GLAAD has announced the agenda for its first HIV Stigma and Faith Summit, a three-day virtual event dedicated to training and educating leaders to better address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the South.
The virtual summit, running from February 24 to 26, will feature free daily panels with guest speakers, journalists, HIV experts, faith leaders, and community activists. There will also be a free daily media training hosted by the GLAAD Media Institute (GMI).
“GLAAD has been working diligently to foster and center community voices around key issues, HIV being one of them, especially in the South,” said DaShawn Usher, the Programs Officer for Communities of Color at GLAAD and the executive producer of the event. “Our State of HIV Stigma Study showed us that there was more work to be done when it came to changing hearts and minds. This summit represents the actions that GLAAD is willing to take to address HIV stigma, amplify HIV knowledge, share best practices, and continue to build community on the local, regional, and national level.”
This event is hosted in partnership with Gilead COMPASS Initiative, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, Southern AIDS Coalition, and Wake Forest University of Divinity.
“Our work with organizations across the Southern United States has made clear that faith-based communities offer an important channel to reach people living with and at risk of HIV,” said Shanell McGoy, the Director of Public Affairs for Gilead Sciences. “GLAAD is an important partner to help shift narratives, reduce stigma and educate people about HIV. The HIV Stigma and Faith summit is helping prepare the next generation of leaders and expanding the skills of existing leaders in the Southern United States to end the epidemic.”
This event is open to the public. You can register here.
Schedule of events:
Wednesday, February 24 | 1 PM – 2:30 PM ET | Day 1: Faith and LGBTQ GLAAD
Media Institute (GMI) Training: Media Advocacy for People of Faith
Designed specifically for faith leaders and people of faith, participants will learn how to leverage the media and articulate their message of LGBTQ acceptance in alignment with their faith. Equipped with research and best practices gleaned from 30 years of experience, the GLAAD Media Institute will work with participants to communicate their message to people of faith while combating the often-negative narrative surrounding faith and LGBTQ people. Led by Ross Murray, Senior Director, Education & Training, GLAAD. Registration is free and open to the entire COMPASS network and their partners.
Trainer: Ross Murray, Senior Director of Education & Training at The GLAAD Media Institute, GLAAD
Wednesday, February 24 | 6 PM – 7 PM ET | Day 1: Faith and LGBTQ
The Paths Shall Come Together: The Intersections of Faith, Sexuality, and HIV
Led by Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity this panel will explore how we bridge the gap between faith communities’ challenges with sexuality and HIV. Featuring a key moderator in conversation with faith leaders and HIV experts.
Special Guest Welcome: Victor Jackson, Artist, Choreographer, and Creative Director, GLAAD’s Communities of Color Ambassador
Moderator: Shonda Jones, Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Integrative Learning, Wake Forest University
Panelists:
- Allison Mathews, PhD, Executive Director and Research Fellow in Faith and Health, Faith Coordinating Center, Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Bishop O.C. Allen, Senior Pastor and Founder, The Vision Cathedral of Atlanta
- Elder Gwendolyn D. Clemons, MBA, MSM, Relationship Unleashed
- Rev. Shawn Torres-Anderson, Associate Minister, First Nazareth Baptist Church, Columbia, SC
Thursday, February 25 | 1 PM – 2 PM ET | Day 2: HIV Stigma
GLAAD Training: How to Engage with the Press
Join GLAAD’s Director of Communications, Mathew Lasky, as he conducts a training on how to create a press release, build a media list, and how to engage press around newsworthy content. Mathew will present a case study of GLAAD’s “State of HIV Stigma Study” and explain how GLAAD was able to garner press for this pivotal study.
Trainer: Mathew Lasky, Director of Communications, GLAAD
Thursday, February 25 | 6 PM – 7 PM ET | Day 2: HIV Stigma
The State of HIV Stigma
The HIV Stigma Panel Conversation will feature a key moderator and three subject matter experts that will share their best practices, strategies to address stigma, and the way forward to shattering HIV stigma.
Moderator: Marc Malkin, Senior Editor, Culture & Events, Variety
Panelists:
- Shakita Brooks Jones, MSW, MPA, Founder and Executive Director, Central Alabama Alliance, Resource & Advocacy Center, Inc. (CAARAC)
- Torrian Baskerville, Senior Associate, Prevention (CBA), NASTAD
- Dr. Andrea Dunn, Founder & Executive Director, Let’s Beehive!, Inc
- Dr. Victoria Frye, Associate Medical Professor in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine of the CUNY School of Medicine
- Marvell L. Terry II, Senior Program Manager, Southern HIV Impact Fund, AIDS United
Friday, February 26 | 1 PM – 2:30 PM ET | Day 3: Black & LGBTQ in the South
GLAAD Media Institute (GMI) Training: Telling Your Story Through Social Media
Designed for those who are starting to incorporate social media into their advocacy strategy, participants in this specialized course will receive a comprehensive overview of social media platforms, as well as leveraging social media for reaching expanded audiences, deeper storytelling, and accelerating acceptance. This course will teach participants the best practices to make the most of the potential for a variety of social media platforms, while also carefully avoiding pitfalls that exist in the social media sphere.
Led by DaShawn Usher, Programs Officer, Communities of Color, and Serena Sonoma, Communications Coordinator & Media Lead, US South.
Trainers:
- DaShawn Usher, Programs Officer, Communities of Color, GLAAD
- Serena Sonoma, Communications Coordinator and Regional Media Lead, GLAAD – U.S. South
Friday, February 26 | 6 PM – 7 PM ET | Day 3: Black and LGBTQ in the South
At the Intersections of Blackness and Queerness in the South
This panel conversation explores Black allyship and LGBTQ identities while living and thriving in the South. Centered in uplifting unheard voices, this panel will feature a key moderator with panelists of lived experiences as they share their stories.
Special Guest Welcome: Julian J. Walker, Actor, Author, and Activist, GLAAD’s Communities of Color
Ambassador Moderator: Raquel Willis, Award-winning Writer and Activist
Panelists:
- Ian Haddock, Executive Director, The Normal Anomaly Initiative
- Dwyane Williams, Program Manager, AIDS United
- Jennifer Barnes Balenciaga, LGBTQ Liaison for State Representative Park Cannon, District 58 Atlanta, GA
- Diamond Stylz, Executive Director of Black Trans Women Inc., Producer and Creator of Marsha’s Plate podcast.
- Skyy Banks, Founder, HER Initiative
- Jasmine Tasaki, Executive Director, WeCareTN