About
Our Story
Type 1 Diabetic Sugar Mommas (T1DSM) began as a support community for people who identify as women living with Type 1 Diabetes and has expanded to serve as a high-quality, informational resource for those who are in family planning, pregnant, or parenting with diabetes. Founded in 2012 in the San Francisco Bay Area, the group has grown to include mommas from nearly 25 countries worldwide. Whether on the way to motherhood or actively parenting, blood glucose management is always in the mix. We embrace the balance, the messiness, the highs and lows—literally! We are Sugar Mommas!
Our Team
Brooke Gibson
Founder
At age 6, Brooke was diagnosed with T1D, joining her father and grandfather. Lonely in her first pregnancy, Brooke connected through a European website with a fellow pregnant T1D, who ended up living an hour, rather than an ocean away! Recognizing the impact of shared experience, Brooke first imagined the Sugar Mommas. Three years later and just shy of having her 2nd baby, Brooke officially launched the group. While the path to parenthood had fertility challenges and miscarriages, Brooke and her husband now have 5 beautiful children. A believer in life-changing, personal connection, Brooke developed this platform empowering all Sugar Mommas to share their stories, connect, inspire, and support one another.
Michelle Luedtke
Marketing & Creative Director
Diagnosed as an adult with T1D, Michelle found the Sugar Mommas just over a year into her diagnosis and pregnant with her first child. Now a proud mama of two kiddos, she is thankful for the comfort, camaraderie, and confidence this group has brought to her life. Originally from California, Michelle and her family recently moved to Portland, Oregon. When she isn’t working for a statewide, whole-child advocacy organization as their Communications & Data Integration Director, Michelle is exploring the Pacific Northwest alongside her husband, children, and dog. Or baking. Always baking.
Stephanie Rothstein
Community Outreach Manager
Stephanie, the first member of The T1D Sugar Mommas, considers this group her second family. Diagnosed at age 6, Stephanie grew up in Southern California with her sister who is also T1D. A High School Educator in San Jose, California, she balances supporting teachers to utilize Educational Technology with being a wife and mom to three children. With the support of this group Stephanie got on a CGM and even started closed looping. She is excited to support others in their journeys and always happy to listen.
Our Medical Advisory Board
Dr. Marina Basina, MD
Dr. Basina is a clinical endocrinologist and clinical researcher with special interest in Type 1 Diabetes, Diabetes technology, and Diabetes in pregnancy. Medical director of inpatient diabetes programs at Stanford, Dr. Basina is board certified in Endocrinology and Internal Medicine; she has received numerous teaching and patient care awards. She is an active member of medical advisory boards for several community diabetes organizations. Previously trained as an OB/GYN, Dr. Basina’s involvement with the Sugar Mommas allows her to blend her OB experience with her passion for patient care of those persons with diabetes. In her spare time she enjoys baking for and hiking with her husband, two sons, and dog.
Roseanne Rodgers, MD
Dr. Rogers is a Pediatrician in the San Francisco Bay Area, her practice is general pediatrics. She become involved with Sugar Mommas after moving to Palo Alto and joining in the local diabetes community. Dr. Rogers was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes in 1983, so has seen a number of technology and care updates over the years and experience as a patient drives devotion to building physician patient partnerships, especially for those living with chronic diseases. Sugars Mommas helped to connect her with other moms and families living with type 1 diabetes while personally going through Trying to Conceive, Pregnancy and raising children while managing blood sugars, a medical practice and life.
Tiffany Herrero, MD
Dr. Herrero is a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist with a interest in Diabetes in Pregnancy, particularly Type 1 Diabetes. Dr. Herrero completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars Sinai-Medical Center and her fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at UC San Diego. It was during fellowship when her interest in Type 1 Diabetes in Pregnancy began. She practices now at Stanford Children’s Obstetrics Clinic where she provides prenatal care to patients with co-morbidities, like diabetes.
Christine Owyang, MPH, RD, CDE
Christine received her Master’s of Public Health at Loma Linda University prior to relocating back to the Bay Area to be closer to her family. Christine’s 18 years of experience as a Maternal and Fetal Medicine Dietitian and Diabetes Educator has given her great appreciation for the T1D Sugar Mommas group as both a source of support and as providers of valuable diabetes-related input. Type 1 diabetes and pregnancy is an individualized condition which is treated best when we listen to our patients’ needs and incorporate what we know about pregnancy and the diabetes process.
Susan Carter, MS, RD, CDE, BC-ADM
My career began at UCSF at the onset of the California Sweet Success Diabetes and pregnancy program. After my own high-risk twin pregnancy in 1991, I jumped at the chance to work exclusively with the Obstetrics clinic as I loved working with women to help them manage diabetes in pregnancy. In 2000, I went to work at Stanford as a research dietitian doing diet studies, dietary modifications and impact on insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease risk factors. A decade later, an opportunity arose to work at Stanford’s obstetrics clinic where I have since been the diabetes educator and dietitian.
In my spare time I love hiking the coastal trails near my home.
Aimée José, RN, CDCES, CDTC
Aimée has lived with T1 Diabetes since 1983, has 2 daughters who are actively involved in the Diabetes community and understands that ignoring your diabetes is a recipe for disaster, but having it take over your life can be even worse. She holds two Bachelor degrees, one in nursing and the other in psychology. Her passion and specialty is teaching intensive diabetes management, insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring, and combination therapies. Aimée also works as a Clinical Research Nurse, is a Certified Pump Trainer, a freelance writer for diabetes publications, and is actively involved in diabetes advocacy groups, support programs, advisory committees and various west coast diabetes camps.
Jennifer Liddel, RN, BSN
Following graduation from University of San Francisco School of Nursing, Jennifer worked for 10 years in Labor and Delivery at UCSF, OHSU, Georgetown Medical Center, and UCLA, taking care of low- and high-risk pregnancies. While at UCSF, she ran the Diabetes and Pregnancy Program for 5 years, a program that took care of Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetics from preconception all the way through postpartum. It was during this time that she gained her National Certified Diabetes Educators Certification. She now resides in Portland, Oregon and has held a variety of roles in the OB/GYN department at OHSU.
Our Community Partners
