Kerry Murphy
Founder, Executive Director
Kerry is a passionate advocate for students with T1D dedicated to ensuring their medical safety and access to a Free Appropriate Public Education. Through her advocacy, she highlights the obligation of schools to embrace current technology and FOLLOW T1D CGMs, FOLLOW parent input, and FOLLOW federal laws to ensure the safety of students with T1D.
The Familial Web of T1D
Ten years into her marriage, Kerry’s husband was diagnosed with T1D at 37, after initially being misdiagnosed with Type 2, despite his sister's T1D diagnosis at age 12. The pattern of T1D diagnoses continued with their niece at age 2, who is now 13, and their daughter, diagnosed at age 3 and now 10. Both of their adult sons have tested positive for T1D antibodies and are part of the TrialNet risk screening network at the University of Virginia, which offers free screening for diabetes-related autoantibodies in first-degree relatives.
Advocacy Begins at Home
Kerry's advocacy journey began while securing accommodations for her daughter as she entered kindergarten, which the school district begrudgingly provided. For many years, she heard of other families in her district and nationwide being refused the same non-negotiable medically necessary accommodations. This inequity fueled her passion for equal access to care for all students with T1D. Many parents, exhausted from managing their child's T1D needs and overwhelmed by the emotional toll of the diagnosis, lack the energy and knowledge of the laws that support them, to advocate effectively. Kerry aims to support and empower these families by ensuring schools comply with federal laws and provide necessary accommodations so every child with T1D receives the care they deserve. She wants to prevent parents from fighting the same battle repeatedly, ensuring that victories benefit all children with T1D, not just their own.
FOLLOWT1Ds
Recognizing the challenges faced by families across the country, Kerry began collecting stories from parents and rallying families to unite in their efforts to keep their kids safe at school. In July 2023, she founded FOLLOWT1Ds with the vision of creating a powerful network of parent led advocates for students with T1D. This organization aims to educate and empower parents’ to hold their schools accountable and ensure they comply with federal laws, safeguarding the well-being of their students with T1D nationwide and to educate and compel stakeholders, including Diabetes Healthcare providers, school district administrations, school boards, state education departments, nursing professionals, and more in their children’s academic journey to advocate for following the law and medical safety and access to their education. Through her advocacy she has become entrenched in the T1D community as an active DIY Looper, T1D patient advocate, and congressional lobbyist.
Advocacy and Volunteer Roles
Breakthrough T1D
Participant Advisory Council
2024-Present
PAC members are available to researchers/investigators in the early stages of clinical trial design and help to identify barriers to participating trials, and thus alleviate those barriers to increase participation.
International Diabetes Federation
Blue Circle Voices Network: Patient Voices Advocate
2024-Present
Launched in 2016, Blue Circle Voices (BCV) is an IDF initiative that aims to represent the interests of people living with, or affected by, diabetes, through a global network of members and other stakeholders.
Our BCV advocates include people with diabetes and caregivers of people with diabetes, who all share a common goal: to improve the lives of people living with diabetes and prevent the condition in those at risk.
Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition
Champion Corps: Patient Voices Advocate
2023-Present
Elevating the voices of diabetes patients across the country, locally, and in my personal connections with Type 1 Diabetes, about issues and legislation impacting the diabetes community on both state and federal levels.
DiabetesMine, D-Data Exchange
Selected as a scholarship winner to: “help express the community’s needs and desires to decision-makers in pharma, medtech design, software and app development, medical device regulation, national advocacy groups and more.”
Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition
Patient Voices Advocate
2023-Present
Attended Virtual Hill Day 2023 and met with Virginia congressional staff members to advocate for legislative issues and bills affecting the diabetes community on behalf of DPAC.
