Lessons on Leadership and Advocacy from USCHA 2026
This September, I had the incredible opportunity to represent PRIDEChicago & Life Is Work at the 2026 United States Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) in Anaheim, California, where my workshop, “Preserving Power: Building & Sustaining Trans Leadership in the HIV & Nonprofit Workforce,” was accepted for presentation.
For me, this was more than a professional milestone. It was an opportunity to bring a conversation that is deeply personal to a national stage: How do we ensure that transgender people who have helped build, strengthen, and sustain our organizations are also given the opportunities and support to lead them?
My workshop centered on lived experience, storytelling, professional development, and the importance of creating sustainable leadership pathways for transgender professionals working in healthcare, HIV prevention, and nonprofit organizations.
Through a visual presentation and a panel featuring transgender nonprofit executives from across the country, we explored the challenges and opportunities associated with building lasting careers in organizations committed to serving our communities.
We discussed representation, mentorship, workplace culture, professional advancement, and the importance of recognizing lived experience as a valuable credential.
But I wanted the conversation to go further.
What happens after transgender professionals are hired?
Are we investing in their leadership development? Are we providing meaningful opportunities for advancement? Are we supporting their professional well-being? And are we building organizational cultures where transgender leaders can thrive throughout their careers?
These questions matter because transgender people have been instrumental in advancing HIV advocacy, LGBTQ+ liberation, and community-based healthcare. Our experiences have helped shape programs, policies, and services that continue to benefit communities across the country.
Yet sustaining that leadership requires intentional investment.
Representation opens doors. Investment creates pathways. Sustainability keeps those pathways open.
A Conference to Remember
The 2026 USCHA was nothing short of amazing.
Held September 17–20 in Anaheim under the theme “United and Unbreakable: The HIV Movement at 45,” the conference brought together advocates, healthcare professionals, researchers, public health leaders, and people with lived experience to reflect on decades of progress and the work still ahead.
I can still feel the excitement of seeing legendary entertainers Debbie Allen and Jasmine Guy reflect on the groundbreaking HIV storyline featured in A Different World. Their conversation highlighted the power of storytelling and the role that entertainment has played in helping generations understand HIV, confront stigma, and recognize the humanity of people living with the virus.
The conference also featured an exciting range of artists, advocates, and public figures, including gospel recording artist VaShawn Mitchell, Miss Shalae, Miss Lawrence, Tré Melvin, and Hope Giselle.
Beyond the main stage, the conference agenda examined the many dimensions of today’s HIV movement.
Sessions explored biomedical HIV prevention, PrEP access, stigma, housing and economic barriers, harm reduction, health equity, community leadership, and organizational sustainability.
Conversations about the HIV prevention workforce were especially meaningful to me.
We often celebrate innovation in HIV prevention, and rightfully so. Advances in treatment, prevention medications, and approaches to service delivery have transformed what is possible.
But the people who connect communities to those innovations remain essential.
The outreach professionals, community health workers, volunteers, advocates, peer navigators, and nonprofit leaders are often the bridge between scientific progress and meaningful access to care.
There is no care without community.
When the Conversation Becomes Personal
Less than a month after presenting Preserving Power, I experienced an unexpected professional transition when my position was eliminated after more than seven years of service.
I remain grateful for the professional relationships, experiences, and opportunities that helped shape my career in community health.
This transition has also deepened my appreciation for the importance of workforce development, mentorship, professional networks, and the ability to navigate change while remaining connected to one’s purpose.
The conversations we had in Anaheim continue to resonate with me, not because of any one employment experience, but because they reflect broader opportunities for our sector to strengthen how we develop and support its workforce.
Our movement benefits when organizations invest in leadership at every level and create pathways for people to carry their skills, knowledge, and community relationships forward.
Bringing the Lessons Home to PRIDEChicago
As Director of Community Engagement for PRIDEChicago, I am proud to help advance a movement built on visibility, advocacy, celebration, and community connection.
Pride is more than a parade. It is a reflection of generations of people who organized, advocated, and created opportunities for those who would follow.
I think about pioneers like Richard Pfeiffer and Tim Frye, whose decades of dedication helped shape the Chicago Pride Parade. I think about Lois Bates, whose leadership in transgender health and HIV prevention opened doors for others. I think about Lori Cannon, whose advocacy and compassion helped sustain people during some of the most difficult years of the HIV epidemic. And I think about Miss Major, whose lifelong commitment to transgender liberation reminds us that the fight for dignity, opportunity, and justice extends far beyond any one city or generation.
These are more than names in our history. They represent people whose work created opportunities that many of us benefit from today.
Their lived experiences were credentials long before institutions learned to recognize them as such.
The same is true of the HIV movement.
As we celebrate the accomplishments of those who came before us, we must also consider what we are building for the next generation of transgender leaders, community advocates, and public health professionals.
My experience at USCHA reminded me that our work is not finished, and neither is my commitment to it.
I left Anaheim inspired by the people I met, the stories I heard, and the conversations we started.
More than a month later, I remain committed to ensuring those conversations lead to meaningful opportunities for our communities.
Our Lived Experiences Are Credentials.
And as I shared during Preserving Power:
“The people close to the pain deserve to be close to the power!” —Ayanna Pressley
Let’s continue building it together.
