POZ I AM Radio

Rob Quinn is an openly gay HIV-positive activist and blogger. After hitting his rock bottom in 2007, resulting from an HIV diagnosis in 1993, an AIDS diagnosis in 1999, and the need to take an extended medical leave of absence from his child life career in NYC, Rob has since reinvented himself and in 2012 launched the blog www.OpenlyPoz.com

to empower and support his peers who are living positive. As of September 2013, Rob was appointed to a three-year term on the Statewide Consumer Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Office of HIV/AIDS. Prior to that, Rob served on the Board of Trustees at the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts (AFWM). He first became involved with AFWM in 2008 as a recipient of their emergency financial assistance program. Rob has since received AFWM’s Community Activist Recognition Award, and co-facilitates Living Positive, the area’s only peer-led support for men living with HIV/AIDS. Rob believes that by putting a face to HIV and talking about in open forums, we can lessen stigma and make sure silent voices are heard. Whether or not you have been directly impacted, we are all affected by HIV/AIDS.

Robert & Aaron spend 60 minutes talking all things HIV.

Robert and Aaron will be speaking with 2 amazing Mothers this evening.

 Jane is a mother, college student, public speaker, HIV activist and advocate, and she is herself positive. Jane has spent the last four plus years since she was diagnosed learning what she could about HIV itself, the stigma attached the disease. Jane enjoys to spend as much time possible just being mommy to her four year old son and she believes that it is her privilege and honor to be his mother and to be the activist she has became.

Later we will be joined by Chelsea Gulden White. Chelsea was diagnosed HIV positive at 21 years old between her junior and senior year In college. She was also told she was 10 weeks pregnant. HIV catapulted Chelsea into a career working with other HIV positive adolescents. She developed and implemented the first and only HIV program for youth ages 12-24. The program has yielded excellent results serving 81 youth in 2013 with 35.8% achieving am undetectable viral load when the national average for everyone in care is only 25%. Chelsea has since completed her Master's in Social Work, gotten married, & had two more children. Chelsea is very proud of her accomplishments but her 3 beautiful HIV negative boys bring her the most pride and joy.

Mark S. King produces the funny and often controversial blog, My Fabulous Disease. He has been writing and speaking about HIV since he tested HIV positive in 1985, including the widely circulated POZ Magazine cover essay this year, "The Sound of Stigma."

Tonight Robert & Aaron will be speaking with 3 young men in their 20's who are living with HIV and how they have found support in eachother. The three men were recently featured in an A&U Magazine article.

AdamStraga is 25 year old single gay male living in New Jersey. Who was diagnosed with HIV a few years ago and has been in an up and down battle dealing with the stigma.

Amir Simon is 22 years old and was born and raised in Philadelphia. He has been HIV positive for about 2 years now and feel that his diagnoses has made him a more positive person.

Ryan Hunter Ruggiero currently lives in the city of Philadelphia and is a full time Design Assistant at Ethan Allen and a part time flight attendant. He found out he was HIV positive 2 years ago. The support from his friends and family have been a great help in him accepting his status.

Damon L. Jacobs is a Licensed Psychotherapist in New York State, and has worked in HIV Treatment and Prevention for most of the past 22 years.  His 2008 book, "Absolutely Should-less" criticizes traditional HIV prevention strategies that fail to  effectively impact and change high-risk sexual behaviors.   He has been publicly speaking out in favor of information, education, and accessibility regarding PrEP for the past 12 months.  He frequently offers talks throughout New York City on subjects related to healthy living, joyful relationships, and rejecting stigma.   For more information, please email him at [email protected] or call 347-227-7707.

Scott A. Kramer, LCSW, ACSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice working with the LGBTQ community in New York City. in 2007, Scott graduated SUNY Stony Brook, School of Social Welfare and started work as the Prevention Social Worker in the Youth Enrichment Services program at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Manhattan. In 2009, he accepted the Supervising Counselor position at the Hetrick-Martin Institute and in 2010 received his SIFI certification from Columbia University School of Social Work. One of Scott's main goals as a social worker is to help empower people living with HIV/AIDS to lead a fulfilling life, free from stigma and fear. He accomplishes this by being a social worker who is open to both clients and colleagues about being a gay man and living with AIDS since 1995. In August 2010 Scott developed "Hi-fIVe - A Support Group for Gay Men Living with HIV/AIDS in New York City" a low-cost, weekly support group for adult gay men living with HIV/AIDS. "Hi-fIVe" has a monthly topic and is continually well attended. Scott is a 2010 recipient of the NASW-NYC Social Work Emerging Leader Award, and has presented at the Boston College National Conference on Social Work and HIV/AIDS each year since 2010. He has been involved with Cycle for the Cause, a 275 mile bike ride fundraiser for the LGBT Center of Manhattan's HIV/AIDS services, as a pos-ped crew member since 2009. For more information about Scott A. Kramer, LCSW, ACSW and his work, please visit his website at www.scottakramer.com

Peter Staley has been a long-term AIDS and gay rights activist, first as a member of ACT UP New York, then as the founding director of TAG, the Treatment Action Group. He served on the board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) for 13 years and then founded AIDSmeds.com, an educational website for people living with HIV. Staley is a leading subject in the Oscar-nominated documentary How to Survive a Plague.

What began as a grassroots effort to fight stigma of HIV have been developed into a campaign with a full Mission Statement and has achieved recognition of 501c3 nonprofit status through the CARES organization.

Mr Friendly has received so many amazing questions. We want to share these questions with you through the Frequently Asked Questions link, on this page. I encourage you to keep asking question by sending them to the creator of Mr Friendly, Dave Watt. Please feel free to e-mail Dave at [email protected]. We will strive to add your question for others to learn more about Mr Friendly.

Mr Friendly began as a picture on a clipboard in September 2008. People loved the symbol, as a visual expression of how so many of us feel – to end the stigma of HIV. Check out the full History of Mr Friendly here.

Mr Friendly has already touched many people’s lives in a variety of ways. Helping to initiate conversations about HIV, proven to be an effective fundraising tool and being a fun symbol to wear are just a few. See what a few celebrities and activists have to say in the High Five section.

Tonight Robert & Aaron will be discussing HIV Criminalization with Robert Suttle and Tami Haught

Robert Suttle was convicted under Louisiana’s HIV-specific criminal statute after accepting a plea bargain and served six months in a Louisiana prison for HIV non-disclosure to a former partner, with whom he had a contentious relationship. Upon his release in January 2011, he has become engaged in anti-criminalization advocacy work.Today he is now assistant director of The SERO Project, a new nonprofit initiative combating HIV criminalization, stigma, and discrimination, promoting the empowerment of people with HIV, providing support to those charged or at risk of being prosecuted.

Tami Haught is the Community Organizer for Community HIV/Hepatitis Advocates of Iowa Network (CHAIN) the lead advocacy group in Iowa working to modernize Iowa's HIV specific criminalization law.  Tami is also President of Positive Iowans Taking Charge, the lead educational, emotional and social support group for Iowans living with HIV/AIDS.  She is on several other boards including the SERO Project Board of Directors and USPLHIV Caucus.