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PWN’s beloved Board of Directors co-chair, Pat Migliore, will be stepping down from her position after 16 years of service! We are eternally grateful for her commitment to leading, advancing, and supporting Positive Women’s Network-USA for over a decade.

Pat is a founding member of the Positive Women’s Network – USA and has been actively involved since the organization was created. She established the BABES Network in Seattle, Washington, which is recognized as one of the oldest organizations in the United States dedicated to serving women affected by HIV.

Pat is co-chair of the Seattle Transitional Grant Area Ryan White Planning Council. She is a speaker, facilitator, consultant, and trainer.

PWN-USA will miss her leadership, vision, and presence dearly! 

The application to be a Health Not Prisons Advocate is open! Apply today to build power and end HIV criminalization.

Launched in 2021, the HNP Advocates Project elevates racial justice and meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in the movement to end HIV criminalization and other forms of criminalization most impacting people living with HIV. We do this by supporting, training, coaching, and mentoring Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) living with HIV to step into powerful leadership roles. This year, HNP is recruiting an advocate from Texas.

HNP Advocates participate in their state HIV decriminalization coalitions, join regular virtual trainings coordinated by Positive Women’s Network, and maintain regular participation in monthly group and one on one mentoring and coaching sessions, for a period of 10 months, from March 2025-December 2025.

• If you are a Black, Indigenous or Person of Color living with HIV in Texas and committed to decriminalizing HIV in your state – apply now!
• Monthly stipend of $600 per month (requires maintaining participation in the program)
• Click HERE for an in-depth description of the project and position 

HIV is Not a Crime (HINAC) 6 is quickly approaching, when we will gather from May 31 to June 02 in Raleigh, North Carolina!

Are you interested in exploring the possibility of submitting an abstract for a workshop? Would you like help thinking about possible workshops that highlight your expertise and work or not even sure where to begin? Then you are also at the right place, PWN-USA staff are here to help you!

Abstract proposals are due Feb 28th, and we encourage you to reach out to us for support. Please email our Program Director, Barb Cardell (they/them) at barb(at)pwn-usa.org 

Important Links:

• HINAC6 How to Submit an Abstract webinar slides
• HINAC6 How to Submit an Abstract webinar recording link

The 2025 legislative sessions have officially begun, marking a crucial time for advocacy and policy-making that directly impact our communities. As we engage with legislators, it’s essential to be aware of the session timelines in key states:

• Colorado: January 8 – May 7, 2025
• Texas: January 14 – June 2, 2025
• Pennsylvania: January 7 – December, 2026
• Louisiana: April 14 – June 12, 2025
• New York: January 8 – June 12, 2025
• South Carolina: January 14 – May 8, 2025
• Alabama: February 4 – May 15, 2025

Stay tuned for updates, action alerts, and opportunities to get involved. Together, we can ensure that the voices of all women and gender diverse folks living with HIV are at the forefront of meaningful change. Explore the complete list of state legislative sessions here. 

PWN members and allies will head to Washington, D.C. from March 31 to April 2 for AIDSWatch 2025, where we’ll demand our federal lawmakers advance laws to improve quality of life for cis & trans women and TGD folks living with HIV and our communities. But we won’t stop there! PWN members in Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Texas and more will be leading and attending HIV advocacy days at their state capitals this year. Across the US, women & TGD folks living with HIV will be showing up in person to demand that lawmakers protect the rights, health and dignity of people living with HIV and our communities.

Congratulations to our January 2025 Shero of the Month, Ruby Garner Turk (she/her) of New York!

Ruby is a proud PWN-NY chapter member who has been thriving with HIV for over 25 years. She works with Health People in south Bronx, is an assistant coordinator for AIDS Institute, is a certified Peer Professional, and serves as PWN-NY’s Bronx Outreach Coordinator. Ruby has advocated for women’s rights from Albany, NY to Washington D.C. at AIDSWatch.

Beyond being a leader, conducting outreach, doing motivational speaking, and advocating, Ruby takes care of her PWN family. She is known to check in on members when they are ill or missing. We are so proud to honor Ruby as our January Shero! 💐

This interview was hosted by our previous Shero of the Month Evany Turk (she/her) of TX. Listen to the full conversation by clicking below! 

🎉 Huge shoutout to MJ Maestas (she/her/ella) of CO for being accepted into the Emerge Colorado Program, training women who want to run for public office!

💯 Congratulations to PWN Members Venita Ray, Michael Elizabeth, and Marnina Miller for their election to executive offices in the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus! Venita Ray will be taking over as the chair of the Caucus, Michael Elizabeth will be taking over as vice chair, and Marnina Miller will be serving as secretary. Also, congratulations to Ronald Johnson for wrapping up a successful term as chair of the Caucus, and stepping into his new role as treasurer! You can read more about the work the US PLHIV Caucus does, and get involved, here.

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! 🤠

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, 01/23/25 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! 💗

Black South Rising (BSR) along with its partners African Sisterhood Empowerment (ASHE) and Colibri Academy are excited to announce their upcoming training Interpreting for Social Justice (ISJ) training series!! Interpretation for Justice will introduce a language justice framework, cover interpreter ethics, different modes of interpreting as well as ways to continue to strengthen interpretation skills, with a particular focus on HIV-related contexts. 

The training will consist of three, 3-hour sessions. Participants will be expected to commit to all three parts of the training. Please review the following dates and times of the training as well as the practice sessions:

Part I: Monday, February 24 from 1pm-4pm ET

OPTIONAL Practice Session 1: Tuesday, February 25 from 6pm-8pm ET

Part II: Wednesday, February 26 from 1pm – 4pm ET

OPTIONAL Practice Session 2: Thursday, February 27 from 6pm-8pm ET

Part III: Friday, February 28 from 1pm-4pm ET

This training is open to anyone fluent in English and one or more languages who is interested in using their language skills to support PLHIV and HIV activism. Priority will go to applicants who are Black, trans, and/or living with HIV. Note that anyone at ASHE who has participated in our program is also eligible to apply if they are multilingual! Apply today at bit.ly/I4J24

• “Live updates: Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, multiple officials say” by AP News (01/16/25)
• “BREAKING: Police & Nurses Conspired to Fabricate Evidence Against Brittany Watts, Suit Says” by Abortion, Every Day (01/14/25)
• “Exposed Document Links HIV Leaders to ‘Betrayal of People with HIV’” by Poz.com (01/10/25)
• “Federal judge vacates Biden Title IX rule, scrapping protections for LGBTQ+ students nationwide” by Stateline (01/10/25)
• “More bounty laws offering cash for reporting trans people, abortions, and librarians expected in 2025” by Prism (01/08/25)
• Live at the White House: A Quality of Life Symposium by HIV.gov (12/16/24)

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! 

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

If you are interested in sharing newsletter content, please contact us at communications@pwn-usa.org. Please note that content about PWN members is prioritized, and there is no guarantee your content will be featured.