September 30, 2011
In August, five additional members joined AVAC’s US domestic advocacy leadership program, PxROAR (Prevention Research, Outreach, Advocacy and Representation)—Ilanito Cerna-Turoff, Fulbright Program; Steve Houldsworth, Saint Louis Effort for AIDS; Julie Patterson, AIDS Taskforce for Greater Cleveland; Carlos Pavão, Consultant; and Charles Stephens, AID Atlanta. The PxROAR program offers training for US advocates in biomedical HIV prevention research education and advocacy through mentorship, peer support, networking opportunities, and technical and financial support. The inaugural PxROAR class focused on individual projects ranging from a literature review of best practices for informed consent, to building a cadre of HIV-positive women prevention research advocates. This group of seven will work with the new members on a common campaign about which we’ll provide updates in future issues.