Founder Bio

Jessica Floeh, a human-centered designer and 2010 graduate of Parsons The New School For Design, began Hanky Pancreas™ during her masters thesis addressing a theme of design, technology, and the human condition. For her research she focused on the socio-psychological impact of wearable diabetes technologies and worked with a group of women with diabetes in New York. Through them she was inspired to create designs that would ignite conversation and support in everyday environments. She continues to be inspired by each one of her wearers through the stories and support they share.

Since graduating at the top of her class at Parsons, she has received recognition from both fashion experts and leaders in health technology. She is honored to have been a keynote speaker at Medtronic Minimed, received accolades from Core77, DiabetesMine, and Humana, and exhibited designs at EYEBEAM in New York, Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHUB) in Spain, and at Sheffield Hallam University for The 2011 European Conference Design 4 Health in the UK. In September 2011, she won an opportunity to share her vision at The Mayo Clinic during Transform 2011.

Jessica was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 4 years old and after many years of injections she started using an insulin pump. While her medical health improved, she struggled with the social inconvenience and wearability of the device. As a result, she began conceptualizing a way to improve the experience in terms of comfort and confidence.  Jessica is currently creating handmade and custom solutions and stands behind the evidence that her products represent a movement toward a socially dynamic and new way of interacting with diabetes technology. In addition to giving all she’s got to Hanky Pancreas™, Jessica is living in Chicago and working as a creative brand strategist at the medical technology company Brainlab.