Gabriella Simo
Manager, Advocacy, Ontario | Diabetes Canada
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Gabriella Simo is Manager of Advocacy for the Ontario region at Diabetes Canada.
Biography
Gabriella is Manager of Advocacy for Ontario for Diabetes Canada and a member the CDA’s Government Relations and Public Policy (GRPP) team. She also currently manages the Ontario Monitoring for Health Program, a financial assistance program funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to help individuals using insulin pay for their diabetes testing supplies.
Gabriella works with the GRPP team and volunteer advocates across the country to advance Diabetes Canada’s strategic government relations and advocacy priorities, and also directly assists hundreds of Ontarians each year with various individual advocacy issues. She is a passionate advocate for people with diabetes and regularly speaks at events to raise awareness about the personal and financial burden of diabetes, the rights of people with diabetes, and the power of storytelling (personal stories) in advocacy.
Gabriella has a special interest in issues related to children and is currently working at the provincial level to ensure that all students with diabetes in Ontario are adequately protected and supported in schools.
Industry Expertise (5)
Advertising/Marketing
Non-Profit/Charitable
Health and Wellness
Program Development
Public Relations and Communications
Areas of Expertise (7)
Volunteer Management
Community Development
Community Outreach
Health Advocacy
Diabetes Charter for Canada
Non-Profit Advocacy
Diabetes
Education (2)
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology: Diploma, Public Relations
Simon Fraser University: B.A., Communications
Media Appearances (3)
Parents call for better policies to protect diabetic students at school
The Record online
2011-09-19
“We have been pushing for legislation to help protect children with diabetes in the same way,” said Gabriella Simo, the Canadian Diabetes Association advocacy manager for Ontario. The association, along with parent advocacy groups, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Canada and MPPs who have introduced bills, want a provincial policy on diabetes management in schools that ensures children are safe...
Expo focuses on helping those with diabetes
Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal print
2015-10-14
The difficulty of paying for diabetes medication and supplies is a common story Simo hears on a daily basis. Another example she gave was people with diabetes who may experience discrimination in the workplace along with issues with trying to get insurance coverage. “Those are the challenges that people living with diabetes face every day,” explained Simo.
Mothers slam diabetes emergency injection policy
St. Catharines Standard print
2014-12-08
Gabriella Simo, Ontario manager of advocacy for the Canadian Diabetes Association, said it recently released guidelines for the care of students at school with diabetes to help boards improve their policies and increase students’ safety.
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