Founder & President Elizabeth Forrest Named 2025 Woman of the Year
We’re thrilled to share that Elizabeth Forrest, Founder & President of Touched by Type 1, has been honored as the 2025 Woman of the Year by the Women’s Executive Council (WEC) of Orlando. This recognition celebrates her leadership, impact, and unwavering dedication to community service across Central Florida and beyond.
What This Honor Means
As part of the 53rd Annual Women’s Achievement Awards, the WEC recognized Elizabeth’s role not only as a community leader but also as a trailblazer in diabetes advocacy. The Women’s Executive Council has been awarding scholarships and supporting women’s development in Central Florida since 1987. Their annual awards are a centerpiece event to uplift local women who are making a difference in business, nonprofits, education, and civic engagement.
Receiving this award isn’t just a personal milestone—it’s a win for the T1D community. It highlights how people living with type 1 diabetes can lead and serve, not just survive.
Elizabeth Forrest, 2025 Woman of the Year, with just a few of the many women who make the Touched by Type 1 mission possible.
Elizabeth’s Journey & Impact
Did you know Touched by Type 1 began as a dream — and a dance performance in Elizabeth’s own driveway?
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child, Elizabeth Forrest wasn’t content to simply manage her diagnosis. She wanted to make a difference. That spark became Dancing for Diabetes, hosted at her childhood home, and eventually grew into the year-round nonprofit you know today — empowering thousands through education, connection, and support.
As a trailblazer in type 1 diabetes advocacy, Elizabeth’s leadership and vision have brought to life some of our community’s most vital resources:
A no-cost Annual Conference that brings hundreds together to learn, connect, and thrive
D-Box kits that equip the newly diagnosed with tools, hope, and community
The Type 1 @ School program, training educators and school staff to better support students with T1D
…and so much more that raises critical awareness and funds for a cure — uniting people with T1D across the world, year-round.
She leads, serves, and thrives — not just survives. And thanks to her vision, so do we.
Why It’s Significant
This recognition underscores the intersection of personal lived experience and community impact.
It brings visibility to the T1D cause in spaces where health and leadership intersect.
It amplifies the message that chronic disease advocacy and nonprofit work is not “secondary”—it can be central, public, and powerful.
Acknowledgments & Support
We thank the Women’s Executive Council for this honor and for its continued commitment to women’s leadership and opportunity in Central Florida. To read more about the WEC’s mission and scholarship work, visit www.wecorlando.com.
If Elizabeth’s work inspires you, we hope you’ll join us in supporting Touched by Type 1—whether by donating, volunteering, or sharing our mission. Together, we can continue expanding resources, education, and hope for people living with type 1 diabetes.
