Phyllisa Deroze is a global diabetes patient advocate, blogger, and professor of English Literature. Originally from South Florida, she has spoken about diabetes in five countries, has traveled to more than twenty, and lived in three. Phyllisa began blogging at DiagnosedNOTdefeated.com almost immediately after being diagnosed with diabetes in 2011. The following year she founded Black Diabetic Info; a website dedicated to helping close gaps of cultural incompetence around diabetes information. She has been featured on the cover of Health Monitor magazine, writes for various health websites, publishes academic essays within Health Humanities, and she vlogs about living with diabetes on her YouTube channel and social media.