Jessy G. Dévieux, PhD. Professor of Public Health in the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Director of the Florida International University AIDS Prevention Program. The driving interest of her career has been to improve outcomes for those who have not yet fully benefited from public health and intervention strategies. Her clinical and research interests focus on racial and ethnic minorities – with particular emphasis on the development and adaptation of HIV primary and secondary prevention interventions for underserved populations in the U.S. and internationally. She has been Principal Investigator (PI) and/or Co-PI for more than a dozen bio-behavioral clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health; her studies have focused on reducing risk behaviors and improving adherence to treatment among vulnerable populations of adolescents, severely mentally ill adults, and HIV positive adolescents and adults, typically marginalized populations who experience disparities in health services information, access, and treatment

Tomás R. Guilarte, PhD. Dean of the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work at Florida International University, where he is also a professor. His research explores the impact of environmental pollutants on neurological and mental health. Using behavioral, cellular, and molecular approaches, his studies range from the primary culture of brain cells to the application of brain-imaging technologies. He is renowned for revealing the effects of low-level lead exposure on the central nervous system during brain development, a discovery that led to strategies for mitigating neurological damage. He has made seminal discoveries on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of manganese-induced Parkinsonism, a disorder that causes neurological symptoms closely resembling Parkinson’s disease. He has served in many national and international study sections, including as a member of the advisory council for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Among the many honors Dr. Guilarte has received is the Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists’ Distinguished Toxicologist Award.

Hon. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. As a former educator, elementary school principal, community leader, school board member, state legislator, and founder of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson earned a reputation as a “Voice for the Voiceless.” The Congresswoman worked to strengthen ties with Haiti and the Caribbean, and to defend Haitian women against gender-based violence. Congresswoman Wilson later passed a bill mandating HIV/AIDS testing for prisoners upon their release and linking them to care. She also passed a bill that made rape in prison a felony crime, and worked to relocate women in Florida prisons to facilities closer to their children. In 2013, Congresswoman Wilson received the Broward Black Elected Officials Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Community Service Award.

Hon. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. The first Hispanic woman to serve in both the Florida Senate and House and the U.S. Congress. Throughout the history of the HIV epidemic, she has been one of the country’s strongest supporters of programs to fight HIV, discrimination and stigma, and an equally vigorous advocate of women and programs against domestic violence, assault and abuse. A committed friend to the LGBT communities, standing up for conditions that can foster healthy, safe, and happy lives for all members of our communities. She is co-Chair of the HIV Caucus in the U.S. House, has been a co-sponsor with Rep. Nancy Pelosi for the Early Treatment for HIV Act, co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act for same-sex marriage, Grand Marshall of AIDS Walk Miami, and was the recipient of the third annual Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation Legislative Leadership Award in 2017

Kira Villamizar: Bio coming soon

Marjorie Robinson, PharmD. Associate Director, Medical Sciences for Gilead Sciences, North America. She is formerly a Senior Regional Medical Scientist, for ViiV Healthcare, (GlaxoSmithKline) and Abbott Laboratories. Dr. Robinson is a former Assistant Professor of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale practicing Infectious Diseases/AIDS at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, and North Broward Hospital District, Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Robinson is licensed as a Pharmacist in Florida, New York, and Jamaica, West Indies. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Saint John’s University, New York; her Doctorate in Pharmacy at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale. She completed her post-doctoral Infections Disease training at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Robinson utilizes over 25 years of   Academic and Corporate Pharmaceutical Clinical Research in the field of HIV/Infectious Disease

Dr. Mario De La Rosa, Professor in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work and the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University (FIU), is a pioneering scientist with expertise in substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and cross-cultural issues affecting Latinos. He is the Founding and Current Director of the Center for Research on US Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA), a nationally recognized multi-disciplinary research, education, and community outreach center dedicated to eliminating health disparities in substance abuse and HIV/AIDS affecting US Latino populations. Dr. De La Rosa has led diverse, multidisciplinary research teams investigating minority health and health disparities in projects including an NIMHD P20 Center of Excellence, the NIMHD U54 Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities (CLaRO) with Dr. Victoria Mitrani, an NIAAA R01, an NIAAA U34 with Dr. Jessy Devieux, and the NIMHD FIU-Health Disparities Initiative S21 Endowment Grant with Dr. Andres Gil.

Karen Hoover, MD, MPH. Dr. Karen Hoover leads the Health Services Research for Prevention with Negatives team in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) at CDC. Karen’s research interests include PrEP implementation for priority populations of MSM of color and women of color; access, utilization, quality, and cost of HIV prevention and care health services; and development and implementation of novel service models for HIV prevention and care. Prior to joining DHAP, Karen was a health services researcher in the Division of STD Prevention at CDC where her research interests included elimination of MTCT of HIV and syphilis; syphilis diagnostics; the U.S. HIV and STD healthcare safety net; and pelvic inflammatory disease and tubal factor infertility. Karen received her MD degree from the Boston University School of Medicine and her MPH degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public, and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore

Sonjia Kenya, EdD, MS, MA. Dr. Sonjia Kenya is an associate professor of General Medicine and Public Health at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She provides street-based HIV services in Miami’s most vulnerable communities, including Liberty City, Overtown, and Little Haiti. She also trains medical students and residents to address sexual health disparities through delivering culturally-competent care. She earned her bachelor’s degree in African-American studies from UCLA and two masters degrees, along with her doctorate in health education from Columbia University. Her work has received numerous honors and is frequently published in academic journals and featured in the media. The Miami Herald recognized Dr. Kenya as one of Miami’s top 20 leaders under 40, and the Miami-Dade Women’s Commission named her “woman of the year” for Health and Human Services.  In addition to the above, Dr. Kenya is also a sexologist and best-selling author of the book, “Sex in South Beach”.

Aryah Lester. A national advocate, author, and public speaker. Ms. Lester is currently the Chairwoman of the state of Florida Health Department’s transgender workgroup, working towards lowering HIV infection rates statewide. Ms. Lester also sits on the advisory board for the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), and has founded Trans-Miami, TransArt (of South Florida) and the National Alliance of Transgender Advocates and Leaders (NATAL). Her work has been featured in the inaugural Journal of Public Interest at Harvard University, American Public Health Association, National HIV/AIDS Strategy of the United States, and various research publications. She has been recognized and awarded by the Miami-Dade Health Department, South Florida Gay Network, Florida Agenda, and Trans100. Ms. Lester currently resides in Miami, Florida as a board member of Unity Coalition.

Arianna Lint. Executive director of Arianna’s Center, a community-based organization that provides advocacy, education and training, case management, and linkage to care for trans men and women in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Miami and Orlando, FL. A refugee from Lima, Peru, Arianna has spoken at dozens of trans and HIV-related conferences and is currently consulting for the White House’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy and CDC on HIV and prevention topics. She is an outspoken advocate for trans women living with HIV and the need to expand PrEP access to the trans community. Arianna has appeared on the last two “POZ 100” lists. She is a former lawyer and political sciences graduate of San Martín de Porres University in Lima.

Rhonda Rosenberg, Ph.D. Research Associate Professor in the Department of Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, attached to the AIDS Prevention Program at Florida International University’s Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. The focal point of her career has been on areas of public health in which science is a necessary but insufficient condition for achieving insight and change.  Frequently, the missed step is translating the science into cultural terms. Since 2000, she has been a Co-Investigator on multiple NIH-funded HIV prevention and intervention studies aimed at optimizing strategies that fit the needs of diverse communities. The central underlying question of these projects has been how to make a difference in people’s real lives in perhaps the most emotionally charged area in all of public health.

Leisha McKinley-Beach. Technical Assistance Consultant with several health departments and organizations including The Black AIDS Institute and Sister Love Inc. In this role Leisha provides capacity building assistance and training for health departments, PrEP training for providers serving Black populations, and Black women initiatives. Mrs. McKinley-Beach was the previous HIV Prevention Program Administrator for Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. Programs under her leadership included HIV testing and linkage, condom distribution, HIV partner services, media, training, PrEP clinic, HIV planning, and community mobilization. Leisha has served in HIV prevention leadership positions with both the Florida and Georgia state health departments.

Robert Cook, MD, MPH. Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Florida, with a joint appointment in the Division of General Internal Medicine. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Cook’s research has focused on strategies to improve health outcomes related to HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. He is Director of the Southern HIV Alcohol Research Consortium (SHARC), www.sharc-research.org, which supports collaborative research and training related to alcohol and HIV infection across the state of Florida. Dr. Cook has led clinical trials of home screening for STDs, pharmacotherapy for hazardous drinking, and the use of continuous monitoring to change drinking behavior. Dr. Cook’s research is translational, ranging from basic science to implementation science, and he is currently the Principal Investigator of four major NIH grants with over $10 million in total research support. He has mentored numerous doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty.

Cheryl Holder, MD. Board certified in Internal Medicine and dedicated her medical career to serving underserved populations. She began her career in 1987 as a National Health Service Corp Scholar working with medically underserved communities in Miami-Dade County. Dr. Holder supervised University of Miami Family Medicine Residents during their Internal Medicine rotation. From 1990 to 2009, Dr. Holder served as Medical Director for Jackson Health System’s North Dade Health Center, where she developed an HIV care and treatment program with funding through the Ryan White Care Act. Dr. Holder has participated in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute of Health advisory and programmatic review panels for HIV treatment and vaccine research. In 2009, she joined Florida International University’s College of Medicine as faculty. Her focus is on teaching medical students about working in underserved communities and promoting diversity in the health professions. Dr. Holder is Director for the “Period One Primary Care Preceptorship.

Steven Santiago, MD. Became Board Certified in Family Practice in 1994 and was appointed as a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 1998. Dr. Santiago has been the Chief Medical Officer at Care Resource, South Florida’s largest non-profit AIDS service organization, since 2014; he was the Medical Director from 2003 until 2014. Care Resource works with affected communities to create and/or implement prevention strategies, community outreach and education initiatives, testing, medical care, research protocols, individual and family counseling, and support services, striving to respond to every area of need of HIV at-risk and infected communities. In addition, until it’s closure in 2012, he directed the research program at Care Resource, and functioned as principal investigator for numerous pharmaceutical and government sponsored HIV-related clinical trials. Dr. Santiago remains an active member of the HIV education community, speaking frequently to patient groups, physicians, and allied health professionals.

Susanne Doblecki Lewis, MD. Practices Infectious Disease in Miami, FL. Dr. Doblecki Lewis graduated from University of Connecticut School of Medicine in 2001 and has been in practice for 12 years. Dr. Doblecki Lewis also specializes in Internal Medicine. She currently practices at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and is affiliated with Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami Hospital and University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Doblecki Lewis is board certified in Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine. Dr. Doblecki Lewis also practices at University of Miami Infectious Diseases in Miami, FL.

Sheryl Zayas, DO. Associate Medical Director for Primary Care Services. She is a Chicago native and received her BA from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She attended medical school at Nova Southeastern University and holds a medical degree in Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency in Family Practice at the Lake Eric College of Osteopathic Medicine location in Miami, Florida where she served as Chief Resident. She is a Board Certified Family Physician. Dr. Zayas speaks English and basic French and Spanish. She also received the Trans Equality Award presented by The Pride Ce nter in Fort Lauderdale in 2014.

Georges Metellus, MD, MPH. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he attended primary school and secondary school. He attended Medical school at the University of Zaragoza, Spain where he obtained his MD degree. He also has a master degree in Public Health (Epidemiology and public health Administration tracks) from the University of Miami. Dr. Metellus worked at the Pathology Department of Harlem General Hospital in New York for a year. He spent two (2) years in Martin Luther King Hospital (no longer in existence) in Miami. He worked for the Miami-Dade County Health Department for twenty (20) years as an Environmental Health Supervisor, Health Educator, and Director of the HIV/AIDS surveillance program. For the past 15 years Dr. Metellus has worked as the Administrator of the Center for Haitian Studies and as a Medical School Instructor under the umbrella of the Center.

Michèle Jean-Gilles, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor in the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work of Florida International University. Dr. Jean-Gilles has conducted HIV intervention research in the US and internationally with a variety of populations that include minority men and women, adolescents, alcohol and drug users, female prisoners, and other vulnerable populations in countries including Haiti, Trinidad, and South Africa.  She has expertise in conducting group and family interventions for HIV/AIDS infected and affected individuals, and trains other interventionists.  Dr. Jean-Gilles earned her bachelor’s degree from New York University and her doctorate in psychology with a specialty in pediatric psychology from the University of Miami.    She is a Florida licensed psychologist, and has been honored as a Health Disparities Scholar for the National Center on Minority Health & Health Disparities.

Kalenthia “Katt” Nunnally. Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Jones College, Jacksonville Florida, and is currently pursuing a MPH, from Capella University. Kalenthia is a Member of the Florida Department of Health Black Women’s Consultation Group, Empowerment Coach, and HIV Consultant. Kalenthia, has worked in her community as an HIV/AIDS advocate, Community Mobilizer, and an advocate for Women and Girls for the past 26 years. She has served as President of the Healthy Start Coalition of Miami Dade as well as other boards, was appointed to lead the Black Infant Practice Initiative, and has lead several grassroot and community mobilization efforts. Favorite quote: Have an Attitude of Gratitude.

Evelyn Ullah, BSN, MSW. Evelyn Ullah holds a BS in Nursing and a Master’s degree from Stony Brook University. She has more than 30 years of experience in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Evelyn recently retired from the Florida Department of Health where she served as the Director of the HIV Prevention Program in Broward County, and from 1997-2010 as the HIV/AIDS Program Director in Miami-Dade County. Evelyn is a board member of NMAC; Co-Chair of AIDS United Hurricane Relief Advisory Committee; Member of the Community Advisory Board of UM Center for AIDS Research; Member of FDOH Black Women’s Consultation Group; former Government Co-Chair of the Urban Coalition for HIV Prevention Services; and served on the Institute of Medicine Liaison Panel for HIV Prevention Strategies. She developed and produced multiple HIV prevention public awareness campaigns; architect of “Test Miami’; architect of ”Broward>AIDS”; and author of “The Untold Story of HIV” in Broward County.

Maude Exantus, ARNP, FNPBC. Currently the PrEP clinical nurse practitioner for the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade. Ms. Exantus is responsible for providing Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services to individuals at increased risk for HIV infection. Her clinical experiences include providing sexual wellness counseling/education for health promotion and risk reduction for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV prevention in the community. Ms. Exantus is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner who began her career at the Florida Department of Health in 2017. Before coming to the health department, she worked as an ARNP in acute care/emergency medicine settings and primary care prevention clinics. Ms. Exantus also has additional specialized and certified education in Health, Fitness and Wellness coaching. Maude Exantus is a graduate from Miami Dade Community College, Barry University, and is currently a DNP student at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Tania Lopez. Studied Psychology in la Universidad de la Habana and has over 25 years of experience as an HIV/AIDS health educator/ counselor, implementing and develop “best practice” for Ryan White Linkage to Care program and advocacy for women of color/Latinas and children. Awarded with Outstanding achievement on the Florida Commission of the Status of Women, SFAN the Many Hearts. One beat on community Activism and Leadership, Miami Dade Health Department Premio a la Excelencia y Dedicacion and FIU Crusada for Outstanding Service and Support towards Reducing Health Disparities in Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS among Latinos.

Camille Lewis. Coordinator for the Transluminati program at Empower U Community Health Center. Transluminati is a program for young transgender persons of color and their sexual partners and friends. This program is aimed at reducing HIV transmissions using engaging, empowering, educating, and relevant activities.

Cynthia I. Rivera, MD. Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She is a graduate of University of Nebraska Medical Center. Following graduation in 2004, she moved to Miami where she completed an internship and residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami. She then spent a year there as a Chief Medical Resident, followed by a year as teaching faculty.From 2009-2011, she completed her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami. She joined Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2011. She has voluntary faculty appointments as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University and is very active in medical education with students, interns and residents at Mount Sinai Medical Center.Dr. Rivera’s fields of interest are general infectious disease, HIV and hepatitis C

Elena Cyrus PhD Postdoctoral associate and K99 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Scholar with the Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University in Miami, FL. At CRUSADA, she is currently investigating social determinants associated with substance use and PrEP initiation among transgender women, and, disparities in the continuum of HIV care for Afro-Caribbean immigrants in Florida. Prior to her work at CRUSADA, she was a Global Health Equity Scholars Global Health Fellow in Lima Peru where she worked on two projects assessing factors that influenced substance use, violence, and sexual behavior among Peruvian men who have sex with men, transgender women, and female prisoners. Dr. Cyrus was also a clinical research manager for four years with the HIV Prevention Trial Network, where she worked on the HPTN 055 and HPTN 059 tenefovir feasibility and safety trials.

Karina Villalba MPH, PhD Dr. Karina Villalba has a master’s in environmental health and a doctorate in health promotion and disease prevention. Dr. Villalba’s research has focused primarily on HIV, substance use disorders, neurocognition and genomics. Her interests include the contribution of gene-environment interaction in the etiology of substance use disorders, the adaptation and evaluation of theoretically-based interventions for HIV/AIDS and substance use disorders and the understanding of the effects of traumatic events during childhood and/or adulthood in HIV+ individuals with alcohol use disorders. Her research integrates basic and behavioral sciences with the aim to translate to population-based interventions. She is presently involved in a study to determine the extent to which achieving short-term abstinence or markedly reduce drinking improves cognition and brain function using contingency management and whether these improvements reverse after discontinuing this strategy.

Sandra Neptune: Bio coming soon

Christopher Bates. For approximately 11 years Christopher H. Bates, served as Deputy Director, then Director of the Office of HIV/AID in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. During this period, he traveled the US and abroad promoting the federal government’s policies and programs for domestic HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment. Over 25 years Bates has served in several HIV/AIDS leadership roles in the District of Columbia and for the Philadelphia Department of Health in the state of Pennsylvania. Through his career he has worked for the US House of Representative, in President Jimmy Carter’s administration, in DC as part of the Marion Barry administration and for the District of Columbia’s Ryan White Title II CARE Consortium. Bates, age 66, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Miami, Florida. He received his B.A. at the University of Michigan and his M.P.A. at Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. He has and continues to serve on numerous boards, committees and commissions, nationally and locally.