SLI's Nzingha Hall Accepted into AIDS United's Southern HIV ImpactFund Leadership Development Cohort

AIDS United announces fourth cohort of Southern HIV Impact Fund Leadership Development Program

August 20, 2021- This Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS United is proud to announce the fourth cohort of the Southern HIV Impact Fund Leadership Development Program. This initiative trains leaders in the South to respond to the unique impacts of the epidemic on the region and supports the long-term sustainability of the leaders themselves, their organizations and the HIV movement.

The South is the epicenter of the national HIV epidemic. Black communities in the South are

disproportionately impacted by HIV. Responding to the epidemic must involve building the

capacity of leaders in these communities.

“This work requires strong, creative and resilient leaders to continue to turn the tide of the HIV

epidemic in the region and ultimately our nation as a whole,” said AIDS United President and

CEO Jesse Milan Jr. “We are incredibly grateful for the continued partnership of Funders

Concerned About AIDS and the support of our funders, without whom this program would not be

possible.”

The 2021 leadership development cohort consists of eight staff members from AIDS United

grantee partner organizations. Southern HIV Impact Fund grantees are working to effectively

address the prevention, care and support, and advocacy and leadership needs of individuals

and communities affected by HIV in the South.

Meet the leaders of the 2021 cohort:

• Justine Ingram (she/her), Southern AIDS Coalition; Birmingham, Alabama

• Jered Croom (he/him), Positively Living (Choice Health); Knoxville, Tennessee

• Cerita Burrell (she/her), The Afiya Center; Dallas, Texas

• Chad Morris (he/him), Frontline Legal Services; New Orleans, Louisiana

• Kristen Gonzalez (she/her), Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center;

Lafayette, Louisiana

• Shundria Black (she/her), WeCareTN; Memphis, Tennessee

• Raymond Velazquez (he/him), Western North Carolina AIDS Project; Asheville, North

Carolina

• Nzinga Hall (she/her), SisterLove, Inc; Atlanta, Georgia

Each leader’s organization receives $3,000 to offset any staffing or other costs associated with participation in the cohort, as well as to support continuing professional education, conference attendance, certifications and more.

“In the age of COVID-19, we have not allowed this pandemic to hinder the pursuit of the

Southern Fund to grow the personal and professional capacity of leaders in the South,” said

AIDS United Senior Program Manager Marvell L. Terry II. “I believe that we will be able to end

the new acquisition of HIV in the United States by first equipping the workforce.”

Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day offers an important reminder for us that the work to stop

HIV must involve cultivating the leadership of communities in the South to stop HIV together.

For more information about the program, please visit www.southernfund.org.

The Southern HIV Impact Fund is a first-of-its-kind collaborative of the nation’s leading private

and corporate funders of HIV-related programming and funders from intersecting issue areas

interested in supporting HIV work.

Convened by Funders Concerned About AIDS in 2017 to coordinate and expand philanthropic

efforts in the U.S. South, the Southern HIV Impact Fund is managed by AIDS United and

receives support from Gilead Sciences, Ford Foundation, ViiV Healthcare, the Levi Strauss

Foundation and a generous anonymous donor. Read more about our Healthy Love Youth Advocacy Cohort, led by Nzingha.