In this issue:

  • Meet Our Shero of the Month: KeivaLei Cadena
  • Organizing Spotlight: The Texas Strike Force Saves ADAP for Texans Living with HIV
  • Events You Won’t Want to Miss
  • PWN Is Hiring
  • HIV Cure-Related Research: Community Training Needs Assessment


Meet Our April 2021 Shero of the Month:

KeivaLei Cadena

Our April 2021 Shero of the Month is KeivaLei Cadena of Hilo, Hawaii. Keiva is well-known in HIV and trans advocacy spaces and is an inspiration to countless people living with HIV, not just in Hawaii, but around the nation. Earlier this year, she was awarded the Persistent Advocate Award at AIDSWatch 2021.

“I can’t think of many people more inspiring than Keiva,” said Jennie Smith-Camejo, PWN communications director. “She is so incredibly generous of her time, talent, and self, sharing her own experiences to educate, empower, and inspire others in their personal lives, while also advocating for the policies that can improve life for people living with and vulnerable to HIV and trans folks. When she speaks, she’s this extraordinary combination of warm, empathetic, and fierce that makes you stop and listen.”

A native Hawaiian born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area who moved to Hawaii to be closer to her mother and her roots, Keiva has dedicated her career to helping people living with and vulnerable to HIV get the services, care, and support they need to either prevent HIV or live full lives with it. Last year, she went from community engagement coordinator at Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center to the prevention programs and community engagement manager at the Hawaii HIV/AIDS Foundation (HIHAF).

“I want young people of trans experience to know that they’re not limited to what society’s expectations of our community is,” she said. “Looking back at my own lived experiences, I think I limited myself to believing my only talents were in sex work, doing hair and make-up, performing in clubs, and being the comic relief for family and friends…We still see that in television and movies today. As I’ve gotten older and as I find myself in these professional spaces where we’re celebrated for our intelligence, our fearlessness, and our resilience, I feel I cheated myself by not expecting more of myself at a younger age.

“I really want young people to understand that the trans experience is an avenue to greater wisdom and a greater perspective on life, on relationships, on the whole journey. It strengthens our human ability to heal ourselves and others. We really do have so much more to offer the world. Truly, there is nothing we can’t do.”

Read more about Keiva here!


Organizing Spotlight:

Thanks to the Texas Strike Force, Low-Income Texans Living with HIV Will Still Get Their Meds


People living with HIV know that one step in leading a healthy life is having access to life-saving medication. What do you do when access to those medications is taken away from the people who most need them? If you are an organizing force like the PWN Texas Strike Force, then you mobilize to save the Texas AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

The PWN Texas Strike Force is a statewide cross movement of individuals and organizations ready to take action on behalf of marginalized communities and change the face of politics in Texas. The strike force is led by the rapid response team that includes five members of the PWN Texas chapter: Roxanne Glapion, Angela F. Hawkins, Tana Pradia, Jessi Mona Cartwright, and Shelia A. Crockett.

The Strike Force has organized meetings, educated the community on what’s going on, led a coalition of organizations to oppose the changes to ADAP, provided comments and feedback, and participated in DSHS meetings to elevate community concerns. And they won! The Strike Force was successful in getting the state Department of State Health Services to reverse its decision to change income eligibility requirements, and all people living with HIV will continue to receive medications.

Q. What’s going on with ADAP in Texas?

A. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) proposed income eligibility changes to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program that provides medications for low-income Texans living with HIV. This change would have prevented 2,700 Texans living with HIV from receiving HIV medications. The Texas Strike Force mobilized to garner public opposition to the proposed changes.

Read more about the Texas Strike Force’s victory here!

Events You Won’t Want to Miss

Nothing About Us Without Us: Networks of People Living with HIV & The Federal HIV Response


What is the Biden-Harris administration’s plan for and action on #HIV 100 days in? What is Congress up to? What policy demands have networks of people living with HIV already made, and what else are we thinking about? How can HIV advocates push for meaningful progress on the issues that matter most to us?

We will discuss all this and more on a special 2-hour Facebook Live on the US PLHIV Caucus page or on PWN’s YouTube Tuesday, May 4, starting at 4pm EDT/1pm PDT, co-hosted by the National Working Positive Coalition, Positive Women’s Network – USA, Positively Trans, Ribbon, the Sero Project, Thrive SS, and the US PLHIV Caucus!

Mark your calendars and join us live!

RSVP here!

PWNCares Sister Circle Community Event:

Mother’s Day Our Way

Friday, May 7 at 3 pm EDT/ 12 pm PDT


Women living with HIV can have healthy, HIV-negative babies; can foster and adopt children; and can raise happy, well-adjusted kids who can help dismantle HIV stigma when they see and hear it.

Join PWN and The Well Project Friday, May 7, for a special virtual PWNCares Sister Circle Mother’s Day community event by and for women living with HIV where our brilliant panelists will share their experiences, wisdom, challenges, triumphs, lessons learned, and resources over 3 panels, with some entertainment in between!

Register for our Mother’s Day event here!

Unpacking the Process

Thursday, May 20 at 2 pm EDT/ 11 am PDT

Do you wonder how the policies that affect our lives as people living with HIV get made? Want to know how to impact these policies, but don’t know where to start?

Join PWN as we unpack the process! This webinar will cover how to engage in federal administrative advocacy by unpacking:

  1. What are the federal agencies and offices, such as PACHA and ONAP, affecting HIV law and policy;
  2. the main laws and regulations impacting people living with HIV; and
  3. how to get involved and impact the process yourself.
Register for Unpacking the Process here!

Register for HIV Is Not a Crime IV Now!


HIV is Not a Crime IV (HINAC), the fourth national training academy to educate and train people living with HIV (PLHIV), activists, stakeholders, and policy leaders to mobilize state-level advocacy to end HIV-related criminalization. The conference’s program will be hosted June 7 – 10, 2021 from 2 pm – 6 pm ET. H. HINAC IV will include leadership institutes for Black, Latinx, and Trans activists, similar to the Black United Leadership pre-institute held at HINAC III.

You won’t want to miss this exciting virtual event. Register today!

Register for HINAC 4 here!

Point Source Youth Rural Conference on Youth Homelessness

May 18-19

With the health and safety of communities across the rural U.S. in mind, our partners at Point Source Youth are hosting the First Annual Rural Conference on Youth Homelessness on a virtual platform!

On May 18-19, 2021, PSY’s virtual gathering will bring youth advocates, service providers, activists and thought-leaders from across the rural U.S. together. Register for rural-specific programming that will center best practices for ending youth homelessness through the lens of intersectionality and build community among folks from diverse communities who are committed to working across movements to ensure that all youth have access to a safe, empowering place to call home.

Use the discount code COMMUNITY25 to get a 25% discount on registration!

Learn more and register here!

PWN is Hiring

Finance & Operations Manager

About this role

The Finance and Operations Manager (FOM) is the central administrative hub for PWN’s people (staff, board, and members), money (income, expenses, assets, and liabilities), and technology (systems and devices). The position holds a balance of big-picture and detail-level projects and responsibilities.

The FOM oversees daily operations, supports project management and program reporting, manages infrastructure, operations, and technology for our national and remote offices, and creates and implements organizational policies and procedures. Reporting to a Senior Director, the Finance & Operations Manager is a member of the leadership team; as such, they provide guidance and input on the overall activities of the organization, while overseeing operational functions. Occasional travel may be required when traveling restrictions due to COVID-19 end.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the items listed below.

  1. Finance (40%): account for income and expenses through organized record-keeping.
  2. Operations (40%): provide staff and member-leaders with the material supplies, digital tools, and information management needed to implement programs smoothly and efficiently.
  3. Organizational Development (10%)
  4. Administrative and Logistical Support (10%)

Successful candidates will possess all of the following qualities and skills:

  • Systems thinking: We are looking for someone who really loves innovating and implementing systems, protocols, and processes. Applicants should demonstrate the ability to view a whole system with its parts and to develop processes that increase efficiency and impact.
  • Project Management: Applicants should have experience developing and tracking action plans, timelines for projects, deliverables, and reporting on data.
  • Highly organized: Applicants should thrive on attention to detail, and enjoy organizing and tracking materials, setting and managing priorities, tracking details of administrative work, project management, and event planning.
  • Self-directed: Applicants should love problem-solving; demonstrate initiative and accountability; be comfortable managing projects and volunteers as well as working independently.
  • Adaptable: Applicants should be comfortable working with constituencies with a broad range of professional experience and literacy levels; adaptive to shifting and evolving organizational priorities.
  • Communicative: Applicants should have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be skilled in interpersonal relations.
  • Tech-savvy: Applicants should be proficient in utilizing common office software, Google suite, online project tracking tools, be competent with basic social media, and comfortable navigating websites to manage vendor accounts and vendor communications.
  • Collaborative: Applicants should demonstrate that they are a great team player and listener with strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with staff and consultants remotely.
See the full job description here!

Organizing Director

About the Position

Reporting to a Co-Executive Director, the Organizing Director (OD) is a member of the senior staff, and as such, contributes to visioning and planning for the overall organization, represents the organization in key partnerships and coalition spaces, while contributing to a positive organizational culture, and a sustainable and healthy work environment. The Organizing Director creates, manages, and evaluates the effectiveness of the organizing program and strategy for PWN members and base, to ensure that it is aligned with PWN’s strategic priorities and goals. Central to the Organizing Director’s work is the development and implementation of mechanisms to ensure accountability to our national membership: women and transgender people living with HIV.

The Organizing Director serves as a liaison between the community (members at large; chapters; state leads; and base of allies) and PWN’s policy, training, and communications departments. The Director’s specific areas of responsibility include the following:

  1. ORGANIZING STRATEGY Align our organizing strategy with other organizational goals, including policy priorities, leadership development, electoral strategy, base-building; racial, gender, and geographic equity goals.
    1. Manage systems to ensure that members are aware of and inform the development of our organizational strategy and direction
    2. Develop, execute and evaluate planned digital and field organizing campaigns for issue-based, integrated voter engagement, federal and state advocacy efforts.
    3. Develop, execute and evaluate rapid response organizing campaigns.
  2. PROJECT MANAGEMENT Develop, oversee, and monitor the organizing department work plan, including setting and tracking progress on goals and benchmarks.
    1. Create and implement systems to ensure alignment, quality, and impact of work from PWN membership, chapters, and state leads
    2. Manage grant deliverables related to the organizing department;
    3. Participate in fund development activities for the organizing program;
    4. Ensure that chapters, state leads, and members at large are supported to plan and lead advocacy campaigns and awareness activities aligned with PWN-USA policy and culture change priorities;
    5. Maintain and update tools and resources to support organizing activities;
  3. SUPERVISION: Supervise and delegate responsibilities to organizing staff, volunteers and consultants. Manage National Field Organizer and other staff.
  4. OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED.
Read the full job description here!

CUREiculum Releases its Community Training Needs Assessment

Several members of the national Martin Delaney National Advisory Board, which includes people living with HIV, community advocates, and educators, have formed a working group to create a well-rounded HIV cure research education tool (called the CUREiculum) to increase HIV cure research literacy among community members who do not have scientific or clinical training. This tool will be in the form of a modular curriculum, building on previously developed resources.

The goal of the curriculum is to strengthen community capacity to understand and engage in discussions about HIV cure-related research. By providing basic information on a variety of topics in meaningful and accessible language, it will be understandable to a wide variety of audiences and learning styles.

The needs assessment provides suggestions on how to build more effective community education materials on HIV cure-related research.

View or download the CUREiculum here!