further
clarification after our short meetings,
they were able to quickly find it.
They didn't have to look it up, you
know, really scour through things.
The information was all there,
and we left them with information
as well, all provided by Deepak.
When the meetings were over,
did you, did you feel like your
participation had made a, a difference?
And talk to me a little bit
about what happens After Hill Day
I felt that we did make an impact.
And when we met with people that
evening from all the different
states from all over the country,
they felt the same way as well.
And advocacy does not end when
you leave a meeting like this.
Advocacy does not have to
start in a meeting like this.
If you're thinking of doing advocacy,
anybody who's listening today, join
an organization like dPAC or whatever
profe- professional organization,
community organization that you feel
would be a good match for you, and
sign up for their action alerts.
Watch one of their videos on updates
on what's going on on advocacy.
You could sign a letter to your
congressman or your senator.
You can go to a local town hall meeting.
You can send an email, much of
which will be templated for you
through a group that's already done.
So dPAC gave us excellent information
on how to follow up either with a
letter to an editor or doing something
locally, which is really what matters.
Sending an email and follow-up.
Again, staying on top of action alerts
because this is what people who are
elected officials are looking at.
But start with whatever works for
you, and please do not be overwhelmed.
Don't look at this as something
that's overly time-consuming.
What's not good is just to sit idle.
Any small thing that you do will
make a difference if many people
build their voices together.
I truly believe that.
Yeah, that comes through loud and clear,
and thank you for, for pointing that out.
All right, I feel like this is a good
place for us to take a quick break, and
when we come back, we're gonna keep going
into what you just mentioned, Susan.
We're gonna move beyond Capitol Hill
and talk about practical ways that
each of us can participate, even with
limited time, energy, or experience
One of my favorite things is sharing
a quick story from someone who's
participated in the Blue Circle Health
program, and we have one today from Isora
I was diagnosed last year.
"Oh, you're a type 1 diabetic.
You're a LADA." And I'm like, "Uh,
excuse me?" And, um, she's like,
"Yeah, your whole life's gonna change."
She said it so casually that I didn't
have the information that I needed.
I had so many questions.
I felt alone.
I was in this massive learning
curve, and I was experiencing
things I'd never experienced before.
I, I was just flying by and googling
things, and this girl looks at
me and goes, "Are you type 1?"
She was like, "Oh, it's gonna
be okay." And she was the one
that told me about Blue Circle.
It's a total night and
day, like a conversion.
They modeled things for me.
They, they held my hand, and they showed
me, "This is, this is what we do. This
is how we do it. This is the s- this
is the process." And that was amazing.
Thank you, Isora.
Before we get back to my conversation with
Susan, I wanna point you towards a few
organizations that can help make diabetes
advocacy feel much more approachable.
As we're talking about today, the
Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition,
or DPAC, helps people understand the
policy decisions affecting diabetes care
and turn that knowledge into action.
They offer, as you hear Susan describe,
training, action alerts, and opportunities
to share your experience with policymakers
at both the state and federal levels.
The American Diabetes Association
also has a broad advocacy program
focused on issues such as affordable
access to insulin, medications,
technology, healthcare, and protections
for people living with diabetes.
Breakthrough T1D is probably best
known for its work supporting type
1 diabetes research, but advocacy is
also an important part of its mission.
Its advocacy team and volunteer advocates
work to support government funding for T1D
research and policies that improve access
to treatments and technology Now, you
don't need to join every organization or
take action on every issue, but take some
time to explore what each group is working
on and see whether one of their priorities
connects to something that you care about.
Blue Circle Health also has
a couple of recorded webinars
that can help you go deeper.
Advocacy Made Simple, an introduction to
diabetes advocacy with DPAC, explains how
policy advocacy works and offers practical
ways to get involved and introduces
you to some of the leadership at DPAC.
And then in Everyday Advocacy, small
ways to make a big difference with type
1 diabetes, Steph Ash, who is a advocacy
powerhouse, explores the many forms
advocacy can take in healthcare, at work,
in communities, and in our everyday life.
And we'll link all of these,
uh, organizations and both
webinars in the show notes.
So pick the resource and the level of
involvement that feels right for you.
One more quick thing before
we return to the episode.
Blue Circle Health has been nominated
as a finalist in the 2026 Impact Awards.
We're incredibly honored and excited
for the opportunity to help even more
people with T1D, but we need your help.
Every day from now until August
14th, please visit redsox.com/impact
and vote for Blue Circle Health.
We're in the New Hampshire category.
You can vote once per day, and
every vote, every day counts.
Thanks so much for your support.
Welcome back.
Susan, before the break, you took us
inside Deepak's Community Hill Day and
showed us what advocacy can look like
in Washington, but most listeners may
never attend a Hill Day, and as you
mentioned, they shouldn't need to.
Let's bring this conversation
home and talk about some
practical, everyday opportunities.
So if someone cares about improving
life with diabetes, but maybe
feels overwhelmed or unsure where
to begin, what's the smallest
meaningful step that they could take?
So important to have this
discussion, Scott, isn't it?
Because people just don't
know where to start.
And when they do see the pictures
from Hilliday, they're like, "Oh my
goodness, do I need to start there?"
Yeah.
No, you don't.
It might be something that you
will eventually do or want to do
and have the opportunity to do it.
But no, get your feet wet in a
place that's comfortable for you.
So I want to mention that DPAC has
just updated their advocacy toolkit.
So even if you reach out to them and
look at what they provide as an advocacy
toolkit, that can be a great thing for you
to browse through and see what's there.
But look at the advocacy updates
from various organizations.
So because of my interest in
diabetes, I look at the DPAC advocacy
updates and participate in those.
And I also look at them through my other
professional organizations, like the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, for
example, to promote medical nutrition
therapy, which DPAC does as well.
I look at those through the Obesity
Association to see what some of
their advocacy might be as well.
And I also have so many people that I
collaborate with who live with diabetes
who are on GLP-1s, and that's another
interest of mine now because their
lack of medical nutrition therapy-
Hmm
…
um, access is now changing because
they may be on GLP-1 therapy.
So there's a lot that goes on there.
But start small with those updates.
And you will also see in joining
them that something as simple as
social media updates can be shared.
That's something that you're interested in
if you're working with a group like DPAC
or another group, like I said, the Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics I work with as
well, on their policy updates, the Obesity
Association as well, to look at that.
You can write a letter to
the editor of a local paper.
DPAC, in their toolkit, gives you
a template of a letter, and they
also offer that they can look at
it and give you pointers on it.
They tell you how long it should
be, who you should write to,
the language you should use.
It can all be done for you that way.
But I also like in person.
I think we all do, right, Scott?
Like, after being separated for a
long period of time, sometimes we
like to see each other in person.
Attend a local town hall meeting
if it is a subject that you think
that you can share something that
you're passionate about, or at a
local library, or at your church.
This can be something that can
be So incredibly helpful for your
community and to raise awareness.
So those are the places
that I would start.
Nothing has to be polished.
Polished is not always great when
it comes to sharing your story.
It's great to share it from the
heart, what you're passionate about.
And another piece I wanna share, don't
worry, you don't have to overshare.
If you feel that something is too
personal, tone it down a little bit.
Share what makes you feel comfortable.
Do you have any thoughts or tips there?
You know, if someone wants to share their
experience, I think that there's this
sense that it needs to be this clear,
polished story that's quick and efficient.
But how can they sort of work through
what's in their head and their heart,
uh, without feeling like they need
to become a polished speaker or maybe
disclose more than what feels comfortable?
Excellent way to put it.
Instead of thinking polished,
think authentic Think honest.
Those are the words that I use.
If your story is authentic, if it's
honest, that's what will resonate.
People remember it when they tell, as
you're telling your story, that it's
something that's important to you.
Because believe me, they will know
somebody that that may affect, and that
will be amplified when you share it
honestly and how it's important to you.
When it's too polished, people
know when things are too polished.
That does not come
across very well at all.
The comfort part that you spoke
about, Scott, is extremely important.
Sometimes when I'm going to give a talk
on a topic that maybe it's the first time
I'm speaking on something, I bounce it
off my husband or a friend or a relative,
not necessarily another healthcare
professional or one of my clients.
I bounce it off somebody who has really
no other skin in the game to hear what
I'm saying to make sure that I'm sounding
like I'm relaying the story comfortably.
Yeah.
And I think that that's really important.
Yeah, I love that.
And I also think it gives people
an easy thing to remember.
It's not about polished, it's about
authentic, and I think we can be authentic
without too much, without too much work.
In fact, it's probably even
the less work we put into being
authentic, the more authentic it is.
Absolutely.
It's a great memory.
Absolutely.
I think, I think that one thing
that dPAP did prepare us for in
giving these, I don't know that they
use the word authentic, that's my-
Sure
…
take on everything, but what
they did prepare us for is time.
So if you know that you have a limited
time to share in a town hall meeting
or maybe a virtual meetup that you're,
you're sharing w- on online or, you
know, in a Zoom meeting that can get the
point across, you do have to practice
getting your time in a certain space
so that you don't get cut, cut off
and that your message does get shared.
But keep it true to yourself.
Keep it authentic.
That's what people will remember.
They'll remember you.
They'll remember your story.
I know that I do.
Throughout the decades I've been doing
this- Mm-hmm … I know I remember
people who have authentic stories.
That's why I'm an advocate
Yeah.
Thank you.
And that's a great call-out to be
mindful of the limited time that's
available and, and be sure to prioritize,
uh, what your, your messaging is.
Right.
Now, D-PAC offers one pathway into this,
into this work, but people may connect
with different, uh, issues, organizations,
or communities, such as you mentioned, all
the different professional organizations-
Yes
…
that you're involved in.
What, what would you recommend
listeners look for when they're
choosing where and how to participate?
Look at what is important to you.
So if it's important to you in your
diabetes life to look at any piece of
it, whether it is medical nutrition
therapy, obesity care, insulin access,
affordability, insurance problems,
whatever you think that the passion
is, look for organizations that might
be looking at advocacy at that level.
And then take a little
time, do a little research.
It could be with your peers in the
diabetes online community or in other
diabetes communities, look at it that way.
But take your time and look at those
organizations under their advocacy.
So the larger organizations,
and I won't name them all
here, all have advocacy arms.
They all do.
They have advocacy arms, and those
advocacy arms do spend their time on
Capitol Hill, but they also spend it
locally, and they s- they spend it in your
town, whether it's in person or online.
So look at what they're doing before you
try to reinvent the wheel, and see if
there is something that speaks to you.
You may see something that reaches
to exactly what you are looking for,
where they already have the advocacy
outlined, and you can get your
updates, and you can participate.
And there may be a subgroup under that
advocacy that you want to take a role in.
Maybe participating in a group, or
maybe more of a leadership role.
Your call.
It may not only be writing a letter to
the editor or attending a town hall.
Maybe you take the next step and make
a phone call to your senator, your
congressman, or your local legislator.
It depends on what you want to do, but
everybody should have a voice in this.
And again, the more small voices
we have, it leads to a big change.
Yeah, that's really great.
And I'm so glad you mentioned that too,
because it brings to mind that maybe
someone who's listening, they're not
someone who feels comfortable being
out in front or on camera or going
to the meetings, and there are still
many ways that you can participate.
So these, all of these organizations
need lots of help even- Yes
behind the scenes.
And so, uh, I, I really love your
recommendation to just kind of check
out these groups that are out there
and find ways to get involved, and even
ask them, "What do you need help with?
And if I'm not comfortable going to a
meeting or sending an email, are there
other ways that I can get involved?"
I think that's a great
message there as well.
Advocacy can be slow and
emotionally draining, especially
when someone's already carrying
the daily work of, of diabetes.
Do you have any thoughts on how
someone might set some boundaries,
um, recognize progress within this
slow work, and stay involved without
turning advocacy into another big,
overwhelming responsibility in their life?
That's exactly right.
There's so much that someone has
to do who's living with diabetes or
anyone who's living with diabetes
and multiple conditions, and life.
There's a lot going on with life.
So even though you may be thinking as
an advocate that you want to do a lot
of things, I always recommend starting
small, starting very small, and keeping…
I don't wanna use the word expectations,
I just want to say keep what you think
is going to happen in perspective.
That's a better word.
Keep everything in perspective.
When I went to Hill Day, I purposely
wore a blue dress with red shoes.
I was going to be as apolitical
as possible going in there.
Even what I was wearing, like no anything.
I just went- Yeah … in that
way, keeping everything neutral,
which is what we have to do.
Even though the staff was of a Republican
congressman or Democratic seme- senator,
I kept it, you know, in, in that way.
And things obviously move very slow in
Washington, so keep that in perspective.
But, but when they hear these stories,
we're seeing things very slowly move, and
I want to say that I believe that it's the
work of the advocates that help make that
wheel turn, and that's what you can do.
Remember, it can be very small, and it
should s- start out small without you
feeling that it's time-consuming or
overwhelming, but it has to continue.
So I came away thinking about what I
can do next, whether that is writing
letters, staying active on social media.
I think I just posted something small
yesterday on LinkedIn just about keeping
people up to mind of keeping up with
promoting these bills and sending
letters about these bills to make
sure that it just doesn't end there.
Because it never ends.
There's just always something else that
we can be doing to improve lives of
people living with diabetes, not to make
it more burdensome by taking more on
Yeah, very well said.
As we begin to wrap up here, I
wanna come back to the listener
who may still be thinking, "Oh,
I'm, I'm not really an advocate."
What would you want that
person to understand about the
value of their experience and
their ability to contribute?
Your story matters, so please share
what's important to you to people who
really do care, whether that's in a
very small way in a social media post,
resending something in a social media
post, or looking at a toolkit from
any organization, including DPAC, only
because I just got my updated toolkit
that's on my mind to, to look at.
And look at something that might work for
you, or attend something locally in your
community that you may find impactful.
But you do matter, and you are
important, and if we just sit back
and don't do anything, nothing is
gonna change, and that's for sure.
Yeah.
Again, very well said.
Where can people connect with you if they
wanna follow up on anything or learn more
about the great work that you're doing?
Well, thank you so much.
Email me.
I'm great with email.
My email is
susan@susanweinernutrition.com.
So
anytime, reach out.
Scott will tell you I'm easy to find,
so just reach out and I will respond.
Thank you.
Amazing.
Thank you so much, Susan.
It's been really great
having you on the show today.
Thank you so much, and thank
you for this opportunity.
It was awesome to catch up with you.
Susan, thank you for sharing
this experience with us and for
helping make advocacy feel less
intimidating and much more human.
As you shared, advocacy doesn't
have to begin in Washington.
It can begin with one issue you care
about, one part of your experience
you're comfortable sharing, or one
small action that fits your life.
You don't need to understand every
bill, respond to every alert,
or become a full-time advocate.
Your voice has tremendous value, no
matter where you decide to use it.
Again, we'll include links in the show
notes to dPAC and the other organizations
and resources where you can learn more,
explore current issues, and find a way
to participate that feels right for you.
Until next time, keep living well with T1D