Meet Our New Team Members!

Let’s give a warm welcome to our latest additions to the team! We’re thrilled to have new team members onboard, bringing their diverse backgrounds and skills to help us grow and innovate. Get ready for some amazing collaborations and breakthrough projects!

 

 

 

 

“I’m so excited to be working with SAC and look forward to all there is to come!”

—Nayasia Coleman,
Executive Assistant

C-B Mason-Snowden headshot in teal circle frame
Fun Fact: Nay hopes to create more ease, joy, and support in our work here at SAC. They look forward to building robust relationships with my colleagues, other organizations, and members of our community. They look forward to learning more about how they can grow both personally and professionally as a leader.

 

 

Nayasia Coleman

Executive Assistant

Nay Coleman has spent a decade supporting community engagement, diversity, equity, & inclusion, and the arts across the United States. Her work to increase the quality of life for marginalized members of our community directly intersects with her own lived experience. She aims to be a beacon to those experiencing racism, homophobia, classism, and health disparities. She is influenced by her ancestors, those named and those unknown due to the myth of white supremacy.

Nay currently supports the Executive Director of the Southern AIDS Coalition with the hope of ending the HIV epidemic. She also serves as Co-Founder and Chief Diversity Officer of OutFind Creative, a brand and design firm that centers Black and LGBTQ+ representation. Although born in New York City, Nay currently resides in North Carolina where she enjoys having access to beaches, mountains, and rivers to frolic in across the state.

C-B Mason-Snowden headshot in teal circle frame
 

 

 

“I grew up in a small town where HIV stigma cost many people their lives. So, when my friend was diagnosed, I was committed to rooting out that stigma so that they could live a happy and healthy life.”

—Justin Lofton,
Training Manager

Justin Lofton

Training Manager

Justin is a nonprofit professional with over a decade of experience leading sexual and reproductive health programs, training and capacity building, and championing health policy initiatives. He is from Mississippi and is partaking in this necessary and timely work to spread awareness and information to providers across the South.

He says, “I grew up in a small town where HIV stigma cost many people their lives. So, when my friend was diagnosed, I was committed to rooting out that stigma so that they could live a happy and healthy life.” Through his work at SAC, he hopes that he is able to cultivate meaningful learning opportunities for healthcare providers by developing and scaling capacity-building programs that create safe and productive healthcare environments for people living with and affected by HIV.

 

 

 

“I [have a] passion for creating equitable spaces for individuals who have been shunned by a society that fails to recognize differences.”

—Brady Maiden,
Community Science Programs Manager

C-B Mason-Snowden headshot in teal circle frame
Fun Fact: She believes in the spirit of Ubuntu which calls for us to recognize the inner light within ourselves so that we may grow it amongst those around us. She hopes to continue to carry this ideology and believes that seeing the south for all its intersectional identities, culture, history, and its people will help to give us continued strength to fight to end the HIV epidemic.

Brady Maiden

Community Science Programs Manager

Brady Maiden is from Bakersfield, CA, and resides in Washington, DC. She has experience in disability employment advocacy, research, programming, and health equity. As a former senior analyst, she has fervently advocated for equitable employment opportunities for people with disabilities. She has also contributed to HIV advocacy efforts by developing programming around sexual health, prevention, and increasing community awareness about HIV science.

She strongly believes that at its core, the HIV epidemic is still heavily concentrated in the South, and we must continue to not only provide awareness but also listen to the community’s needs to build an effective response. She says, “Far too often, policies and policymakers adopt large-scale approaches how to end the HIV epidemic but disregard community voices. This is regarding the call for more funding towards HIV prevention, stronger support in addressing stigma, and the increased efforts to help tackle the misinformation around HIV science and research.”

She hopes to continue to expand the reach of the efforts to end the epidemic to audiences who have yet to hear about the advocacy efforts that SAC is doing. Also, to continue to create safe spaces for people to come and know not only will they be heard but are represented by an organization that continues to have their best interest at heart. She will push for the spread of Ubuntu as she learns and grows from her community. She hopes to unite and develop programming that continues to always shine a light on those in the struggle. 

C-B Mason-Snowden headshot in teal circle frame
 

 

 

“My hope is to provide a voice for the HIV community by reversing the negative stigma that has been attached.”

—Justin Searcy,
Grants Manager

Fun Fact: When Justin was in graduate school where most of his studies focus on HIV and the communities that it affected. While preparing for a Community Chat with a local church, he was able to learn and share numerous foundational concepts that offered foundational principles to my audience. As a result of that community event, his insight on HIV, its awareness, and community advocacy provided him the platform to continue his passion for research methodology.

Justin Searcy

Grants Manager

Justin Searcy is originally from Memphis, Tennessee, by way of Jackson, Tennessee. He has been in the public health arena for over 10 years with an emphasis on grant management, community engagement, and program management. He is grateful to join an organization that is thriving and making strides through implementation and passion. Currently, he is in the process of starting his doctoral degree. Justin says, “The research advancement of HIV has paved the way for many to have knowledge that may have not been privy in the past. As I step into this role, I will continue to be that voice and challenge myself to move the needle as others have done.”

Meet the New Community Organizer and Advocacy Manager

Read the profile for the new Community Organizer and Advocacy Manager, Miguel Garcia.

22 Years of Progress: Addressing Stigma in the Southern United States 

Will Ramirez addresses the history of the Southern Manifesto and the impact of stigma on communities in the South

Delayed Communication: Power of hearing the message in reverence of Pride and Juneteenth 

Brady Maiden & Torrie Shepard discuss the power of hearing the message in reverence of Pride and Juneteenth

Southern AIDS Coalition ANNOUNCES 2024 SPARK! GRANTS RECIPIENTS

The Southern AIDS Coalition announces their 2024–2025 cycle of SPARK! Grants recipients. Read to learn more

Meet the 2024-2025 Transformative Grant partners!

This is the final round of funding for Gilead’s groundbreaking COMPASS program, a 10-year, more than $100 million collaboration between Gilead Sciences, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Southern AIDS Coalition, University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work and Wake Forest University School of Divinity.

Access Denied: Challenging the Roadblocks to Sexual Health and Reproductive Care in the South

Will Ramirez & Brady Maiden address the rising rates of new HIV diagnoses, restrictive reproductive care, and more in the South

Saving ourselves symposium registration now open!

Connect on liberation! The SOS conference empowers and educates attendees on collective movement work for Black LGBTQ Southerners

Southern AIDS Coalition Receives GLAAD Media Award for Appearance on Jennifer Hudson Show

On May 11th, Southern AIDS Coalition [SAC] was recognized during the 35th GLAAD Media Awards with the award with The Jennifer Hudson Show

Meet the Newest Board Chair & Vice Chair

Read the profiles for the new, 2024 Southern AIDS Coalition Board Chair & Vice Chair, Angela Johnson & Randevyn Piérre

Breaking News! Victory for HIV Advocacy!

House passes LHHS appropriations bill with NO cuts to HIV programs. Our voices were heard!

WordPress Video Lightbox Plugin
X