Jen Hanson is a Canadian activist for diabetes care and the Executive Director of Connected in Motion (CIM), a non-profit outdoor education program for people living with Type 1 diabetes. Combining a passion for active living and diabetes education, Hanson uses her skills as a registered kinesiologist, certified teacher, certified diabetes educator, blogger and wilderness guide to help those with the condition live active and healthy lives.
Hanson doesn’t remember her life before diabetes. She was diagnosed at age three with Type 1 diabetes, but has never let it define her or stop her from pursuing her passion. As a child, she loved campfires, bug-catching, mud-puddle-jumping and tree-climbing; however, she never felt like she fit in until she went to Camp Huronda, an Ontario summer camp for children living with Type 1 diabetes. “I felt like a normal kid,” she says. The experience opened her eyes to what a person living with diabetes could achieve.
Hanson’s passion for the outdoors and an active life led her to study kinesiology at Brock University in Saint Catharines, Ontario, where she earned her Bachelor's degree with First Class Honours in 2007. She went on to pursue two other degrees also at Brock University, receiving a Bachelor of Education in Physical and Health Education in 2008 and a Master of Education degree in 2011, which focused on the impact of experiential diabetes education and the role of community. During her time at Brock, she was a dedicated volunteer, acting as an environmental educator at the Monteverde Cloud Forest School and organizing the Diabetes Hope Foundation’s Walk for Hope. She also coordinated Brock’s IMPACT program, a physical activity-based mentoring program for at-risk youth in the Niagara region.
In 2009, Jen Hanson signed up for CIM as a participant to explore the outdoors along with other people living with Type 1 diabetes while sharing experiences and learning more about how to self-manage the condition. Soon she partnered with the organization’s founder, Chloe Steep, to create new programs for CIM. As the organization’s current Executive Director, Hanson works to develop outdoor adventure and sports experiences for adults living with Type 1 diabetes. Hanson leads many of the CIM trips, including being the Adventure Team’s guide from 2016 to 2019, and helps with the group’s website and fundraising.
Besides her work at CIM, Hanson wears many other hats. She is a Faculty Member with the International Diabetes Federation’s Young Leaders in Diabetes Programme, working as an Elementary Coordinator with the Children with Diabetes youth program. As a Certified Diabetes Educator, she works with the Diabetes Education and Camping Association, and has been involved with Camp Huronda, where she returned every summer until she was 25. Hanson is also on the Leadership Council with Beyond Type 1 as a Global Ambassador and an outdoor educator with ALIVE Outdoors.
In her free time, she enjoys travelling, backpacking and adventuring. An avid hiker, she has recently completed the West Coast Trail, the Inca Trail, the Long Range Traverse and several treks throughout Western Canada. In 2012, Hanson was named the Reader’s Choice Adventurer of the Year by Explore Magazine. A true adventurer, Hanson went to a summer camp when she was a child and never really came back. Through her dedication, commitment and boundless energy for adventure, she has become a great role model for people living with Type 1 diabetes.
— Written by Ana de Faria