Positive Women’s Network – USA launched the R.I.S.E. (Resist, Inspire, Sustain Through Education) Gender Justice Training Academy in 2019. Over two years we paid, trained, prepared, and coached 13 transgender women of color living with HIV, most from the southern part of the United States,  to develop and deliver gender-inclusive workshops on a range of topics. Since then, our graduates have led 18 trainings and presentations for over 400 attendees, offering trainings on subjects such as: trans history, trans justice as it intersects with racial justice, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) inclusion and allyship in HIV spaces, trans-centered reproductive justice, political advocacy for and with transgender elected officials, and PWN herstory, 

You can learn more about the R.I.S.E. program and our certified gender justice trainers here.

Now with its second cohort, R.I.S.E. welcomes back graduates Alexa Rodriguez, Keiva Lei Cadena, and Octavia Y. Lewis as faculty to help create the next wave of certified PWN trainers. We spoke with Keiva Lei and Alexa about their experience as participants with R.I.S.E. and what they hope to bring in their new faculty role. 

Keiva Lei Cadena

Meet Keiva Lei Cadena of Pahoa, Hawaii. Keiva Lei is currently the Director of Harm Reduction Services Community Engagement at Kumukahi Health and Wellness. 11 years ago, Keiva Lei started as an outreach worker, with consistency and commitment to native, trans-, brown girls, she now contributes to the existence of programs that impact and affect others living with and at-risk for HIV. Coming from a big island, that mirrors that of a rural stateside location, knows firsthand how culture and stigma can create a barrier for those who are considered to live alternative lifestyles to HIV resources and care.  

Alexa Rodriguez

Meet Alexa Rodriguez. Born in El Salvador, and a current resident of Baltimore, Maryland, Alexa is a Trans Care Navigator at Whitman-Walker Health. For Alexa, advocacy is a core part of her identity, even prior to relocating to the United States. Rodriguez fought to educate peers and stakeholders about the importance of medication access, treatment, and education about HIV and STIs. Today, Alexa is focused on removing barriers for people of trans experience and educating others on how to advocate for their needs.  

As is the experience for many transwomen of color, neither Alexa and Keiva Lei are no strangers to gender discrimination in settings they initially presumed to be safe spaces. For them, it’s these instances and experiences that support the need for programs like R.I.S.E. – programs that uplift and support people of trans experience to be paid as subject matter experts to provide education to the community, specifically to organizations and businesses that may employ or service those that identify as transgender or nonbinary.

The R.I.S.E. program provides an avenue for women of trans experience to be educated, prepared to hold leadership positions while being compensated for their knowledge and involvement. For Keiva Lei,  it’s empowering to return to R.I.S.E. as a faculty member, sharing“It feels good to be recognized in that way from organizations like PWN, to have space to perfect and master skills as advocates, trainers and educators, and to also be provided the avenues to use these skills.” 

Echoing Keiva Lei, Alexa expresses the importance of feeling seen, “I am grateful for the R.I.S.E. program that provided an opportunity for a trans immigrant whose first language is not English, to demonstrate to my community that if we can do it, they can do it too. All they need is a push and an opportunity.”

Interested in scheduling a training for your organization with a certified PWN trainer? Contact Barb Cardell, PWN Training Director, at Barb(at)pwn-usa.org

Meet our R.I.S.E. graduates and view their gender justice training curriculum here. 

Learn more about people first, and trans-inclusive language in your communications here.