Organization: University of British Columbia
Region: USA and Canada
Nationality: United States
Country: Canada
Interests & expertise: Community leadership
Profession or occupation: Advocate/activist
What inspires you to work in the HIV field?
The HIV field is the innovator of community and lived-experience response. People living with or impacted by HIV are at the core of driving solutions to end the HIV pandemic. As someone with lived experience, I work and inspire others around me who share similar identities, which underscores the value of meaning-making as a collective. The resilience of the HIV field is a testament to the dedication to do good work despite pushback from people, governments and organizations. I love my work in the HIV field, never wavering from what it means to centralize my values to impacting the lives of others and my own.
What are your goals as an IAS change maker?
As an IAS change maker, I am here to shake things up. I am a young, highly driven, unstoppable force of change that aims to bring other people who share similar gender and sexual identities into the HIV response, not only at the frontline level, but as leaders in the movement. My goal is to demonstrate the relevance of HIV to our generation and catalyse solutions that are youth oriented, respecting the knowledge and expertise we bring to the table.