DPAC is proud to announce the
2018 Patient Advisory Board!
The members of the inaugural PAB will act as trusted spokespeople in all of DPAC’s advocacy efforts, promote DPAC’s mission within their communities, share their policy training skills, and much more. We welcome our new Patient Advisory Board.
Randall Barker
Randall Barker is a born and raised Texan. He attended Midwestern State University where he doubled majored in Biology and Chemistry. Randall has had Type 1 diabetes for over 27 years and his daughter, 15 years old, is also Type 1. Similar circumstances surrounded both his diagnosis and his daughter’s; both were diagnosed at age 10. Neither one was symptomatic when diagnosed and both diagnosis’ were made during routine medical visits. Randall became heavily involved in patient advocacy efforts after his daughter’s diagnosis. Most recently, Randall traveled to Washington D.C. to speak with Congressional Members regarding diabetes issues. He has also worked to start several Diabetes Awareness campaigns in his local community. Efforts included starting the local non-profit, the Texoma Diabetes Foundation. Randall has also written several articles online for various social media websites including Beyond Type 1 and The Diabetic Journey. Randall looks forward to bringing his experience of living with diabetes to the table on issues related to diabetes advocacy.
Erin Bubb
Erin hails from the great state of Michigan. She is a wife, mother, and lover of music, nature, and Michigan football. Her son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of five. Since then, she has immersed herself in learning all she can about this disease and how it impacts people. Erin has heard so many heart-wrenching stories that scream for change in the diabetes community. She has a passion to make these stories known and affect change. Erin currently volunteers on the Patient Advisory Counsel at her local hospital and enjoys connecting patients, caregivers, providers, and staff to help make Diabetes care a positive experience for all involved.
Martin J. Drilling
Martin J. Drilling was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in April of 1953. He is very active in clinical research: he was a participant in a 1974 NIH story of effectiveness of laser surgery to prevent blindness due to diabetes, a 2008 artificial pancreas study testing the effectiveness of CGM, and is in a 50-year medalist study being conducted at the Joslin Center in Boston. He also volunteers by speaking to groups on living successfully with diabetes. Martin earned a bachelor’s degree at Fordham University in 1970 and a JD at the Boston College Law School in 1974. He was a solo practitioner in Plymouth, Massachusetts before he retired in 2017. He has been married to wife Maureen for 45 years, and has two children and four grandchildren.
Laurel Garrison
Laurel is an epidemiologist by training and became involved in diabetes advocacy when her daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 16 months old. Her experience includes working for and with governmental agencies, using scientific evidence to form national public health policy, creating health education materials, and writing and responding to legislators. She is passionate about advocating for diabetes research funding as well as healthcare coverage and affordability. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati, OH.
Andrea Herndon
Andrea Herndon has been living with diabetes for 14 years. She was originally diagnosed as type 2, but five years ago realized that she is LADA type 1.5 at a TCOYD conference. Upon returning home, she had a C-Peptide test done and the LADA diagnosis was official. Her experience taught her that knowledge is power and the importance of being her own advocate.Since her corrected diagnosis, Andrea has been an advocate for the American Diabetes Association and recently attended her second Call to Congress. She also leads a support group through Diabetes Sisters. She has more time to pursue her advocacy efforts now that she is recently retired. She has two recently-married children and is patiently waiting for grandchildren. She wants to do everything she can to work towards a cure so that her future grandchildren and other young people can live without the struggles she lives with.
Moira McCarthy Stanford
Moira McCarthy has been an active advocate in the diabetes space since shortly after her then six-year- old daughter, Lauren Stanford, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1997. Since they she has served as National Chair of Grass Roots Advocacy for JDRF, ChairMom of JDRF’s Children’s Congress, and was named JDRF International Volunteer of the Year in 2007, much for her work on Capitol Hill. She has also served on the board of the Barton Center for Diabetes Education, the Diabetes Education Camp Association, and as Chairman of the Board of the Diabetes Scholars Foundation. She speaks nationally and internationally on family diabetes topics, and is the author of numerous books on the topic. She lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts with her husband, Sean, and is an avid skier, tennis player, runner and grandmother.
David Richer, Ed.D
David is currently a school psychologist with the Riverside County Office of Education. In that position, David provides psychoeducational support and services for the students in special education programs operated by the Riverside County Office of Education. He has over 30 years of experience advocating for children with disabilities. This experience includes positions as a school psychologist, program specialist and special education director, in both rural and urban settings. He was diagnosed in 2014 with Type 2 Diabetes.David’s professional interests include crisis counseling, supporting students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, supporting students who are deaf or are hard-of hearing, and meeting children’s mental/behavioral needs. David has a Doctorate in Education from the University of La Verne and a BA and MA in psychology from California State University, Northridge.
Victoria Riggle
Victoria “Vikki” Riggle retired after more than 40 years in the field of human resource management and non-profit administration. During her primary career, she also spent many years as an adult educator, providing work-related training topics and teaching classes in at the University of Phoenix Baton Rouge. Ms. Riggle also became a well known public speaker at the state and national level, conducting workshops and training sessions on a variety of topics. After her diagnosis of diabetes at age 41, Riggle found the lack of knowledge about her disease, even among some medical practitioners, to be very concerning. She has realized that educating people to the truths and the differences in these two diseases has become a way of life.
Lucy Trankina
Lucy grew up outside Chicago, Il. and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 15. She has been on an insulin pump ever since, which has made a huge difference in her management. Since her diagnosis, Lucy’s passion has become helping people through adversity. She has volunteered in homeless shelters and with children in the foster care system. Her career has been in volunteer management for non-profits. Lucy loves to read, write, paint, and go on hikes with her dog. She is looking forward to using her experience and knowledge to help those who also have diabetes.