In this issue:
- PWN Shero of the Month: Katie Willingham
- Spotlight on Virginia: Deirdre Johnson Leads the Fight Against HIV Criminalization
- Advocacy Reminders: PWN Policy Fellowship Application; Last Day for Early Bird Registration for AIDSWatch
- What are you doing for National Women & Girls HIV Awareness Day?
PWN Shero of the Month: Katie Willingham
Our February 2019 Shero of the Month is Katie Willingham of Tuscumbia, Alabama. Jennie Smith-Camejo, PWN-USA Communications Director, said: “Watching Katie come out of her shell and really hold her own as a fierce advocate over the past couple of years has been immensely satisfying. Though she often comes across quiet and shy, she is incredibly smart, talented, and full of ideas. She’s a gifted writer and an all-around wonderful human being who is really pushing the envelope in Alabama to bring about change, and pushing herself out of her comfort zone to make that happen. PWN is proud to work with her as a state lead, spokesperson, and graduated policy fellow.”
Katie really jumped into advocacy feet first after leaving the SPEAK UP! Summit in 2016 at Fort Walton Beach, Florida in 2016. She explained, “Getting into advocacy changed my sense of self worth, and I’m grateful for that. It has pulled me out of my shell of self isolation and strengthened me by challenging every part of me.”
| Read more here |
Spotlight on Virginia: Deirdre Johnson Leads the Fight Against HIV Criminalization Laws
PWN-USA Virginia State Lead Deirdre Johnson is one busy advocate. Since the HIV Is Not a Crime III National Training Academy in Indianapolis last June, she has been collaborating with fellow advocates and activists in her home state of Virginia to build the ECHO VA (Ending Criminalization of HIV and Over-incarceration in Virginia) coalition. PWN interviewed Deirdre about her work building this coalition, the highlights and challenges, and what they’re working to achieve.
Ending Criminalization of HIV and Overincarceration in Virginia (ECHO VA) Coalition was created in June of 2018 while attending HIV Is Not a Crime III. Cedric Pulliam and I decided this was an issue that need to be addressed in Virginia. We held our strategic planning meeting in November, which was hosted by the Sero Project and facilitated by Kari Hartel and Tami Haught. 17 people attended, including representatives from several state and national organizations. We are still working on gaining support from local AIDS service organizations and community based organizations across the state, as well as more people living with HIV or affected by mass incarceration.
In addition to having support from various agencies, we have been selected to present at the SYNC2019 conference, along with fellow advocates from Georgia and Florida, on how we were able to gather and organize as a coalition in such a short amount of time and keep the momentum going. Our hope is to present at more conferences and to host webinars to build a national coalition.
| Read more here |
Last Chance to Apply for the PWN Policy Fellowship: Deadline TOMORROW!
Are you a woman or person of trans experience living with HIV? Do you want to learn more about how policy works, get coaching and support to make a real difference in the policies that affect you, and take your advocacy to the next level? If so, don’t miss your chance to apply for the 2019 PWN Policy Fellowship! The deadline is 11:59pm PST tomorrow, March 1.
| Click here to learn more and apply! |
Register for AIDSWatch by March 9 for 50% Off Registration
AIDSWatch is the largest national constituent-based HIV advocacy day, to be held in Washington, D.C., April 1-2. Organized by our partners at AIDS United, the Treatment Access Expansion Project, and the US People Living with HIV Caucus, AIDSWatch brings together hundreds of people living with HIV and their allies to meet with members of Congress and to educate them about the important issues at stake for people living with HIV in the United States.
Register before March 8 to get the Early Advocate discounted rate of $35!
| Learn more and register here |
What Are You Doing for National Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day?
PWN will be online Friday, March 8, for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) talking about universal health care, what it has to do with women living with HIV, and what you can do as an advocate to help make equitable health care access a reality in your state and/or the U.S.!
Join PWN Membership Engagement Coordinator Evany Turk on Facebook for a special Facebook Live conversation Friday, March 8, at 11:30am EST/10:30am CST/9:30am MST/8:30am PST.
Then, at 12pm EST/11am CST/10am MST/9am PST, head over to Twitter to join our Twitter chat with UCHAPS! Follow the hashtags #NWGHAAD and #ChatwithUCHAPS.
Are you a PWN member, state lead, or chapter officer? Do you have a NWGHAAD event that you are helping organize or speaking at that you’d like PWN to help promote? Please click the button below and fill out the form to provide the info we need to help get the word out!
| Fill out the form here |