Karen McChesney is  the Advocacy Team Chair for the JDRF New England Chapter. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) when she was five years old, and her sister, Lauren, has had diabetes since she was three.

Karen’s family had been involved with JDRF fundraising events since her sister’s diagnosis, but Karen did not get involved with the advocacy side of JDRF until a few years ago when she went to her first Promise to Remember Me meeting. She loved the experience and attended another meeting with her sister and her seven-month-old niece, Ella. Karen said she felt so proud listening to her sister talk with former Senator Scott Brown about the difficulties of balancing motherhood and T1D. “A few months later, to our dismay, Ella was diagnosed with T1D,” Karen said. “With new motivation, I put my

emotions to work by becoming more involved in Advocacy.”

Government Day is Karen’s favorite JDRF Advocacy event because it is an empowering event that gives her the chance to meet Advocates from all over the country. Government Day also provides a chance to meet with Members of Congress, which Karen says can be very rewarding. “When you leave a meeting knowing you got through to someone – opened their eyes to what life with T1D is like – that’s the best,” she said.

Occasionally meetings with Representatives can be discouraging, Karen admits, and she says the greatest challenge with JDRF Advocacy is getting the message across. The gratifying meetings stick in her mind though, like when she went to a meeting at Representative Bill Keating’s office and saw he had a framed picture of her first Promise to Remember Me meeting. “Turns out we really made an impression on him,” Karen said. “He said he remembered meeting us and what promising young leaders we were, noting we were articulate and tuned into what’s going on in the world. Hearing things like that makes me so proud to be part of the groups JDRF brings into these meetings.”

Karen emphasized how easy it is to get involved with JDRF Advocacy. “It may sound intimidating or like a big commitment, but all it involves is talking about your diabetes,” she said.

This point is the focus of her six-word JDRF Advocacy memoir: All we need are our stories.