Christina Roth

Adversity: Type 1 diabetes

Advocacy: Founded the College Diabetes Network

“I’m honored to be an advocate, along with so many inspiring individuals, and I’m passionate about empowering students and professionals living with Type 1 diabetes.”

Christina Roth was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 14. When she left home to attend college in 2007, she found the transition to a college environment without parent assistance and supervision of her illness to be challenging. After two years at college, she experienced a serious case of diabetes burn out. A nurse practitioner suggested she get together with other diabetic students on campus. But how would she find them? It was then that she had an “aha moment.”

Christina founded and is the CEO of the College Diabetes Network (CDN), the nonprofit she started in 2009 while she was a student at the University of Massachusetts. Due to the overwhelming response to the initial group, Christina expanded CDN into a national nonprofit organization serving young adults with diabetes. As CEO of CDN, Christina frequently speaks on topics such as CDN’s programs, research on the young adult population and how to meet their unique needs, non-profit management, women in business, innovation, and start-up organizations. She has also worked at the Joslin Diabetes Center and consulted for the T1D Exchange.

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