Tim Vincent has worked in the field of HIV for over 25 years in both direct service provision with clients and in developing educational opportunities for providers. He is currently the manager of the national capacity building assistance program at The California Prevention Training Center. The program, funded through CDC, provides training, technical assistance and resources to state and local health departments to improve the practice of HIV prevention and care throughout the country. He has worked as a licensed mental health clinician, social worker, case manager and HIV test counselor in the past and more recently has developed nationally recognized curriculum for providers on a variety of innovative topics to promote health equity. He has led the development of trainings on social determinants of health, responding to stigma, strength-based counseling approaches, cultural sensitivity for gay, bi and other MSM, and working with HIV-positive clients. He has worked in South Africa on projects to support the engagement of HIV-positive community members into care through the building of support group leaders. He has served on statewide community planning groups, consulted with CDC on the development of national curriculum on linkage to care strategies, and has developed and conducted training of trainers in order to nationally diffuse some of the training initiatives he created. Due to his experience in the field, he is asked to speak regularly at national conferences.

Promoting Health Equity: Reducing Health Disparities

It is extremely important to me to do work that promotes social justice and improve health outcomes to communities that I identify with and have been a part of for most of my life. The passion, creativity, and intelligence it takes to make meaningful change in this area inspires me daily. The chasm that continues to exist between those that can successfully engage in systems of care and prevention and those that cannot, clearly points to the need for structural changes and a critical examination of the root causes. Larger factors such as racism, homophobia, HIV-related stigma, gender-equity, educational attainment, access to healthcare need to be the focus of our work. Having the opportunity to work with providers of service in a deep and meaningful to deconstruct these factors and build strategies to respond to them to promote health equity is a tremendous privilege.

Deborah is a Registered Nurse who has been working in the field of HIV/AIDS for over 24 years. She has worked as a Register Nurse Educator at AETC, Clinic Director, and a Director of Client Services. She is committed to her community where she provides health education at a local transitional home for women and volunteers at Juvenile Hall. In her current position she helps develop curricula and conducts trainings.

Importance of Promoting Health Equity and Reducing Health Disparities: Providing capacity building and technical  assistance to health providers and others in my local community allows me to both increase awareness of the various social determinates that contribute to health disparities; and empowering persons to  develop strategies to improve health disparities in their communities.

Patrick has over 20 years in research, implementation and evaluation of science-based HIV prevention interventions. He began his work in the field of HIV at Denver Public Health Department as a Program Coordinator of an Evidence-Based Intervention called ”Community PROMISE”. He has worked with very high-risk populations including MSM who do not identify as gay, injection drug users, sex workers and high-risk youth. He also has extensive experience in HIV Testing and Counseling and Case Management and received his CAC-II certification in addictions counseling. His work has been published in several journals and has been highlighted at numerous national and international conferences.

Importance of Promoting Health Equity and Reducing Health Disparities:

As a member of what some may call a “marginalized community”, marginalization has never been an option for me. I am part of an American community and have spent my life fighting for equality and social justice in this country. We all deserve to have access to, and receive, quality health care, regardless of our race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. The sad fact is that we don’t. I am committed to see the day when “universal health care” is not just an idea or a catch-phrase, but indeed, a reality.

Duran has worked extensively with low-income and disadvantage populations, throughout the San Francisco, Bay Area helping to develop programs and coordinate services to reduce barriers which hinder a person’s ability to effectively access care and social services. Prior to joining the CAPTC, Duran worked for the Alameda County Public Health Department’s Office of AIDS Administration, for five years as a Ryan White Grant Administrator and served as the staff liaison to the Alameda County people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) committee. Along with his colleagues Duran is committed to enhancing TA and training opportunities that address health disparities and health inequities throughout the US to help enhance providers understanding abilities to be more impactful in addressing the needs and concerns of those living with and impacted by HIV.