When Lauren was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 7 years old, the cure was “just around the corner.” As she grew up, she and her family quickly realized that they couldn’t sit around and wait for that day to figure out how to live a full life despite diabetes.

Lauren’s pivotal moment in her own T1D journey was when she was a junior in college, and was celebrated by her doctor for achieving a 5.7 A1C, even though she didn’t feel healthy or happy in her own body.

In that moment, she realized that success with diabetes is commonly viewed only as a set of numbers, and that it doesn’t take into account personal relationships with food, body, mental health, and each person’s unique needs, lifestyles, and patterns.

From there, Lauren went on to find empowerment in her life by creating more awareness of her mindset and behaviors and how they connected to diabetes. Once she brought all of these pieces together, everything in life shifted. Lauren ultimately became a nationally Board-Certified Health Coach to help other people with type 1 diabetes create transformative outcomes for themselves. She has been able to see what’s missing in the traditional diabetes management model. And fill that gap.

Lauren lives on Long Island, New York, where she runs Risely Health, spends time with her family, and stays active by finding all kinds of activities to challenge her body and keep it moving. Someday, she hopes to visit Peru, to see where her grandfather grew up.

Since 2015, Risley has directly supported more than 5,000 people and families impacted by diabetes, and she’s just getting started.

About Lauren