Course

Sarah Miriam Schulman is an American novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer, screenwriter, gay activist, and AIDS historian. She holds an endowed chair in nonfiction at Northwestern University and is a fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities. Her 20th and most recent book is, “Let The Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP, New York 1987-1993.”

Kenyon Farrow (he/him) is the Director of Communications where he leads AVAC’s communications team. He leads AVAC’s narrative change and strategic communications efforts to help influence key stakeholders, policymakers, and the media to expand access to HIV prevention, supporting R&D and programs, and advancing global health equity. In addition to his political work, Kenyon is a prolific essayist and author.

Jason Watler, a proud native of Northern Virginia, began his public health career in 2019 with the Ryland Roane Fellowship. He honed skills in grant writing, HIV/AIDS, and contact tracing while working with various organizations. Now focused on Black LGBTQ+ health, Jason leads a webinar series and debunks Mpox myths, becoming a vital figure in DC's HIV prevention efforts.

Kiara St. James, Founder and Co- Executive Director of the New York Transgender Advocacy Group (NYTAG) has been at the forefront of the TGNCNB advocacy movement for over 20 years. Her radical, progressive ideology has had a positive impact on the TGNCNB community across New York State and nationally. Kiara spearheaded the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act (GENDA) in New York State, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and passed in 2019.

Jawanza James Williams is the Director of Organizing for Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY), a statewide grassroots membership organization that builds power among low-income people affected by HIV/AIDS, the drug war, mass incarceration, and homelessness in order to create healthy and just communities.

Rona Vail, MD is an HIV specialist providing medical care to HIV-infected individuals for over 30 years. She has been at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center for the past 20 years, where in addition to patient care, she has provided education and training on HIV to community members, students, residents and medical professionals. She also serves on the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute Medical Care Criteria Guidelines Committee, as well as the Quality of Care Committee.

Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is also the Director of the UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the Medical Director of the HIV Clinic ("Ward 86") at San Francisco General Hospital. Her research focuses on HIV treatment and prevention optimization, HIV and women, adherence measurement in HIV and TB, adherence interventions, and the interplay between COVID-19 and HIV. She recently worked on COVID-19 mitigation and vaccination strategies, with a book on the COVID-19 pandemic (called “Endemic: A Post Pandemic Playbook”) coming out from Mayo Clinic Press in 2023.

Cynthia Cabral, Ph.D. (pronouns: she/they) is a licensed clinical psychologist and just accepted a position as Network Director of Mental Health for DREAM. Previously, Dr. Cabral served as the Clinical Director at PRIDE(Promoting Resilience, Intersectionality, Diversity, and Equity) Research Consortium affiliated with Hunter College, where she provided clinical supervisory support for research focused on reducing HIV transmission and risky sexual behavior with at risk populations such as men who have sex with men and trans young adults. Dr. Cabral received her doctoral degree from St. John’s University, where her research fellowship focused on the assessment and treatment of trauma in racial/ethnic minority communities throughout Western Queens. She has provided clinical treatment to adolescents in day treatment settings with substance use and mental health disorders, adolescent survivors of physical and sexual abuse, and students in school-based settings with a variety of mental health concerns using evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally competent treatment interventions. In doing so, Dr. Cabral has developed expertise in trauma-informed care and an understanding of the relationship between identity development, trauma, and health outcomes.