Meet Our Shero of the Month:
Michelle Anderson
Our October 2020 Shero of the Month is Michelle Anderson of Waxahachie, Texas. Kelly Flannery, PWN’s civic engagement coordinator, said, “Michelle is a force! I’ll never forget when we talked before she became a PWN policy fellow. We discussed the organizing work she has been doing with the Afiya Center and her passion, her fierce determination knocked me off my feet. PWN is lucky to have Michelle as a policy fellow. In her words and in her actions, Michelle shows us what it means to live out a commitment to reproductive justice and human rights.”
She is currently the state organizer at The Afiya Center, the only reproductive justice organization in North Texas, founded and directed by Black women. By approaching HIV/AIDS prevention from a reproductive justice framework, the Afiya Center effectively and realistically strives to decrease new transmissions among women of color. Michelle is also the only woman openly living with HIV to obtain a national beauty title, Ms. Plus America, in 2011.
Michelle began HIV advocacy globally over eight years ago and acknowledged the community outreach work she does statewide is not too different from her local mobilizing efforts. She said, “The only real change is how I have conversations around HIV using the reproductive justice framework to help folk get a clearer understanding of how the result of a positive HIV test was more than just having unprotected sex.”
| Read more about Michelle here |
Webinars You Won’t Want to Miss:
Get Ready for Impact with Our State Legislative Advocacy Webinar Series, Kicking Off Nov. 18
We know many of the laws that most directly impact our lives are made at the state level.
As the 2021 state legislative session approaches, it’s critical to prepare to fight for the issues that affect us, including access to health care, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and criminalization.
PWN is proud to announce our State Legislative Advocacy Training Webinar Series— a four part monthly webinar series–to sharpen our advocacy skills to be as effective as possible.
Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 3pm EST/2pm CST/1pm MST/12pm PST, please join PWN’s Policy Department for the first webinar in the State Legislative Advocacy Training series, where we will discuss the state legislative process.
This webinar will address:
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How a bill becomes law.
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What legislative committees are and how to participate in committee hearings.
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How to submit testimony, track legislation and more!
Come with questions, comments and your own experience(s) with state legislative advocacy!
| Register here |
What’s Next for HIV Advocates? Nov. 16
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Join Eric Paulk from Georgia Equality and Naina Khanna from Positive Women’s Network – USA for a discussion of the post-election landscape and opportunities to advance a rights-based HIV agenda.
| Register here |
Celebrate and Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement:
Call for Your Writing, Art, Videos
Black women deserve the world. At Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN), this is central to everything we do, from the policies we advocate for to the way we do our work. And we think it’s high time to celebrate Black women in the HIV movement loudly and proudly.
PWN will be lifting up the voice of Black women in the HIV movement throughout 2020 leading up to our first annual #CelebrateAndHonorBlackWomen Day on March 12, 2021.
We will be asking HIV organizations to sign on and engage in activities that honor and celebrate the role of Black women in the movement, communities and in our families.
We will be asking you all to engage in activities that
- Celebrate Black Women
- Honor Black women
- Listen to Black Women
- Pay Black Women
- Protect Black Women
Learn more about our Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement initiative here.
Are you a Black woman living with HIV or working and advocating in the HIV movement? Consider submitting a blog, poem, song, photo, quote, original artwork, or video about what celebrating and honoring Black women in HIV looks like to you. We will be sharing them on our website and social media between now and March 12!
You can send your submissions to [email protected].
PWN Is Hiring!
Finance and Operations Manager
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 travel restrictions due to COVID-19 end.
| View the full job description and instructions to apply here |