Hattie Saltzman-Director of Communications

HattieHattie is currently pursuing a BS in Public Health to prepare her for a lifetime of working to advocate for the health of others. Advocacy became her mission in life when she came face to face with the terrible truth that insulin costs are rising at a rate few can meet. Learning about and experiencing the struggle T1’s and their families go through year after year to afford a necessary medication has left Hattie feeling that the only option is to speak up – a lot.

She had her first encounter with Kids With Courage when she was 16 years old and newly T1D. Hattie was quite a bit older than her fellow newbies, but they all received a crate just the same. She didn’t think about it much at the time, but exploring that memory later she realized the crate had offered her a much needed distraction from the mayhem she had learned was taking place inside her body. She recalls using the calculator provided to determine her first insulin doses, filling out practice meal plans in an educational book, and sitting with the famous teddy bear by her side despite being a teenager. She knows what that Brave Box meant to her and that knowledge gives her a clear idea of how important that Brave Box can be to soothe the pain of a T1D diagnosis. It’s the feeling a child gets when they receive their Brave Box that makes her proud to work with such a meaningful organization.

What I do at Kids With Courage:
Initially, I will be working to develop and implement some much needed advocacy programs that will help all those people facing the high cost of managing T1 diabetes on a daily basis.

What I like most about being involved with KWC:
Being part of an organization that is fighting to improve the lives of those battling T1 Diabetes but also helping to provide support for their family and friends affected by this battle.

If I could meet one person from the past or present, who would it be and why?
This may sound cliche since this is a T1D organization, but I’d love to meet Frederick Banting and/or the rest of the team that discovered insulin in 1922. I’ve read several books on that discovery and not only did the science behind it inspire me to originally pursue a BS in Biology and now, instead, a BS in Public Health, but it had a lot of very entertaining drama.

Place I would love to travel:
I had a dream in high school to visit Toronto (even before I found out insulin was discovered there). I think that dream is still pretty present.

What are your hobbies?
When I’m not working, volunteering, or going to classes… I’m probably watching Netflix. Or I occasionally am hired out to do portrait photography.

Many people would be surprised if they knew
I’m the youngest of 7 kids. The oldest one was adopted from Vietnam during the Vietnam War.