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Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement 2024 Was EPIC!

PWN-USA recently hosted our 4th annual Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement event! This year, our theme was Black Women United in all Shades of Blackness. Did you miss the celebration?

Our event kicked off with PWN-USA Co-Executive Director Marnina Miller (she/her) and PWN Board Co-Chair LaTrischa Miles (she/her) talking about why CHBW is so critical to PWN’s mission. They welcomed our event co-moderators Octavia Lewis (she/her), PWN board member, and Meta Smith Davis (she/her), PWN-LA Co-Chair.

One of our amazing honorees, PWN board members, and co-founder of PWN-AL, Lisa Johnson-Lett (she/her) performed a beautiful spoken word piece to kick off our celebration.

During CHBW, we had two trivia questions to give away some CHBW merch and a gift card! Congrats to our two winners Ebony Gordon and Dawn Trotter!

Our honorees joined us for three different panel conversations about their work in the HIV movement, their legacy, and the power of unity among Black women. Please join us in celebrating our 10 fierce honorees of CHBW 2024!

Top Row (left to right): Lashanda Salinas (she/her), Melanie Reese (she/they), Tori Cooper (she/her), S. Mandisa Moore-O’Neal (she/her), & Lisa Johnson-Lett (she/her).

Bottom row (left to right): Derinthia Williams (she/her), Kineen Mafa (they/them), Antoinette Jones (she/her), Kneeshe Parkinson (she/her), & Toi Hughes (she/her). 

None of this amazing body of work could’ve been done without the leadership, vision, labor, and love of PWN-USA’s Black staff work group. We give all the flowers and appreciation for our Black staff including: Sallie Thomas (she/her), Crystal Townsend (she/her), Antoinette Jones (she/her), Elena Ferguson (she/her), Marnina Miller (she/her), Ieshia Scott (she/her), & Grace Rutha (she/her)!

PWN would like to thank the following organizations who pledged their commitment to celebrating & honoring Black women in the HIV movement! There’s still time to join our growing list, find the pledge below.

ABCs of USCHA!

The U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) 2024 is fast approaching and we can’t wait to spend time with so many of you in NOLA!

PWN-USA would like to invite you to join us for a prep call on Tuesday, 09/03/2024 at 6pm ET/5pm CT/4pm MT/3pm PT/12pm HT so you’ll be ready to go. USCHA is exciting; it can also be a lot to navigate. We’ll share information about the critical issues we’re listening for, the sessions we’re looking forward to, and where you can find us at the conference. We will also save time at the end for you to ask questions about the conference or traveling in general.

If you are a PWN member whose abstract was accepted, presenting at a workshop, or tabling in the convention hall – let us know! 

If you are attending USCHA 2024 or Positive Living 2024 conferences, we want to know! Fill out the forms below so we can stay in touch and keep you updated on all things PWN at these conferences!

August Shero of the Month: MJ Maestas of CO!

Congratulations to our August 2024 Shero of the Month, MJ (Mary Jane) Maestas (she/her) of Colorado!

MJ is a committed advocate, super canvass and phonebanker, and a housing and harm reduction subject matter expert. She currently serves as the co-chair for PWN-CO, peer recovery specialist for Promotores de Esperanza, participant in the 2024 Lived Leadership Internship Program by the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition, and appointed to the board of The Latina Safehouse!

MJ recently graduated from the PWN policy fellowship and organized a harm reduction and HIV advocacy day at the CO state capital. Read more about her practicum project here. 

This interview was hosted by our previous Shero of the Month Deborah Somoye (she/her) of TX. Listen to the full conversation by clicking below! We are so proud to honor MJ as our August Shero!

❤️ What Are We Celebrating This Month? ❤️

We would like to give a shout out to PWN member and Health Not Prisons advocate for MS Valerie Pinkston! She is truly blossoming into a strong advocate and continuing to work hard to demand better for her community.

She is conducting an anonymous survey to collect stories about people living with HIV and their experience with HOPWA. Click HERE to take the survey & support Valerie’s USCHA workshop!

People living with HIV are strong and resilient, and every day holds something to celebrate. Submit anything you want to celebrated, from getting appointed to a Community Advisory Board or giving a shout out to your fav PWN-er. There’s nothing too small to be celebrated – let’s uplift all of the joy and wins in our communities! 

Coming Soon!

Rest & Restore: A Radical Healing Space

PWN-USA members are invited to join us this Friday, 08/30/24 at 7PM ET/6PM CT/5PM MT/4PM PT/1PM HT for our Rest & Restore radical healing space! Lepena Reid will guide us through wellness & mindfulness activities & practices. Come along on our healing justice journey & register at bit.ly/RestAndRestore

Sister Circle – Virtual Support Group

Are you a PWN member living with HIV? Join our virtual support group, Sister Circle, for a space to release, connect, and find peace! ✨ Join us Thursday, 09/05/24 at 8PM ET/7PM CT/6PM MT/5PM PT/2PM HT. Registration required to attend: bit.ly/PWNCARES (all caps). Hope to see you there!

PWN National Membership Call

Our next PWN members call is Friday, 09/06/24 at 4PM ET/3PM CT/2PM MT/1PM PT/10AM HT. Note: you must register as a PWN member before getting the Zoom link. Register here!

HIV Is Not A Crime Scholarship Preparation Workshop

The HINAC or HIV is Not a Crime Training Academy will be held in June of 2025 and we need as many PWN members attending as possible to both learn and share our deep work on HIV decriminalization and modernization. The scholarship process is now open and we want to support you to submit your best application possible!

Join us for a 90 minute workshop on 09/18/24 at 5PM ET/4PM CT/3PM MT/2PM PT/11AM HT to review the application process & help you prepare. Register here!

Relax & Paint at Positive Living 2024

Join us at Positive Living conference on 09/19/24 at 5PM CT in the Fiji Room at The Island Resort at Fort Walton Beach! This is a free pre-conference event for Positive Living participants where registrants just relax and paint! All supplies will be provided so come to relax and have fun! There will be space for 30 people and though registration is requested, registration will be accepted at the door on a first come first serve basis provided there is available space. 

IMPORTANT!!! If you register for a seat and do not arrive within 15 minutes of the start time, unfortunately, there is a possibility your space will be taken since this is also a first come first serve session. Register here!

Health Not Prisons Advocacy 102 Webinar

Join Health Not Prisons Collective for a training series to deepen advocacy and coalition skills! Topics will range from racial & gender justice to HIV criminalization to coalition strategies. Our first webinar covers Coalition Best Practices and will be held on Wednesday, 09/25/24 at 6PM ET/5PM CT/4PM CT/3PM PT/12PM HT. Register here!

What We’re Reading & Watching

DJ Big Sal’s Song of the Month

If you’ve been to a PWN celebration in the past few years, then you’ve grooved to the song stylings of our very own DJ Big Sal, a.k.a. Sallie Thomas – the decriminalization specialist on our policy team. Now she’s bringing you a song selection to get your joy on! DJ Big Sal’s song of the month is….

You can check out our previous celebration playlists on Spotify HERE!

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