Rachel Hicks is a person with diabetes and PhD candidate at Western Sydney University, whose research focuses on lived experience and using consumer and community involvement (CCI) to improve the outcomes in the pregnancy journeys of women with diabetes (pre-existing and GDM) through peer support, communication and social media/social marketing interventions. She is dedicated to the representation and advocacy for people with diabetes, by people with diabetes. She was the recipient of the 2024 ADIPS Educational Travel Award, 2024 Franklin Women Carer's Scholarship, 2023 JDRF PhD Top-Up Scholarship, the 2022 IDIP Bursary, 2021 ADIPS Novo Nordisk Educational Research Grant, and 2020 Franklin Women Covid Carer's Scholarship. Rachel was an invited speaker and presenter at the 2022 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Congress and the 2022 International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG)/ADIPS Annual Scientific meeting, and has presented at the 2025 International Diabetes Federation Congress and every ADIPS ASM annually since 2022. Her memberships include the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society, Australian Diabetes Society, the international Collaboration for Compassion in Healthcare Education (C4CHEd) research group, Franklin Women, Health Consumers NSW and Consumer's Health Forum Australia. She is also a member of the Inaugural Assembly of the Consumer Health Forum Australia, a Patient Reviewer for the BMJ, and on the Reviewer Panel for the Australian Diabetes Clinical Trials Network (ADCTN). Rachel has held several grant investigator and consumer advisory representative roles at state and national levels (including NHMRC and MRFF TTRA funded grants) and regularly conducts qualitative analysis for consumer research projects through focus groups and social media support programs. Rachel also co-hosts a diabetes and pregnancy consumer and peer-led podcast called MamaBetes, which has received extensive promotion from state and national diabetes organisations. She has over 30 years of lived experience with Type 1 Diabetes (including as a consumer in the SWSLHD DCAPP program and as a new mother), a Graduate Certificate in Researcher Engagement Developlment and Innovation (2023) (WSU), a Masters in Business (Distinction) (Marketing) (2018), and Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies (Journalism) (Distinction)/Bachelor of Arts (Japanese) (2011) from the University of Wollongong.