Mountain West Chapter Leadership

Madeline is the Senior Development Manager with the Breakthrough T1D Mountain West Chapter, having joined in March 2023. She has a B.A in Organizational Communications and Non Profit Leadership from Western Michigan University. Her career so far has taken her from Michigan, to Colorado, to a year living on the ground in Cambodia. Madeline has a background in various roles in the non-profit world and is deeply passionate about creating a more equitable world for all people. She is honored to utilize her experiences while working alongside the driven Mountain West team.

Madeline has a handful of friends and family members with T1D and is so excited about accelerating Breakthrough T1D’s mission to improve lives and eventually find a cure for T1D!

In her free time, you can find Madeline camping, skiing, fly fishing, drinking cold glasses of prosecco, diving into a great book, trying out a new recipe, or frequenting *another* dog park with her goofy lab Cedar and siberian husky Shasta!

Aimee is a dynamic strategic development and alliance-building leader with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She specializes in cultivating high-impact relationships with donors, foundations, and community stakeholders to advance organizational missions and drive sustainable growth. Aimee has successfully led development initiatives at organizations such as People’s Health Clinic, NAMI Utah, and the Center for Interactive Learning & Collaboration, where she rebuilt donor pipelines, launched signature fundraising events, and secured partnerships with major entities including Deer Valley Resort, Gillette Pepsi, and Intermountain Healthcare. Her expertise includes fundraising strategy, grant writing, brand development, marketing, and crisis management, all grounded in a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and community empowerment.

As the founder of Kids Rock the World, a nonprofit supporting teens with diabetes, Aimee created a program that was later adopted by the National Ability Center in Park City. She has served on numerous boards and committees, including those for the American Diabetes Association, JDRF, and the Utah Diabetes Coalition. Aimee holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah, a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the University of Southern California (USC) and is a graduate of Leadership Park City, a municipal program cultivating new community leaders. She lives in Midway, Utah where she enjoys the beautiful mountains with her husband and children.

Andrea was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2011, just 3 days before her sophomore year of high school, when she also received a Bag of Hope from Breakthrough T1D during her hospital stay. She was not unfamiliar with T1D, as her father was diagnosed when he was just 4 years old.

Andrea’s formal education is in social work and she has always tried to put community engagement at the core of her work. When the Community Engagement Manager position opened up at the Mountain West chapter, she knew she had to apply and she officially joined the team in February of 2022. Growing up, Andrea never had many people in her life also living with T1D. She understands the importance of having people in our corner who understand what living with this disease feels like. She is excited to facilitate such connections for our chapter and beyond, ultimately working together for a world without T1D.

Andrea has lived in Florida and North Carolina, but she is now happy to have the Rocky Mountains in her backyard. In her free time, she enjoys journaling, reading, drinking coffee, and exploring the woods and hills of the Rockies.

Mackenzie is the Development Manager with the Breakthrough T1D Mountain West Chapter. Mackenzie was born and raised in the Park City area of Utah where she grew up skiing, hiking and playing outside. Growing up, she spent copious amounts of time volunteering locally and internationally and participating in peer-to-peer fundraising for many organizations, so the transition to working professionally in fundraising was a no-brainer. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Utah and earned a Masters in Business Administration at the University of Central Florida. Previously, Mackenzie has held fundraising and stewardship positions across several local and national nonprofits, as well as spending several years ‘making magic’ at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

While Mackenzie doesn’t have a direct connection with T1D, she is very passionate about finding a cure. Her stepfather has struggled with Multiple Sclerosis for 15 years, and she has many close family members that have been diagnosed with other autoimmune diseases. She hopes to utilize her skills in fundraising and storytelling to accelerate the mission and increase awareness of Breakthrough T1D so that together, we can end T1D.

Outside of work, you can find Mackenzie in the yoga studio, at a local coffee shop, or continuing to add to her ever-growing to-be-read list at the bookstore.

Dana Baker is a Development Manager for the Breakthrough T1D Mountain West Chapter, having joined the team in November 2024 after a successful tenure with the Northern California Chapter in San Francisco since 2021. With a strong commitment to the cause, Dana has volunteered in various capacities within Breakthrough T1D, including serving as a Chapter Board Member, Gala Committee Member, and Fund A Cure Chair. In her current role, she manages Peer to Peer events such as Walk, Ride, and DIY.

Before her journey with Breakthrough T1D, Dana was the Director of Sales at UpSpring Baby, a startup dedicated to creating innovative, clinically supported products for new mothers, and held significant sales and management positions at TAP Pharmaceuticals. She earned her B.A. in Business Administration and Management from Whittier College.

Dana’s personal connection to Type 1 Diabetes is profound, as her daughter Madeline was diagnosed in 2014 at the age of 11. Driven by her experiences, Dana is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those affected by T1D. Outside of her professional endeavors, she cherishes quality time spent with her family and enjoys traveling.

Isabelle is the Development Assistant with the Breakthrough T1D Mountain West Chapter, having previously interned with the organization in May 2023 and joining full time in July 2024. She recently graduated with a B.B.A in International Business from Loyola University Chicago, hoping to work within the nonprofit sector post-grad.

Being in the nonprofit world became one of her biggest passions, having the opportunity to intern for numerous nonprofit organizations. Alongside her collegiate internships at Greenhouse Scholars and Breakthrough T1D, she interned throughout the Denver Metro Area through her high school Corporate Work Study experience.

Isabelle has a few family members and friend with type 1 and has continued to expand her knowledge in all things type 1 and Breakthrough T1D related. She is excited to contribute to the meaningful work done in the organization and is optimistic in Breakthrough T1D eventually finding a cure.

In her free time, Isabelle enjoys making milk teas with extra boba, reading new books, baking sweet treats, spending time with her grandparents, watching Broncos and Nuggets games, finding new shows to binge watch, and weightlifting.

Cory’s T1D connection is through his wife and daughter, who were diagnosed at ages 12 and 1, respectively. Cory got involved with Breakthrough T1D when his daughter was diagnosed in the fall of 2019, and he joined the board shortly thereafter.

In his professional career, Cory is a partner at Deloitte with more than eighteen years of diversified public accounting and advisory experience.  He lives in Denver with his wife, two kids, and German Shepherd Frank, and enjoys an active lifestyle with his family.

Dave’s T1D connection began in 2009 with the birth of his son, Quinn. Quinn was identified through a cord-blood sample as being at high-risk for developing T1D. Almost immediately, Quinn was enrolled in the Teddy Study at the Barbara Davis Center. After years of diet records, blood draws, and participation in additional studies, Quinn was diagnosed with T1D during a routine visit in 2021. Despite the life-changing diagnosis, he’s doing great.

Dave is the Denver Office Managing Partner of Perkins Coie LLP. For more than 20 years, Dave has represented clients in patent, commercial, and licensing matters related to software, telecommunications, and standard-setting. A patent lawyer with in-house legal experience, Dave is entrusted by several Fortune 100 companies to lead their patent acquisition and development efforts, particularly those involving nascent technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and quantum computing.

Dave lives in Central Park with his wife Celeste (who is a Child Psychiatrist at Children’s/CU) and their three boys: Ian, Shane, and Quinn. Dave is also an avid drummer, a longtime Rush fan, and a travel enthusiast.

Dominick became involved with Breakthrough T1D after his son, Raff, was diagnosed with T1D in May 2020, but he also has several family members with the disease.

As Vice President of Health Research at Insight Policy Research, he has evaluated several government- and private-funded programs, including some for individuals with diabetes. He lives in Highlands Ranch with his wife and 3 kids, and they enjoy hiking, biking and exploring the mountain west.

Doug and his wife Mary moved to Boulder in August of 2021. They have three adult children; two sons (one with type1), and one daughter who also has type 1 DM. Doug and Mary have 7 grandchildren all under the age of 4.

Doug is a physician who has held leadership positions as Chief Medical Officer and Medical Group President in several large health systems in New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Virginia. He is currently retired.

Doug also served on the Board of the Hampton Roads (Virginia) Chapter of Breakthrough T1D for several years.

Emily became involved with Breakthrough T1D after her son Owen was diagnosed with T1D in January 2020 at the age of 9. Emily has a background in economics and finance, and has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years, primarily in New York City and London. She currently lives in Evergreen with her husband and two children, and works in risk management for a consumer finance company.  She loves skiing, hiking, running and traveling with her family.

Jennifer’s T1D connection is her brother, Connor, who was diagnosed at age 5 and is now 24. She has been involved with Breakthrough T1D since 2010, attending Breakthrough T1D Government Days in Washington, D.C. for 3 years as the Advocacy Team Chair (ATC) for the Northeastern New York Chapter, and most recently as the new ATC for the Mountain West Chapter.

Jennifer’s favorite thing to do with Breakthrough T1D is Advocacy at Breakthrough T1D One Walks. She loves recruiting new Advocates, hearing all of their T1D stories and getting them excited to be a part of an organization that is truly invested in improving the lives of those living with T1D.

John and Maureen are the proud parents of one son and two daughters (Owen, Riley and Adelaide). Owen was diagnosed with T1D just after his second birthday, on July 18, 2013, providing a unique perspective for John on the diagnosis. John viewed T1D from a first-person lens, having been diagnosed himself in 1982. Despite nearly 3 decades of advocacy; fundraising; previously working at the American Diabetes Association; helping start and run a non-profit focused on the development of social support networks for people impacted by T1D, Insulindependence; and participating in the T1D documentary “The Science of Inspiration;” John (and Maureen) were devastated by Owen’s diagnosis. They felt lost and in need of support, education and inspiration. The Moores found a fleet of the willing in Breakthrough T1D. This help inspired the Moores’ Walk Team name, “BetesFleet.”.

John’s three goals in life are to be a good dad, be a good husband and help find a cure for T1D. John spends his time being a dad, coaching soccer for all three kids, running and advocating. John has the honor of serving as the Associate Dean of Administration and Finance for the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine, where he has the opportunity to work alongside amazing researchers and clinicians, many of which are among the world’s premier in the area of T1D.

John volunteers at Breakthrough T1D because we are yet to find an answer, a solution, a cure. Surviving with T1D requires persistence and perseverance. These same characteristics are what is required of the researchers looking for answers; clinicians providing care; moms and dads; friends and family; teachers and coaches; all of which serve as surrogate recipients of the T1D diagnosis. This fleet of people cannot maintain the tenacity that they do without an unrelenting sense of hope and a selfless willingness to give.

In 2019, Kami’s son Reid was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 7. In this moment of immense pain, they recognized that the best path forward was to be a part of the T1D community and fight for a better future for Reid and all kids through Breakthrough T1D. Kami is the President and CEO of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce, where she ensures businesses and organizations have the resources they need to thrive. When not working, the Welch family can be found in the mountains camping, skiing and exploring.

Margaret was diagnosed with T1D at 10 years old and thanks Breakthrough T1D for supporting her and her T1D journey in the over 3 decades since. Margaret is currently an attorney at Nelson, Mullins, Riley, & Scarborough. In addition to serving on the Colorado Community Board, Margaret also serves on the board for Community Table in Arvada. Margaret believes that Breakthrough T1D’s mission, especially in Advocacy, will find cures for T1D. In her free time, Margaret enjoys traveling; reading; and spending time with her husband James and their two dogs.

Maya is the Chief People & Culture Officer at ATPCO, where she serves as the global leader of Human Resources and Environment at a Dulles-based travel technology company that supports 440 airlines worldwide. Maya also recently founded Lead With Love Consulting LLC, a human resources and diversity consultancy. Prior to consulting, she served as Chief Human Resources & Communications Officer at Tribune Publishing.

Prior to joining Tribune, Maya held the position of Senior Vice President of People & Culture for Wilton Brands LLC. Maya has previously held HR leadership positions with other reputable brands, including McDonald’s Corporation, NorthShore University HealthSystem and University of Chicago Medical Center. Maya has extensive human resources knowledge, with expertise in strategic leadership; culture transformations and change management; employee engagement; talent management; mergers/acquisitions; diversity, equity and inclusion; and executive coaching.
Maya dedicates a significant amount of her time to public service, serving as a volunteer and Director on two non-profit boards at Breakthrough T1D and UCAN, as well as providing pro bono legal counsel. She is also an accomplished public speaker.

Maya holds the degrees of Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Loyola University Chicago and a Bachelor of Applied Sciences degree from San Diego State University. She has been licensed to practice law in the state of Illinois since 2005.

Molly’s T1D connection is her husband Eric, former Colorado Community Board Member, who was diagnosed at age 6. She has been involved with the Breakthrough T1D YLC since 2013. Professionally, Molly is a partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell, LLP, where she specializes in employee benefits and compensation. Molly is a 5^th generation Coloradan and enjoys doing all of the Colorado-y things with Eric and their son, Archie.

Peter graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Operations Research in Industrial Engineering in 1999, then remained at Cornell University to earn his master’s degree in 2000. At Cornell, Peter also rowed on the school’s crew team and was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.

In 2001, Peter began his career with Coors Brewing Company in the packaging department in Elkton, VA. In 2003, Peter moved back to Denver to study brewing at Coors in Golden and received his Diploma in Brewing two years later. Peter’s career with Coors, Miller Coors and now Molson Coors has also taken him to Texas, California and back to Virginia. Over the past 21 years, Peter has filled roles in Brewing, Packaging, Quality and Customer Service.  Currently Peter works in Molson Coors’ Golden brewery leading a major capital project to modernize the brewery.

Outside of work, Peter is married with four young children that keep him quite busy. He enjoys many outdoor activities. He is currently also serving on the Advisory Board for Metro State University’s School of Hospitality, Entertainment, and Tourism and volunteers with many charities around the Denver-metro area.

Taylor was born and raised in Colorado and went to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He was diagnosed with T1D when he was two years old, with his mom diagnosed shortly after as well. Recently, his brother found out that he has T1D, too. Taylor and his wife have a son, Sam, who is five months old and is doing well.

Taylor’s grandfather founded Wagner Equipment Co. in 1976 as the Caterpillar Tractor Dealership in Colorado, New Mexico and western Texas.

Taylor is happy to say he is following in his father’s footsteps, who served on a Breakthrough T1D Board from the late ’90s to early 2000s. Breakthrough T1D has meant so much to Taylor and his family, and they continue to be involved to help find a cure for everyone living with T1D.

Amy Hone is the Deputy CCO & Vice President of Operations at Grandeur Peak Global Advisors; a global equities investment firm. She has spent over 20 years managing Operations & Compliance in the financial services sector.

Amy graduated from the University of Phoenix with a BS in Business Administration. She earned an MBA from the University of Utah, with a focus on Management. Amy, and her husband, Chris have two children. She enjoys fly fishing, mountain bike coaching, golfing, and she particularly loves exploring Yellowstone National Park with her adventurous family.

Amy’s T1D connection is through her beloved father, who was diagnosed at age 12 and passed away in 2005 at the age of 61. She saw firsthand the risks & struggles of diabetes maintenance and is amazed by the awareness, support, and advancements in technology over the last few decades. She is passionate about supporting families with T1D and funding research to find a cure.

Bryan is a Vice President of Engineering at Adobe. He has 25+ years’ experience in software engineering and is currently responsible for all technology, product development and delivery of the Adobe Workfront application as part of Adobe’s Experience Cloud.

Bryan was diagnosed with T1D in 2016 but has managed to stay in the honeymoon phase since then through a variety of means. He is passionate about advancing the technology and treatments for T1D and is invested in supporting anyone affected by T1D as we
continue to work to find a cure.

Bryan has a degree in Computer Science from the University of Notre Dame and is an avid supporter of the Notre Dame football team. Outside of work, Bryan lives with his two kids and two dogs in Riverton and enjoys golf, watching sports and TV and hanging out at the pool whenever possible.

Chris has lived with T1D for nearly 35 years, since the age of 6. His family got involved with Breakthrough T1D at the time of his diagnosis and has been involved with this organization in some capacity ever since. Chris is currently a senior scientist at Myriad Genetics, developing, overseeing and reporting the analytical studies needed for tests that inform cancer patients of chemotherapy treatment eligibility in order to work on regulatory body approvals. Chris continues to remain involved with Breakthrough T1D outside of his professional career because he wants to see cures for a disease that affects him and millions of others. In his free time, he enjoys backcountry skiing, mountain biking, hiking, a glass of whiskey, reading and doing as much of it all as possible with his wife and two young boys.

Christina is a special education teacher and small business owner in Layton. Prior to moving west seven years ago, she was a member of the Breakthrough T1D Advocacy team based out of Washington, D.C. where she focused on grassroots advocacy and government relations efforts for the T1D community.

She was diagnosed with T1D at 11 years old and attended her first Breakthrough T1D Walk in 2003 in her home state of Illinois. Prior to joining the Breakthrough T1D Utah Community Board in 2023, she served as Co-Chair of the Youth Ambassador program for the chapter. She is grateful for the Breakthrough T1D community and looks forward to a day (soon) without T1D.

Eric is the CEO and co-founder of Wingers Restaurant and Alehouse and Wingers USA, Inc., a restaurant concept that opened its first location in 1993 in Bountiful, Utah. Currently there are 22 Wingers restaurants system-wide, located in 5 mountain west states, and  Wingers Alehouse locations are currently growing in several western and Midwest states. Eric is also a founder and Managing Partner of Winger Bros. Management, LLC, and previously of the Slaymaker Group, Inc., which owned restaurants in Utah, Arizona, Washington and Idaho. In February of 2021, Eric was named to the Nation’s Restaurant News Power List of the 50 most influential CEOs in the hospitality industry.

In addition to his achievements in the restaurant business, Eric was also the co-founder of Rees-Slaymaker Broadcasting, Inc., and Monarch Broadcasting, Inc. These companies previously owned radio stations in Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah. Prior to his business career, Eric was a business graduate of the University of San Francisco, where he was also a point guard on the USF basketball team.

Eric lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Karen, and they have 3 children. Eric’s son, Tristan, was diagnosed with T1D in 2002 at age 12. Tristan also has a young son, Jayden, who was diagnosed with T1D at age 14 months. Eric was previously the President of the Breakthrough T1D Mountain Valley Board (previously serving Utah and Idaho).

Matt was diagnosed with T1D when he was 4 years old and has been involved with Breakthrough T1D ever since. His father is also a T1D and together (along with his mother, grandmother, wife, and brother) have been participating in Breakthrough T1D Ride to Cure Diabetes events for the past 18 years.

Matt and his wife, Laura, live in Millcreek and are avid cyclists, hikers, and wannabe trail runners. Matt does Business Intelligence and Data Analytics for Microsoft and has even been known to create his own apps using data from his CGM.

Matt is new to Utah, but has been involved in Breakthrough T1D for over 20 years. He is looking forward to being involved in the Utah & Mountain West chapter.

Merissa is a wildlife biologist by trade and has been working in environmental consulting for over 20 years, spending the last 12 at Bowen Collins & Associates in Draper. Diabetes completely took over the lives of the Davis family when Merissa’s son Otto, age 9, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 2. Merissa volunteers her time with Breakthrough T1D because this organization has allowed her family to step back from the day-to-day grind of T1D and instead focus on the bigger picture of what they can do to improve the everyday lives of those with T1D and their loved ones. In her free time, she loves to spend as much time as possible in the mountains with her husband Jason and their two children, Otto and Vivian. They love trail running, mountain biking, skiing, enjoying live music and baking. Merissa even turned her love of cooking and baking into Piebetes, a family organization where she bakes and sells pies to raise funds for Breakthrough T1D year-round.

Mike is the Vice President of Sales for 9amHealth, an end-to-end virtual specialty clinic for people living with diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions. Before 9amHealth, Mike led sales teams at Livongo, a consumer digital health company that merged with Teladoc, GE Healthcare, Cardinal Health, and CareFusion. He has served on the Breakthrough T1D Mountain West Board since 2017.

Mike’s passion for curing T1D, and improving lives until we find that cure, started when he fell in love with his wife, Cyd. She was diagnosed with T1D as a child and lives a full and active life. Mike and Cyd have now been happily married for over 26 years and have 4 wonderful daughters.

Mike and his family live in Alpine and enjoy everything the mountains have to offer – running, hiking, mountain biking, golf, tenni, and snow skiing in the winter.

Sonya works as a financial analyst, spending the last 3 years at Goldman Sachs in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining the Breakthrough T1D Utah Community Board in 2024, she served as Volunteer Coordinator of the Walk Committee for the chapter.

A T1D of over 16 years, Breakthrough T1D has always been close to her heart, attending her first ‘Walk to Cure Diabetes’ only a few weeks post-diagnosis. Throughout her years, she’s advocated for T1D by participating in fundraising walks in the US and Canada, been both a camper and counsellor for Type 1 Diabetes summer camps, and used Lola, her diabetic alert service dog, as a fun and effective way to spread awareness.

Through her employer, she got to volunteer at the Breakthrough T1D One Walk Utah, quickly falling in love with the community, leadership, and events.

Outside of work, you’ll find her skiing, playing with her pup, or road-tripping all the sights Utah has to offer!