Moises Agosto
NMAC’s Director of TreatmentMoises is responsible for the development, management, and implementation of all treatment education programs. He is a longtime treatment advocate and educator for people living with HIV and AIDS. As a person of color living with HIV for over 25 years, Moises brings the understanding of the target communities to the BLOC.
Tara Barnes
NMAC’s Director of ConferencesMs. Barnes-Darby’s services are pro bono. She has been with NMAC since 1998, and has more than 20 years of experience in conference management. She is a certified meeting planner with experience managing HIV/AIDS conferences of varied size and scope. Tara will be responsible for securing and negotiating participant scholarship details with hotels as well as supervising conference staff responsible for registration and logistics coordination.
Cecilia Chung
Senior Strategist, Transgender Law CenterCecilia, the architect behind Positively Trans, is nationally recognized as a public transgender woman of color living with HIV who advocates for human rights, social justice, health equity, and LGBT equality. She was the former Chair of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and is currently serving on the Health Commission. Cecilia has been working tirelessly at the local, national, and international levels to improve access to treatment for transgender people and people living with HIV, and to erase stigma and discrimination through education, policy, advocacy, and visibility.
Kim Johnson, M.D.
NMAC’s Director of Capacity BuildingDr. Johnson’s services are pro bono. She is a family physician with more than ten years of experience in clinical care management and the delivery of services and technical assistance consistent with the needs of minority communities. She leads NMAC’s cooperative agreement with CDC to provide capacity building to community based organizations. She has 12 years of experience running and managing CDC and HRSA cooperative agreements. The Vanguard will benefit from her guidance and experience leading other cooperative agreements.
Vanessa Johnson, J.D.
US People Living with HIV CaucusVanessa has worked as a national advocate and community leader for people living with HIV. As a public woman of color living with HIV, her career accomplishments include 30 years of creating and scaling up responsive community health services. Vanessa dedicated 15 years to developing and providing capacity building with a special emphasis on women living with HIV. She is an experienced facilitator and a nationally certified trainer with a focus on leadership development, community mobilization, public health education, and interventions. She initiated the founding of the US People Living with HIV Caucus and is a co-founder and board member of the Positive Women’s Network-USA, as well as the National Black Women’s HIV/AIDS Network, the National Women and AIDS Collective, and National Working Positive Coalition.
Paul Kawata
NMAC’s Executive DirectorPaul has lead NMAC for over 27 years and is the longest serving national Executive Director in the HIV movement. He is also a founder of the National Association of People with AIDS and brings a unique understanding of the history of HIV/AIDS, particularly as it relates to people of color and people living with HIV.
Naina Khanna
Positive Women’s Network USANaina serves as Executive Director for the Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN-USA). As a public woman of color living with HIV, she serves on the Steering Committee for the 30 for 30 Campaign, the Advisory Board for the Women’s HIV Research Initiative, the National Steering Committee for the US People Living with HIV Caucus, and the Board of Directors for AIDS United. She served on President Obama’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) from 2010-2014. Naina was diagnosed with HIV in 2002.
Beatrix McBride
Program Associate, Transgender Law CenterBeatrix comes from a background in library and information science, and, before coming to Transgender Law Center, she worked in public and academic libraries, archives, public universities, museums, community-based non-profits, and major corporations. She coordinates logistics for Positively Trans and acts as a liaison between Positively Trans, its board members, and external partners and projects.
Linda H. Scruggs, MHS
Acting, NMAC’s Director, Leadership PipelineLinda is a HIV + national leader with 24 years of experience working with women, men, families, and youth impacted by health disparities including HIV and AIDS. In July 2012, Linda was a plenary at the 19th International AIDS Conference. Her work in HIV was highlighted by President Barrack Obama in July 2010, at the release of The National AIDS Strategy. Mrs. Scruggs Mrs. Scruggs is the Co-Owner of Ribbon Consulting Group, which provides organizational consulting services to community base organizations, health departments and primary care centers to increase their ability to support and promote healthy communities. Ms. Scruggs is a registered Master Trainer and has developed and delivered hundreds of programs to support health and community. She has served on numerous national and international committees and boards and has co-authored many articles.
Andrew Spieldenner, Ph.D.
US People Living with HIV CaucusAndy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rhetoric at Hofstra University. As a public person of color living with HIV, he earned his Ph.D. in Communication & Culture from Howard University with an emphasis on health. He has held positions at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Black AIDS Institute, National Association of People with AIDS, and Latino Commission on AIDS.