Our July 2018 Shero of the Month is Tana Pradia of Houston, Texas. She is the co-chair of PWN-USA Texas Greater Houston Area and a current PWN Policy Fellow.

According to Jessi Mona Cartwright-Biggs, who nominated her, “She has a spirit of humility and is super always willing to step up and help out, no matter what! I first saw this shero in a Positive Organizing Project Class in 2015. She shared about her trauma, and many other trials she endured throughout her life. I was amazed to see her still standing and sitting in this class! She stood out because she spoke her truth without hesitation. She serves as the co-chair for PWN-USA Texas Greater Houston Area. She steps up to help out on so many levels. She serves on Ryan White Council, does volunteer work at Thomas Street and stays visible and busy in the field of HIV /AIDS. Tana is most deserving of this award and recognition!”

Though Tana has been active in HIV issues for a long time and a driving force behind the fast-moving PWN-USA Texas chapter for over two years, she has been showing up in intersectional spaces a lot lately. You may have seen her in photos, videos and story we’ve shared of the protests for immigrant justice in Texas–she has gotten very active in the cause. We asked her how she got involved.

“I received a call about the protest, from [PWN Membership Engagement Coordinator] Evany to see if I could get a group together to go to Brownsville, Texas. I didn’t hesitate,” she explained. “I asked the ladies in the chapter would they protest for immigrates families and the answer was yes. We all went on line and registered. This is important to me as a mother, and I have friends who are immigrants and have children. I couldn’t imagine having my children taken away from me. The trauma and fear that I would never see them again this just heartbreaking to me as a mother. If I had to do it all over again I would give the same answer. No one should have to go through the injustice these immigrant families are going through today at the hands of this administration.”

We asked Tana what accomplishments she was most proud of as co-chair of the Texas chapter. She expressed pride at the chapter going strong after over two years and having a good presence at the 2018 SPEAK UP! Summit. “We also were a part of the AIDS United POP grant award to the Texas chapter. We’ve done trainings along with PWN-USA Texas Dallas-Fort Worth on Stigmatizing Language, Advocacy 101, Effective Leadership, Criminalization, the Denver Principles and MIPA/GIPA. This was a great accomplishment for us, to see the ladies in Houston be so fierce.”

Tana’s words of wisdom for women living with HIV considering getting involved in advocacy? “Advocating is a lot of work, but at the end of the day, it’s worth advocating for what we believe in is the right thing to do in the world we are living in for black and brown people today. I’m very proud to be a part of PWN and the Policy Fellowship is showing me and the 3 chapter members in Houston who are part of the fellowship that our voice counts. You don’t need money to make a change. All you need bodies in numbers.” And plenty of energy and conviction, of course–two things Tana certainly does not lack!

We look forward to working with Tana for many years to come!