About the Authors
About the Authors
Speaking Appearances
and Book Signings
Keynote Speakers
A Message of Resilience and Empowerment
Rhodes and Alana have a combined sixty years of personal experience with type 1 diabetes, as patient and caregiver. To both encourage and inspire their audiences, they share a deeply personal message of resilience and persistence to overcome the challenges of a chronic condition, and practical advice for living life to its fullest.
Speaking Topics
As keynote speakers, panelists, or moderators, Rhodes and Alana will speak on topics including, but not limited to:
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Rhodes’ personal journey with diabetes and Alana’s journey supporting him
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Achieving personal and professional goals while managing a chronic condition
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Why Rhodes credits his persistent and patient attitude to living with T1D
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How Alana supports Rhodes and encourages others caregivers with compassion and humor
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How T1D screening empowers families like theirs with early detection
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How Rhodes and Alana set a healthy example for each other
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How they create content for The Diabetes Support Group
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Why they wrote their children’s book series The Adventures of Rhodes & Alana (can include reading and signing)
Request an Appearance or Book Signing using the below form!
Recent Appearances
Rhodes and Alana are based on the east coast of the U.S. in Virginia, but have shared their story and signed books from San Diego, California, to New York City, to Amsterdam. Some of our recent appearances include:
Storytime with Chrissy Teigen: Turning the Page on Type 1 Diabetes, 92St Y, Sept 2025 Panelist in partnership with
Sanofi and Screen for Type 1
Children With Diabetes, Friends for Life Conference, Arlington, VA March 2025
Session Speakers “Anxieties Around Screening for T1D” (For Families/Parents and Adults)
Press + Interviews
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Richmond Times-Dispatch story, “Short Pump couple author book series to help understand childhood diabetes” by Thad Green on 7/13. See a PDF of the article here.
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Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Science Careers, podcast interview on 6/26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LotSxgghnRk.
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Type 1 on 1 Podcast with Jen Grieves, May 2025 available on Spotify, ITunes and Youtube (links above).
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Richmond magazine’s Sunday Story, “Characters With a Cause,” by Laura Anders Lee on 5/21.
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Adriana Ink 3/7 on Facebook Live, with bestselling author, Adriana Trigiani. To watch our conversation, go to the second hour of her show (starting at minute 2:33:01).
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Story Time with the ADA on Facebook Live, on 4/19 International Read to Me Day. We read the first chapter of School Bus Secret (starting at minute 3:43).
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Be a Friend Friday on Facebook Live, on 4/17 with the American Diabetes Association.
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Virginia This Morning on CBS 6, on 1/4. Watch our interview with Jessica Noll.
How to Book
Please complete this form to submit a request at least 3 months prior to your event.
A representative of The Diabetes Support Group will respond to your request as soon as possible. If you do not receive an immediate response, we ask for your patience, as we thoroughly review each request.
