Michelle Anderson, AFIYA Center HIV Prevention & Reproductive Justice, Dallas, TX
Michelle Anderson is a Black Woman who has been living with HIV since 1999. She currently resides in Dallas, Texas and is very active in her community. She is the Co-Chair of Campaign to End AIDS in Texas, Peer Educator at The AFIYA Center, Public Speaker, Board Member for AIDS Services of Dallas, as well as Treasurer for the ADAP Advocacy Association. Anderson has experience as a group facilitator and has attended many conferences where she received training in Advocacy, Project LEAP (Learning, Empowerment, Advocacy, Participation), and Common Threads. Anderson has dedicated much of her personal life to educating others on HIV/AIDS throughout the greater Dallas area and beyond. She is currently the Texas State Ms. Duncanville Plus America 2010 - 2011. She plans to use her title to become the voice of positive women of color.
Reggie Caldwell, L.C.S.W., California Department of Public Health- Sacramento, CA
Reggie Caldwell, has been a clinical social worker for over 20 years in local and state public health. He started tenure in public health at Denver Public Health as a clinical social worker for an NIH-funded, community-based AIDS research program where he was primarily responsible for patient recruitment and retention. He was also a founding member of the Colorado Minority Health Forum, a coalition of agencies that addressed health issues for people of color. Mr. Caldwell has been a policy and program coordinator for the California Department of Public Health since 1999—first in HIV/AIDS and currently in Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health. He develops and implements health policy targeting racial and ethnic health disparities, and provides technical assistance and capacity building to local health jurisdictions as they address these issues. To understand the needs of the individual as well as broader systems the impact them, he continues to be a practicing psychotherapist for individuals and couples. This balanced approach affords him the ability to better understand the individuals and the systems that influence health and wellness.
Abby Charles, The Women’s Collective, Washington, DC
Abby Charles currently serves as the Policy & Advocacy Coordinator at The Women’s Collective (TWC), an HIV care management, prevention and advocacy organization for women and girls living with and at risk for HIV in Washington, DC. Prior to her work with The Women’s Collective, Abby spearheaded the implementation of the SisterAct Institute, an essential youth-based HIV prevention project. In addition, she provided oversight to the counseling, testing and referral, outreach and community education, curriculum skills based HIV prevention groups, female condom (FC2) outreach and education project and prevention with positive programs.
Amelia J. Cobb, M.P.H., Director, Partnership to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence and HIV, Washington, DC
Social entrepreneur, Amelia Cobb is President of The Wright Group (TWG). In this capacity, Ms. Cobb leads the development of new public health and community demonstration projects for underserved populations. Ms. Cobb is currently the Director for The Partnership to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and HIV. Before founding TWG, Ms. Cobb’s experience included serving as a Services Fellow/ Public Health Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a Health Policy Fellow at Harvard Medical School where she conducted research on Clinical Effectiveness and Quality Improvement Measures in Urban Community Clinics and AmeriCorps Project Manager for the Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MA-AETC) at Howard University Hospital. Ms. Cobb holds a bachelor of science in nutritional sciences from Howard University, master of public health from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and master of business administration from Johns Hopkins University. Since founding TWG, she has continued her relationship with George Washington University as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health. Ms. Cobb lectures on a wide variety of topics related to the nonprofit sector and minority women’s health issues.
Jacqueline Coleman, M.E.d., M.S.M., Vision Que!, Washington, DC
Jacqueline Coleman, Principal and Owner of Vision Que!, has more than 20 years experience in training and assisting faith-based and public health entities in maximizing their service to consumers, clients and community. Coleman also serves as a motivational speaker, life skills coach and group facilitator. In November 2007, she was appointed to serve as Board Chair for International Council of AIDS Service Organizations’ (ICASO), a global AIDS network with regional secretariats worldwide and to represent North American region [United States and Canada] on the global board. In July 2008, Coleman was elected as co-chair for the Black Women’s HIV/AIDS Network, a network of HIV-positive and HIV-negative Black Women who are committed to providing representation and a powerful voice for Black Women in the U.S. She has trained in Spain, China, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Caribbean and Southern Africa in key functional areas of HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, violence and victimization, youth prevention, case management, community building, community development, leadership and a plethora of related topics. Coleman is a training consultant with ETR Associates, and is certified to provide training of facilitators on several Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interventions, including SISTA and Voices. Her professional interest and expertise focuses on organizational development, capacity building, leadership development, community building and training. Coleman is professionally trained in the fields of counseling psychology, adult education and business management. In addition to managing Vision Que!, she is presently pursuing a doctorate of management at the University of Maryland.
Bambi Gaddist, Ph.D., South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council, Columbia, SC
Dr. Bambi W. Gaddist received a bachelor of science from Tuskegee University in physical education and health, a master of science in physical education administration/health from Indiana University, and completed Doctoral studies in the areas of Human Sexuality and Family Life Education at the University of South Carolina. She maintains a passion for education, particularly among adolescents and young adults, and seeks to address their sexuality issues, as well as create strategies that reduce the negative consequences of early or irresponsible sexual involvement. Gaddist currently serves as Executive Director of the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council, a 501(c)3 non profit organization located in Columbia, South Carolina. She is a published author and has consulted for a host of national and local organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Association of Health Education, National Association of STD Directors and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, to name a few. She is married to Bernard Gaddist and has a daughter, Kialeah, and two grandsons, Nyheme and Chase. She attends Brookland Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, where she seeks to use her God-given talents to make a difference in the lives of who may be less fortunate or in need of a helping hand.
Dorie J. Gilbert, Ph.D., L.M.S.W., University of Texas, Austin, TX
Dorie J. Gilbert, Ph.D., L.M.S.W., is Associate Professor of Social Work and African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a former Visiting Research Scholar at the University of California at San Francisco, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies and served as the co-editor of Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services for 7 years. Dr. Gilbert’s work centers on advocating for prevention programs that emphasize African-centered philosophies of health promotion and disease prevention in the US and in Ghana, West Africa. Her recent research projects include Project Mother-Daughter Talk involving in-depth interviews with 12-16 year-old African American daughters whose mothers are living with HIV/AIDS and Healer Women Project, an Africentric health promotion program for women of African-descent. She is also Program Evaluator for Get-Started Girl, a prevention intervention for recently released female inmates. Dr. Gilbert’s presentation will draw from findings from these three research projects, all of which touch on issues of Black Women and relationship dynamics, sexual communication and childhood trauma.
B. Kaye Hayes, M.P.A., Office on Women’s Health, US Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, DC
B. Kaye Hayes, M.P.A., joined the staff of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health (OWH), in October 2001 as the Senior Advisor for Policy. She served as the Acting Deputy Director of the office from January to May, 2010. Hayes is responsible for the formulation of budget, performance and policy initiatives for the office, as well as management improvement and strategic planning. Prior to joining OWH, she spent four years as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) and Surgeon General (SG) Dr. David Satcher. In this capacity, Hayes worked on a myriad of health policy initiatives for the ASH/SG and managed the immediate personal staff for the ASH/SG. She traveled with the Surgeon General as a member of the Health and Medical Team to assess public health and medical needs after the U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Prior to her work with the ASH/SG, Hayes worked as the Extramural Community Liaison for the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she developed and strengthened national partnerships with national, state and local organizations, including business, labor, faith community, entertainment and other non-traditional heath partnerships. Her career has included producer assignments with CNN Medical News where she produced news stories on “Innovative Campus Approaches to HIV/AIDS Education,” and health research on other topics for medical news stories.
Kimberly A. Johnson, M.P.H., University of Texas–Houston Prevention Research Center, Houston, TX
Kimberly A. Johnson, M.P.H., is currently a project director at the University of Texas Prevention Research Center located within the University of Texas School of Public Health. Johnson started working in HIV prevention over eight years ago and continues to work on prevention research, social marketing and the use of social media – especially for minority youth – on topics related to sexual behavior, healthy relationships and parent communication. Her interests include youth-led social marketing and community based sex education advocacy. Johnson also has extensive experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative studies on sexual health among minority youth, collaborating with community members to implement evidence-based sex education programs and training teachers to implement an innovative, tech-savvy program called It’s Your Game…Keep It Real, developed by researchers at the UT School of Public Health.
Barbara Joseph, Positive Efforts, Houston, TX
Barbara Joseph is the Founder and Executive Director of Positive Efforts, Inc. Joseph, a heterosexual female, was diagnosed with HIV 27 years ago from a blood transfusion after having major surgery. Having run into many obstacles trying to receive medication, insurance and other health services, led to creative thinking, thus Positive Efforts, Inc. was born. In October, 2007, Joseph was one of 100 individuals from across the U.S. invited by Co-Chairs Bishop T.D. Jakes and Rev. Calvin Butts to participate in the very first National Conclave on HIV/AIDS Policy for Black Clergy at Time Warner Center in New York. In 2008, the Clorox Company and Ebony magazine honored her and five other Houstonians as “Unsung Heroes” at their annual Sister Speak Luncheon. In June 2008 Pine-Sol and Radio Networks honored Joseph as the Grand Prize Winner of the Pine-Sol Powerful Difference Awards. This award is given to women doing extraordinary things that make a powerful difference in schools, neighbors and communities. Joseph was again featured in the October 2008 issue of Ebony. Most recently, Rolling Out magazine honored Joseph as one of the “Top 25 Women of Houston” doing “Phenomenal” things in the community. In 2010, Joseph was invited the White House to address issues concerning African American women for the Presidential Advisory Council HIV/AIDS (PACHA) and was invited to the release of the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy at the White House.
Rev. Andre Lewis, New Faith Church, Houston, TX
Rev. Andre Lewis has been involved with efforts to educate students from a biblical perspective on the spiritual issues surrounding the African American and Latino communities for over 15 years as a youth and young adult pastor. Rev. Lewis worked with spiritual enrichment programs such as True Love Waits for three years. He has also worked with the Houston Independent School District as a spiritual liaison in the fight against teen pregnancy under the supervision of former Southeast District Superintendent Warner Erving. During this time, he provided outreach, education and counseling using biblical principles to educate community and congregants alike.
Nike Lukan, AIDS Foundation Houston, Houston, TX
Nike Lukan has six years experience in the areas of HIV/STD prevention services, community awareness and public health research. Her work has contributed to the AIDS Foundation Houston’s (AFH) status as a leader in the provision of services to Houston and surrounding areas as vice president for prevention services. Lukan is a trained facilitator for several CDC-approved evidence-based interventions, including Healthy Relationships, Focus on Youth with IMPACT, Popular Opinion Leader and VOICES. Lukan also provides community awareness to Houston area public, private, and non-profit organizations. Lukan has been intricately involved in the “HIP HOP for HIV” community mobilization testing initiative since its inception in 2007. She is co-chair of the African American State of Emergency Task Force, the local Houston Community Planning Group and the Texas HIV/STD Prevention Community Planning Group.
Donna Hubbard McCree, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.Ph., Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP), National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA
Dr. Donna Hubbard McCree has over 28 years of experience in public health and pharmacy. Her training and expertise are in developing and conducting STD/HIV behavioral interventions. At CDC, McCree’s work includes projects focused on HIV testing strategies for African American women and men who have sex with men (MSM), and behavioral interventions for heterosexually active African American men. Her work has resulted in over 90 peer-reviewed publications and presentations at both international and national scientific meetings. McCree was guest editor for a June 2009 theme issue of the American Journal of Public Health that focused on interventions strategies for HIV and AIDS prevention among African Americans. She is also lead co-editor of a book focused on HIV in African Americans communities, African Americans and HIV: Understanding and Addressing The Epidemic (2010, Springer).
Jenny McFarlane, B.A., Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX
Jenny R. McFarlane, B.A., has worked with HIV/AIDS and STDs for the past 22 years. She spent the beginning of her career working with the incarcerated, substance users, sex trade workers, and individuals living with HIV and AIDS. Jenny has worked for the Texas Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) HIV/STD Program for the past 12 years, providing direct technical assistance and monitoring and leading a team of consultants who monitor and provide technical assistance to HIV and STD prevention, administration, and care services programs funded by DSHS. In addition to her duties, Jenny has become a specialist in HIV perinatal prevention, evidence-based interventions, routine HIV testing in health care settings, HCV counseling and testing and the administration of HIV services and housing assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS. Currently, Jenny is the state coordinator for the implementation of routine HIV testing in health care settings and HIV perinatal prevention.
Mary Chapman McIntosh, M.E.d., Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX
Mary Chapman McIntosh, M.E.d., is the Test Texas Project Coordinator with the DSHS HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch. Drawing on many years experience in counseling, sex education and project management, Mary now focuses mainly on HIV prevention and HIV-related special projects. She previously worked for the DSHS Family Planning Program, where she was project coordinator for the Violence Against Women Prevention Advisory Council. Mary’s background with coalition development provided the perfect foundation for coordinating the Test Texas HIV Coalition, an organization dedicated to making HIV testing a routine part of health care in Texas.
Marlene McNeese-Ward, HIV/STD & Viral Hepatitis Prevention, City of Houston Health & Human Services Department, Houston, TX
Since 1992, Marlene McNeese-Ward has gained expertise in the human service field, assisting in the development of four large start-up prevention and treatment programs for community-based organizations and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional facilities addressing issues of chemical dependency, HIV/AIDS, mental health and post-incarceration syndrome. Earning her degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Behavioral Science, Marlene also has extensive leadership experience with local and national advisory councils and boards directing programs and policies toward diverse and disenfranchised communities. Marlene is a past chairperson of the Houston Area Ryan White Planning Council and advocacy chair of the Mayor’s African-American HIV State of Emergency Task Force. Currently, Marlene is the government-appointed co-chair for the Houston HIV Prevention Community Planning Group, member of the HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative’s Strategy Council, and national vice-chairperson of the Black Alcoholism and Addictions Council. In 2004, Marlene began her tenure with the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, where she presently serves as chief for the Bureau of HIV/STD and Viral Hepatitis Prevention and steering committee member for the Urban Coalition of HIV/AIDS Prevention Services (UCHAPS).
Debra L. Murphy, Ph.D., M.P.H., Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, TX
Debra L. Murphy, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Huston-Tillotson University; Advisor for the Psychology Major Area; and Principal Investigator/Director of the HT Health Connection AIDS Awareness/Risk Reduction program. Murphy received a doctorate in social psychology from Texas Christian University and a postdoctoral master of public health from the Columbia University School of Public Health. She has taught at Columbia University and conducted research with the New York State Division of Substance Abuse Services and Narcotic Drug Research, Inc. in the area of substance abuse and HIV. Her career has expanded to include all areas of racial disparities in health with various state, federal, academic and private agencies. She has worked with the American Health Foundation/Harlem Health Connection, the Minority Task Force on AIDS, the federal Centers for Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention and other federal grant project initiatives. Since relocating to Austin, she spearheaded the implementation of the first major in psychology in the history of Huston-Tillotson, and served as head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Huston-Tillotson prior to the reorganization of the college. Murphy has continued her work in the areas of racial disparities in HIV/AIDS and other health areas by writing and obtaining a HIV/AIDS awareness and risk reduction grant targeted at the students at Huston-Tillotson.
Ereka Washington Philip, City of Houston Bureau of HIV/STD and Viral Hepatitis Prevention, Houston, TX
Ereka Washington Philip is a licensed social worker with over twenty years of experience in the public health field. Her experience includes the coordination of the Hank Carde Foundation at the Whitman Walker Clinic in Washington, DC. Ms Washington Philip was also a project coordinator for the Women’s Project at the Health Crisis Network in Miami, Florida. Currently she is a public health investigator for the City of Houston Bureau of HIV/STD and Viral Hepatitis Prevention in Houston, Texas.
Ann S. Robbins, Ph.D., HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX
Dr. Ann Robbins is the manager of the HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch at the Department of State Health Services in Austin, where she is administrator of an integrated HIV and STD prevention and treatment program. Prior to work in this position, she managed program evaluation and advanced epidemiologic research focusing on HIV/STD prevention and HIV services. Her publications and presentations have included epidemiologic inquiries, evaluation of activities to improve community-based planning, improvement of health planning data within the Ryan White Program and promotion of program integration practices. In addition to working on international technical assistance teams in Botswana and Ethiopia, Robbins is proud to be Chair of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.
Ratonia C. Runnels, L.M.S.W., University of Texas, Austin, TX
Originally from Dallas, Ratonia C. Runnels is a Licensed Master Social Worker and founder of TrinityVision Consulting. She earned a master of science in social work. from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a doctoral student in the School of Social Work. Her research areas are spirituality and social work, social work education, faith-based programming and the development of culturally relevant service delivery models. Her work experience includes case management, counseling, training, administration and maintaining community collaborations in HIV prevention, services and public health. Runnels has written and co-authored scholarly works on topics such as church-based mental health services, spirituality among trauma survivors and women with chronic illness. She was awarded an Endowed Presidential Scholarship and Diversity Mentoring Fellowship from the University of Texas at Austin Graduate School and has been selected twice by the Council on Social Work Education as a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Minority Fellow. Runnels has maintained consistent interaction with the local community as outreach worker, counselor, educator, trainer, and advocate in the fields of HIV/AIDS and substance abuse prevention. She has presented at several national and international conferences and served in various capacities with faith-based health initiatives. She has also served in a leadership role on both the City of Austin HIV/AIDS Task Force and the Austin Area HIV Planning Council, and consulted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a National Training Partner. Runnels also serves her community as an advisory member of the Women Rising Project – a support network for women living with HIV in the Central Texas area, and as facilitator of Get Lifted!©, a weekly support group for women living with HIV, and author of an online devotional entitled Living with Victory!
Shenequa Sanders, All Individuals Deserve Saving (A.I.D.S), Beaumont, TX
Shenequa Sanders is President and Founder of (A.I.D.S) All Individuals Deserve Saving in Beaumont, Texas. She is a consumer, wife, mother, sister, friend and HIV/AIDS prevention and care advocate. Sanders served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in 2004. She participated in various activities, workshops, seminars and traveled to Cape Town, South Africa. Sanders is an AIDS Alliance Consumers Leadership Program participant and former SISTA and Healthy Relationships intervention facilitator.
Demetra Tennison, AIDS Services of Austin, Austin, TX
Demetra Tennison, a comprehensive risk reduction counseling services (CRCS) specialist at AIDS Services of Austin, has 17 years of work experience in health and human services with the City of Austin. She began work at AIDS Services of Austin in 2001 under the umbrella of the Women Rising Project as a peer assistant. In this role, her affiliations included the Austin Area Comprehensive HIV Planning Council, Texas HIV Medication Program Advisory Committee and National Women AIDS Collective (NWAC) Policy Group. In 2004, Tennison took on another role as a prevention outreach specialist and later moved to HIV/AIDS testing and counseling.
Lupita Thornton, Houston Department of Health & Human Services, Houston, TX
Ms. Thornton has 21 years of experience in the field of HIV/STD programs and surveillance. Thornton began her tenure with Houston Department of Health & Human Services (HDHHS) as a Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS). Throughout the 21 years, she has supervised and managed the DIS, CTR, and STD surveillance components, developed and implementing protocols and guidelines that involve internal and external collaborations between the HDHHS and clients. Thornton designed and established a Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) liaison program that is currently standard practice in conducting provider follow-up with in the targeted area she has experience in providing technical assistance starting with the pilot phases through the implementation of a variety of projects. Thornton was successful in reaching targeted population by conducting presentations national wide in a variety of conferences and coordinated the development of a web-based intervention tool which allows clients to interact with the health industry by completing a self-interview. Currently Thornton has the oversight of the Houston STD Program, which includes the DIS activities, Public Health Follow-up for Houston Harris County, and working closely with HIV/STD surveillance. Thornton serves as a consultant to the Houston Medical Monitoring Project and a committee member for the Ryan White Planning Council.
Regina Waits, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Dallas, TX
Regina Waits is currently the regional HIV/AIDS Regional Resource Coordinator for Region VI of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, serving Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Waits has over 15 years of experience in HIV/AIDS in areas such as disease intervention, prevention, education, survey implementation, training and facilitation. Her previous employers include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Urban League of Greater Dallas and North Central Texas.
LaQueisa Wilson, M.S., Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX
LaQueisa Wilson began in the field of HIV prevention in 2001. She has experience working in HIV prevention in various arenas, commencing on the community level where she provided HIV/STD prevention outreach, education, counseling, testing and referral services. On the academic level, she was employed at the University of Michigan-Flint Urban Health and Wellness Center, where she initiated general health education and awareness programs including HIV education and awareness activities for students, faculty and staff. While earning her graduate degree in health education at University of Michigan-Flint she also assisted with management of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training (Project EXPORT) grant, which focused on eliminating HIV/AIDS and diabetes health disparities among African Americans. Prior to locating to Texas, she was health educator and disease intervention specialist (DIS) for the community health program at the Genesee County Health Department in Flint, Michigan. Wilson has been with the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch for over four years. She provides training and technical assistance to DSHS HIV prevention contractors. She has been involved with many special projects, including the development of a DSHS “Fight HIV” campaign targeted toward Blacks in Texas and she coordinates the DSHS pilot program to integrate the social networks strategy into HIV counseling, testing and referral services. Wilson is the Project Coordinator of the Regional Forum on Black Women and HIV/AIDS in Texas. She has been a member of National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) African American Advisory Committee (AAAC) since 2007 and is currently the Co-Chair of their Research Sub-Committee. This summer Wilson was nominated to participate in NASTAD’s year-long Minority Leadership Program (MLP) which intends to build the leadership and management skills of junior to mid-level racial/ethnic minority staff in state and local health department HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis programs.
La Shonda Worthey, B.S., Dallas County Health and Human Services, Dallas, TX
La Shonda Worthey received a bachelor of science in community health and health education from Texas Woman’s University in 1988. She has been involved with HIV/STD and public health for the past 20 years. She was a public health advisor with CDC for five years, working in Atlanta and Pensacola, Fla. She has been with Dallas County Health and Human Services since 1996, working as a disease intervention specialist for five years, then at the Dallas Prevention Training Center as a supervisor for five years, teaching Introduction to Sexually Transmitted Diseases Intervention and other customized courses for 13 states in the Southeast Region. She has been the STD/HIV Program Manager for Dallas County Health and Human Services since October 2006.
Gail E. Wyatt, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles AIDS Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Wyatt a Clinical Psychologist, Sex Therapist and Professor at UCLA, was a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research Scientist Career Development awardee for 17 years. Her research examines the consensual and abusive sexual relationships of women and men, the effects of these experiences on their psychological well-being and the cultural context of risks for STDs and HIV. She has conducted national and international research funded by the NIMH, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), state and private funders since 1980. She is the recipient of numerous awards. Recently, she received the Distinguished Leadership for Women in Psychology Award from the Committee on Women in Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Wyatt has numerous publications in journals and book chapters, and has co-edited or written five books. Dr. Wyatt is the Associate Director of the UCLA AIDS Institute and the Director of the NIMH-funded, UCLA Center for Culture, Trauma and Mental Health Disparities. She also directs the Phodiso Project that trains South African investigators to conduct research in culture, trauma and mental health. She coordinates a core of behavioral scientists that consult with other researchers to recruit underserved populations, conduct research that effectively incorporates socio-cultural factors in HIV/AIDS research and identify the etiology of health disparities. She also directs the HIV/AIDS Translational Training Program to increase the expertise of underrepresented minorities who will receive funding from NIMH. Finally, she directs the Sexual Health Program at UCLA to offer sexuality education training and research to the campus, local and national communities. Aside from her countless leadership roles, Dr. Wyatt has also testified before Congress nine times during the Clinton and Obama administrations.
April Zamora, M.E.d, L.C.D.C., Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Austin, TX
Zamora was named director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMMI) in October of 2009. Prior to that, she served as director of programs at TCOOMMI for two years. She has worked in the criminal justice field for over 12 years, dealing with both juvenile and adult offenders diagnosed with mental health and/or substance abuse disorders, including many with HIV or AIDS. During that time, she has been actively involved in policy, legislative and program initiatives for people with mental illness, mental retardation, substance abuse disorders and other special needs.