ConnecT1D Adult Retreat:
2026 Registration Open NOW
April 17-19, 2026
Suquamish clearwater casino resort, SuQUAMISH, WA
This year marks 10 years of the ConnecT1D Adult Retreat—a decade of gathering, growing, and supporting each other through the unique pressures of life with T1D. Those pressures don’t break us… they turn us into diamonds. We’re excited to welcome returning attendees and greet new faces for this landmark celebration.
NEW! FRIDAY NIGHT OPTIONAL!
Adult Retreat Mix & Mingle at the Resort Lobby Bar
Kick off the retreat with an optional Mix & Mingle at the resort lobby bar—an easy, relaxed way to ease into the weekend. Grab a drink, meet fellow attendees, and reconnect with familiar faces before the retreat officially begins. No agenda, no pressure—just good conversation, welcoming vibes, and a soft landing into community. 🍸✨
Bringing your dia-bestie or T3 just got even easier. This year we are excited to offer a conference ticket BOGO DEAL! Buy 1 ticket and get 1 half off.
The Who, Why & What: The ConnecT1D Adult Retreat is an opportunity for people with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) to come together for a weekend retreat in Suquamish, WA to learn, share and connect around the experience of living with T1D. You’re encouraged to bring your partner or closest support person. With humor, compassion and honesty, we’ll have workshops on a variety of topics addressing the psychological and social aspects of the unique life that is living with this chronic condition.
When: April 18-19, 2026, with optional evening activity on Friday April 17th!
Where: Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort, Suquamish, WA.
Cost: We never want finances to be the reason someone misses out on the Adult Retreat. Financial assistance is available and we encourage you to fill out our Financial Assistance form during registration. Payment plans are also available. Don’t forget our BOGO deal:
Bringing your dia-bestie or T3 just got even easier. This year we are excited to offer a conference ticket BOGO DEAL! Buy 1 ticket and get 1 half off. Bring a friend, stay Friday and Saturday, and your shared ticket cost would be about $450 for a two-night retreat including 4 meals and all activities.
Actual Cost: $350 / BOGO ticket: $175 / Scholarship: $100
*Resort accommodations are not included in your registration fee. We have a special fixed rate with our partners at the Clearwater Casino with rooms starting at $167 a night before fees. After registering for the retreat, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to reserve a room at a discounted rate.
2026 Keynote Speaker: Dr. Eden Miller!
Dr. Eden Miller, an Osteopathic board-certified Family Practitioner, received her medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1997.
Dr. Miller has cultivated a special interest in diabetes, after being diagnosed with type-1 diabetes while in medical school. Out of that personal experience, her practice has extended into a subspecialty in diabetes care.
An impassioned speaker, Dr. Miller has given over 1500 lectures in the field of Diabetes to health care providers and patients alike, on subjects such as Diabetes Management, CGM Technology, Insulin Pump Therapy, Obesity and Metabolism intervention, Clinical Research, and Healthcare Policy.
Her adage for care is that she “only succeeds as a provider if she turns patients into experts on their own disease”.
SATURDAY
Do You Have Diabetes — or Does Diabetes Have You? Keynote Session With Dr. Eden Miller
How to live the sweet life taking diabetes along for the ride.
Through personal storytelling, lived experience, and current research, Dr. Eden Miller will unpack the diagnosis narratives many of us were given—stories rooted in complications, limitations, and survival—and examine how those messages can quietly turn into diabetes distress.
Together, we’ll talk about letting go of outdated fears and rebuilding trust in our bodies and modern technology. We’ll explore how habits formed for protection may now be holding us back—and how to gently close old chapters while honoring what they gave us.
This interactive session invites reflection, conversation, and reconciliation. Participants will be encouraged to examine what fears still drive their diabetes decisions, where those fears came from, and how to advocate for care that empowers rather than shames. The goal is not perfection—but confidence, autonomy, and the freedom to live a full, sweet life with diabetes along for the ride.
Finding Steady in the Middle of the Storm With Brea Di Dato, Family and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
We are living in a time of real turbulence, constant noise, uncertainty, and genuine threats to safety. For people living with type 1 diabetes, this storm is layered onto an already demanding reality: a body that requires ongoing vigilance, decision-making, and care, simply to stay alive. When fear rises in this context, it can sweep us away, like an undercurrent in the ocean.
This session offers a grounded, compassionate way of meeting that fear. Drawing on acceptance, presence, and self-compassion, we will explore how these practices can support preparedness and steadiness in times of uncertainty. Participants will be invited to reconnect with inner steadiness as a reliable place to return to—a way of accessing moments of peace even while the storm continues.
This is not about calming the storm. It is an invitation to find steady ground within, so we can remain connected to ourselves, to what matters most, and to our capacity to meet what may come next.
What’s New, What’s Next: Research, Technology & Innovation with Q & A With Dr. Eden and Kevin Miller
Dr Eden and Kevin Miller focus this educational session on technology and research education with an emphasis on practical understanding and real-world application. By breaking down emerging studies, tools, and trends and answering questions, the Millers help audiences better understand where the field is heading and how innovation can support informed decision-making and improved quality of life. This session will highlight diabetes tech and drugs. Don't miss the chance to ask these experts all your questions.
Diabetes and Grief: A Community Healing Circle With Julie Schliebner
Living with diabetes often means carrying layers of grief—personal losses, unmet expectations, and the collective weight of shared experiences within our community.
This session invites participants to gently acknowledge those emotions and create space within community to feel what has been held for too long, without judgment or pressure to “move on.”
Through guided reflection and grief ritual practices, we’ll support each other in releasing grief and build resilience in community. Together, we’ll honor losses and hold our joys together to build collective strength for our continued journey.
T3 Ask Me Anything: A Conversation with Dr. Kevin Miller
This open, interactive “Ask Me Anything” session invites partners, spouses and friends of those with T1 into a candid conversation with Dr. Kevin Miller, blending medical insight with real-life perspective. With a deep understanding of primary care and lived experience as the spouse of someone with Type 1 diabetes, Kevin brings a uniquely human lens to diabetes care, advocacy, and daily life.
Participants are encouraged to ask honest questions about navigating healthcare systems, communicating with providers, supporting loved ones with T1D, and bridging the gap between clinical guidance and real-world realities.
Bottling Hope: An Insulin Bottle Craft Workshop Facilitated by Sarah Canavese and Madi Johnson
In this creative workshop, participants will transform an insulin bottle into a vessel for hope, intention, and possibility. Together, we’ll pause to acknowledge the weight insulin carries—and reimagine these bottles as a symbol of wishes, gratitude, and resilience. You’ll leave with a tangible reminder of your strength, your story, and the hopes you’re carrying forward.
Diabetes After Dark With Jake Johnston
Sex, drugs and rock and roll! Come join a highlight of the ConnecT1D Adult Retreat with people who totally know why bringing Skittles to the bedroom is a sexy move. NEW THIS YEAR, an interactive game to bring your ridiculous diabetes stories out of the closet. Is this the right place for the mature content warning? Yeah I think it is.
*Jake is not nearly as interesting as the topic areas in this agenda item may lead you to believe.
SPECIAL SATURDAY NIGHT CELEBRATION
Diamonds & Duets
🎤✨ Get ready to shine, sing, and celebrate! ✨🎤
We’re turning up the volume for a 10-Year Anniversary Karaoke Party that’s all about joy, connection, and a decade of unforgettable moments.
This is your night to break out the sequins, diamonds, glitter, and boldest looks—because we’re celebrating 10 years of showing up, lifting each other, and becoming stronger together. Whether you’re belting out a power ballad, dancing in the crowd, or cheering from the sidelines, every voice and every sparkle belongs.
We’ll sing our way through the hits of the past decade, dance like nobody’s watching, and toast to the community that made these ten years possible—and the brilliant future ahead.
🎶 No pressure.
💎 All the sparkle.
🎉 One unforgettable night.
Come for the karaoke. Stay for the magic. Celebrate a decade that deserves to shine.
SUNDAY
A Decade of Connection: Building Resilient Communities for the Next 10 Years Facilitated by Cassady Kintner
Panel includes Jake Johnston, Jim Cheairs, Madi Johnson and Brea Di Dato
Over the past decade, community has become one of our most powerful tools—for sharing knowledge, solving problems, and reminding one another that we’re not alone. In this panel conversation, community leaders and members reflect on how connection has shaped the last 10 years and explore what it will take to build resilient, supportive, and impactful communities in the decade ahead.
Together, we’ll unpack how we use community spaces to crowdsource wisdom while still showing up for one another as humans—not just users or voices in the feed. We’ll talk honestly about navigating information overload, social noise, and burnout, and how to stay grounded in what truly matters.
The conversation will also explore what it means to be active and activated in community—advocating for each other, amplifying voices, and turning shared experience into collective action.
This session invites reflection, dialogue, and forward-thinking ideas on how we protect what makes community powerful while shaping spaces that are sustainable, inclusive, and strong for the next 10 years.
Yoga for Every Body – An All-Levels Practice Facilitated by Madi Johnson
A ConnecT1D Adult Retreat tradition – all level yoga with Madi. Bring your yoga mat or a towel and join fellow retreat attendees in this welcoming, all-levels yoga session designed for every body and every experience level. Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or brand new to the mat, this practice will offer something for you—gentle stretches, breathwork, and mindful movement to help you feel grounded, energized, and connected.
Modifications will be offered throughout, so you can honor your body and move at your own pace. Bring your curiosity, your breath, and whatever you’ve got—this is a judgment-free space to move, reset, and take care of yourself. No prior yoga experience needed.
T3's and Grief: A Community Healing Circle For Loved Ones & Care Partners With Julie Schliebner
Loving someone with diabetes often comes with its own quiet layers of grief—loss of ease, shifts in expectations, and the emotional weight of watching someone you care about navigate a lifelong condition. This session creates space for partners, family members, and care supporters to acknowledge and name their own experiences, feelings, and losses that are often left unspoken.
Before We Part: Celebrating, Reflecting & Carrying It Forward Facilitated by the Adult Retreat Committee
Before we say goodbye, stick around for one last gathering as we celebrate the moments that made this retreat meaningful. We’ll draw raffle winners, reveal the closest guesses in our carb-count challenge, and take time to reflect on the connections, laughter, and breakthroughs we shared together. Most importantly, we’ll look ahead—naming ways to stay connected, support one another, and keep this community thriving long after the retreat ends.
Check out pics from previous retreats below!
Thinking about coming? Get a feel for what you're in for by learning about the ConnecT1D Adult Retreat (aka diabetes camp for grown ups) in years past from our slide show!
Scenes from our 2nd ConnecT1D Adult Retreat in 2017:
Scenes from our 1st ConnecT1D Retreat in 2016:
We are pleased to share we have a small fund for financial assistance, graciously provided by donations from members of our community. If funds are a barrier for your attendance, please apply for assistance on the Financial Assistance form attached to the online registration. Requests will be evaluated on a rolling basis as received.