Scott K. Johnson talks with Keshia Cannon-Peak, a former Blue Circle Health participant who lives in Delaware and has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1984. Keshia shares what her diagnosis was like when she was 11 years old, the isolation she felt growing up without knowing anyone else with type 1 diabetes, and how technology and online communities changed her relationship with diabetes over time.

Keshia also walks us through how she found Blue Circle Health on social media (and why she initially thought it sounded too good to be true), what it felt like to add Blue Circle Health alongside her existing endocrinology care team, and the small, practical “game changer” tips that continue to help her today, about a year after she completed the program. She also spoke about a bigger shift: giving herself permission to ask for help, admitting when it’s hard, and giving herself grace. Keshia also shares that her experience with Blue Circle Health inspired her to go back to school with a new focus.

What You’ll Learn

• Why living with type 1 diabetes can feel isolating—especially when you don’t know anyone else who “gets it”
• How Keshia navigated childhood, teen years, and adulthood with T1D (and what support looked like for her)
• What changed when she realized there’s a whole world of people living with type 1 diabetes, and how community can help
• How Blue Circle Health can work alongside your existing care team and collaborate together
• Why small, specific tools (like right-sizing low treatments) can make a big difference over time

Key Quotes:

• “I'm not alone. There are people like me.” — Keshia Cannon-Peak
• “I learned how to navigate, how to do things differently. Understanding what the charts mean, asking the questions why, and recommending what I should change as far as a basal rate and things like that. So I learned that from Blue Circle Health.” — Keshia Cannon-Peak
• “It's okay to say you need help,it's okay to say you're not having a good day, and it's okay to be overwhelmed sometimes” — Keshia Cannon-Peak

Resources & Links

• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up): https://bluecirclehealth.org/
• Touched By Type 1 – The D-Box (free t1d starter kit): https://touchedbytypeone.org/

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, 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. https://bluecirclehealth.org/

Mila Clarke, MS, NBC-HWC, joins Scott to talk about something many of us feel but don’t always say out loud: diabetes can be incredibly isolating, and community can change everything.

Mila shares her own diagnosis story, including years of being misdiagnosed and the exhausting fight to be believed. From there, the conversation explores what makes a community truly supportive (and what can make it feel unsafe), why “lurking” is a legitimate and valuable way to begin, and how to take one small step toward connection even if you’ve been managing diabetes alone for a long time.

What You'll Learn

• Why diabetes can feel so isolating, and why stigma makes it worse
• What it’s like to advocate for yourself when necessary
• How to spot a community that’s supportive (and avoid one that’s not)
• Why moderation and “tone-setting” matter in peer spaces
• The value of “lurking” as a low-pressure entry point to connection
• A simple first step to building peer support: one DM, one friend, one connection

Key Quotes

• “It took so much fighting, and it took so much energy and effort, just trying to be believed in a system that already doesn't believe people who look like me.” – Mila Clarke
• “I felt like I'm in this prison of my own body and I just want to know what's wrong.” – Mila Clarke
• “I think that community is so vital, truly, like our shared experience means so, so much.” – Mila Clarke
• “Just don't give up on community because it can be so amazing.” – Mila Clarke

Resources & Links

• Mila’s recipes + work: https://hangrywoman.com/
• Glucose Guide community: https://glucoseguide.app/
• Community Partner Spotlight: You’re Just My Type
  • https://yourjustmytype.org/

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. 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. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Gary Scheiner, MS, CDCES, FADCES, joins Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D to unpack a powerful tool in diabetes management: exercise! An award-winning diabetes educator and the owner and founder of Integrated Diabetes Services, Gary brings deep clinical expertise and lived experience to the conversation.

Together, Scott and Gary talk about why exercise can feel intimidating with T1D and how to reframe physical activity as something that supports quality of life. From CGM lag time and insulin sensitivity to finding movement that’s actually enjoyable, this episode offers practical, reassuring guidance for anyone who wants to move more confidently with T1D.

Reminder: We are not providing medical advice. For personalized guidance, we'll always encourage you to talk with your personal healthcare team.

What You'll Learn

• Why exercise is about more than blood sugar — and why mental health matters just as much
• How consistent movement improves insulin sensitivity and predictability
• Practical ways to start exercising safely, even if you’ve been inactive or feel overwhelmed
• How to think about CGM lag time and trends during activity
• Why movement doesn’t have to look like a gym workout to “count”

Key Quotes

• “Physical activity is extremely valuable for so many aspects of our daily quality of life — not just blood sugar management, but our mental wellbeing and our physical health now and down the road.” – Gary Scheiner
• “I think it’s important to make exercise fun. Not a chore, not a task, not a painful thing you have to do.” – Gary Scheiner
• “Anything is doable. If you learn how to adjust for it accordingly, we can figure out a way to make it work.” – Gary Scheiner
• “Being active on a consistent basis keeps that insulin sensitivity amplifier dialed up — and that makes things more predictable.” – Gary Scheiner

Resources & Links

• Integrated Diabetes Services
• Think Like a Pancreas the Podcast:
• Community Partner Spotlight: This episode highlights Ginger Vieira and “Diabetes Nerd”
  • 🌐 Visit: https://diabetesnerd.com to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. 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. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Anna Sabino, a social worker and diabetes educator who’s lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years, joins the podcast to talk about self-advocacy. From unexpected questions at the gym to loaded comments from strangers, coworkers, or even healthcare providers, Anna and Scott unpack why these moments hit so hard and how people with T1D can respond in ways that protect both their emotional health and their energy.

Together, Anna and Scott explore the emotional side of explaining diabetes and practical tools for responding (or choosing not to respond) in everyday situations.

This episode isn’t about having the perfect response. It’s about permission, self-compassion, and recognizing that you are the captain of your own diabetes ship.

Learn more about Anna’s private practice at findingsmilescoaching.com, and her work with Integrated Diabetes Services at integrateddiabetes.com.

What You'll Learn

• Why self-advocacy can feel so draining, especially when it’s unexpected
• Common emotional reactions to diabetes comments: fear, shame, frustration, and grief
• The difference between effort and data and why numbers never tell the full story
• How to set boundaries around when, how, and whether you talk about diabetes
• Simple reframing tools (like “I wasn’t expecting that to happen”) to create emotional space
• The importance of mental health support as part of diabetes care — at any stage

Key Quotes

• "You are the captain of your own diabetes ship. When it comes to sharing information, you don’t owe anyone anything." – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES
• "The data doesn’t always represent the effort, and that’s where a lot of the shame gets internalized." – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES
• "It's not our job to figure out why every blood sugar shifts the way it does. That is just, it is impossible. And I think until we can accept that it's really hard for people to feel confident in having this, these self-advocacy skills" – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES
• "It's so important to process all of your emotions early and often when it comes to diabetes, because the more you understand yourself, the easier it's going to be to talk about it outwardly" – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES

Resources & Links

• Connect with Anna - findingsmilescoaching.com
• Integrated Diabetes Services - integrateddiabetes.com
• Community Partner Spotlight: CWD Journey Award

The CWD Journey Award recognizes the work and resilience required to live with type one diabetes. Learn more and request your free CWD Journey Award at https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/cwd-journey-award/.

• 🌐 Visit: https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/ to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. 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. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Dr. Len D’Avolio, CEO and co-founder of Blue Circle Health, sat down with Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D host Scott Johnson to discuss why today’s healthcare system makes living with type 1 diabetes harder than it should be and how better is possible.

Drawing on decades of experience building and studying healthcare systems, Len explains why type 1 diabetes has become the “poster child” for what’s broken in chronic care today. Together, Scott and Len explore how a complex web of insurers, administrators, and financial and operational incentives can distort care, limit access, and leave people with T1D feeling unsupported despite trying their best to navigate their healthcare.

Through real stories, this episode exposes the gap between what people with T1D need to live well and what the healthcare system typically provides. The conversation also highlights why Blue Circle Health exists, what it’s trying to fix, and where there is still room for hope and meaningful change.

What You'll Learn

• Why T1D is a “poster child” for a broken system: How chronic conditions reveal the cracks in modern healthcare more clearly than almost anything else.
• Who actually influences your care: A look at the many invisible players — beyond your doctor — who shape access, coverage, and treatment decisions.
• Why healthcare often feels impersonal: How financial and operational incentives can override human-centered care.
• What’s been tried before: Past attempts to “fix” the system — and why many haven’t worked as intended.
• Where hope lives: How new care models, including Blue Circle Health, aim to realign incentives around people instead of profit.
• What change really requires: The difference between incremental fixes and true systemic transformation.

Key Quotes

• “Type one is the plane that never lands. You didn’t ask for this job, but now it’s your job for the rest of your life.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “Our healthcare system is designed to make it more difficult, more expensive, in some cases impossible to gain access to the medicine and the knowledge and the training that you need.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “The problem is the misalignment between all of the things that people need to live a long and healthy life with type one versus what they currently get from our healthcare system.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “It’s not that we [the U.S.] don’t spend enough money to dramatically improve hundreds of thousands of lives right now. It’s that we spend it on the wrong things.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio

Resources & Links

• Community Partner Spotlight: Diversity in Diabetes

Diversity in Diabetes works to create a more equitable diabetes landscape, with education, advocacy, and monthly “Insulin Inclusive” virtual meetups.
🌐 Visit: https://diversityindiabetes.org to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. 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. https://bluecirclehealth.org

In this episode, host Scott Johnson talks with Carrie Matuzsan, a case manager at Blue Circle Health who has lived with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for 22 years. Carrie shares her journey from her diagnosis at age 12 to her current professional role helping others navigate life with diabetes, including financial hurdles, insurance, and social determinants of health like housing and transportation.

The heart of the conversation focuses on why sticking to goals is so challenging, especially with a 24/7 condition like T1D, and on how to use the SMART goals framework to shift from focusing on outcomes to breaking down the process and using a proven system to help achieve goals.

Carrie teaches us how to "smartify" our intentions, find our "North Star" through the “Toddler Approach”, and reevaluate our progress without self-judgment, especially when we get off track.

What You'll Learn

• Common Pitfalls: Many of us focus on the outcome (e.g., "get an A1C below 7") rather than the process, making the leap from where we are to where we want to be feel impossible.
• The Toddler Approach: How asking "Why?" repeatedly helps peel away surface-level answers to find the core values driving your goal.
• The SMART Goals System:
  • Specific: Making goals concrete rather than ambiguous
  • Measurable: Setting clear criteria for success
  • Attainable/Achievable: Ensuring the goal is something you can actually do.
  • Relevant: Making sure the goal is “along the path” to your bigger picture.
  • Time-bound: Setting a specific timeframe for check-ins and reevaluation.
• Contingency Planning: The importance of having a backup plan for when barriers (like bad weather or life events) interfere with your progress.
• Removing Judgment: Why you should treat your own progress with the same kindness you would show a friend, rather than being your own "bully".

Key Quotes

• "The process of it is the part that is not as much fun to think about or even to plan out." – Carrie Matuzsan
• "One of the biggest downfalls is being mean to yourself. Being your own bully is often the downfall for a lot of these goals." – Carrie Matuzsan
• "We are working to replace an entire hormone that our body is not producing, on top of living a full life. We continue to go and adapt. Just that resiliency... always amazes me." – Carrie Matuzsan

Resources & Links

• SMART Goals worksheet
• Previous Blue Circle Health Webinars on SMART Goals
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 1)
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 2)
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 3)
• Community Partner Spotlight: The Time in Range Coalition (a program from diaTribe). They provide guides and toolkits for using Time in Range as a metric in diabetes management.
  • 🌐 Visit: timeinrange.org to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. 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. https://bluecirclehealth.org

It can feel like people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are fighting for their lives in a system built to wear them down. The twist is that clinicians often feel the same weight as they fight to provide care.

In this episode, host Scott Johnson talks with two highly-skilled healthcare professionals from University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio: Natalie Bellini, an endocrine nurse practitioner and program director for diabetes technology, and Quiana Howard, a PhD candidate and clinical nurse research specialist.

The conversation delves into the systemic struggles that prevent people with T1D from getting the support they need to live well with diabetes. The guests, including Natalie, who also lives with T1D, discuss the gap between what people need (like insulin access, education on carbs/fat/protein, and psychosocial support) and what they typically receive (a little information and a website).

They highlight the critical role of organizations like Blue Circle Health in providing holistic, wraparound support that addresses social determinants of health—going beyond glucose numbers to help with insurance, mental health, and food/housing security. Quiana also shares her research on social vulnerability and the surprising frequency of T1D misdiagnosis among minority and underserved populations. Ultimately, the discussion emphasizes the need for a community approach, recognizing that no single clinician or system can be the "do-all end-all" for T1D management.

What You'll Learn

• Why the healthcare system struggles to get people with T1D what they need.
• The essential needs at T1D diagnosis: insulin, psychosocial support, understanding insurance coverage, and education on diet and exercise.
• How clinicians like Natalie and Quiana meet people with diabetes where they are—sometimes even outside the clinic—to build trust and break down cultural barriers.
• Why Blue Circle Health is considered a "system breaker" for providing wraparound support beyond glucose numbers.
• The challenge of misdiagnosis, often due to prejudice or assumptions based on race, age, or weight.
• The shocking level of judgment and assumptions people with T1D face from others, and even clinicians.
• Why clinicians must recognize that their system isn't designed to support every need a person with T1D has.

Key Quotes

• "It can feel like we're fighting for our lives in a system built to wear us down. And here's the twist. Your doctors, your clinicians, feel a lot of that same weight as they fight to take care of you." – Scott Johnson
• "I have to talk to you as if we're equals and we're in this together, and I'm not going to leave you here alone... We're not going to talk at you; we're going to talk with you..." – Quiana Howard
• "There's no box. If we never had to think about any cost, what would we give to a person with diabetes? And that's what we get with Blue Circle Health." – Natalie Bellini
• "Blue Circle Health is a health equity model. They break down the systems that often prevent people from achieving the best outcomes when managing their type 1 diabetes." – Quiana Howard

Resources & Links

• Community Partner Spotlight: This episode highlights diatribe, a small nonprofit focused on education and advocacy around T1D, including fighting stigma and raising awareness of Time in Range.
• 🌐 Visit: diatribe.org to learn more and subscribe to their newsletter.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. 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. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Navigating life with type 1 diabetes (T1D) is challenging, even for those who are highly prepared and well-equipped. In this episode, host Scott Johnson talks with Rob Howe, diabetes advocate, entrepreneur, and founder of the long-standing podcast "Diabetics Doing Things, about his journey as a former high-level college and professional basketball player who has lived with T1D for 20 years.

Rob shares his experience being diagnosed at 16, the courage it took to be upfront about T1D during his college recruiting process, and the mental anguish of balancing elite athletics with blood sugar management. The conversation digs into why living well with T1D requires managing the physical, mental, social, and often-overlooked financial aspects of life. Ultimately, Rob emphasizes that self-advocacy is a vital skill and a muscle you can build.

What You’ll Learn

• Why T1D is still incredibly difficult, even for the "most well-equipped person".
• The four main categories of life T1D impacts: physical, mental, financial, and social.
• How the financial strain and lack of insurance can put people with diabetes into a constant state of "fight or flight".
• Why making a friend with diabetes is considered Rob's "biggest life hack" for T1D management.
• That self-advocacy can show up as small acts, like simply asking for orange juice when your blood sugar is low.
• The importance of separating your self-worth from your diabetes outcomes.

Key Quotes

• "It's overwhelming. It's a crazy amount of things that it takes to live well with diabetes." – Rob Howe
• "Your diabetes management and the outcomes of it aren't a report card on your value as a person." – Rob Howe
• "In my life, my resilience or capacity moves around and changes based on the other things, the normal things in life that we all deal with, too." – Scott K. Johnson

Resources & Links

• 🌐 Learn more or apply to join: bluecirclehealth.org
• 💬 Follow us on social media: @bluecirclehealth on Instagram and Facebook
• 🧾 Community Partner Spotlight: Connected in Motion – Learn more about their T1D communities, camps, and the new Platinum Club for adults aged 55 and above at connectedinmotion.ca