Poz I Am Radio

Tom Donohue, thirty year old, son, brother and uncle of three, is the founder director of Who's Positive; a group of individuals infected, affected, sharing real stories about real people with a real commitment to humanizing HIV through firsthand accounts of young adults living with HIV. Since finding out about his own HIV-positive status in October 2003, Tom has dedicated his life to providing opportunity and encouraging HIV testing and raising awareness, a of HIV and its consequences in his peers. Tom has served as part of the commission for LGBTA Equity at Penn State; was the director of the Pennsylvania State AIDS Watch from 2003 to 2005; and was a co-coordinator for the Nor-Easter caravan of the Campaign to End AIDS. For World AIDS Day 2004, Tom was featured on MTV's Jumbotron in New York's Times Square as one of fifty notable HIV/AIDS activists in the world. Tom also served on the board of directors for the North Central District AIDS Coalition in central Pennsylvania and has advocated at the State Cap

When Bryyan Jackson was a baby, his father entered his hospital room and injected a syringe of HIV-tainted blood into his tiny body. At times during his childhood, he was expected to die. Now 18, he'll put on his black cap and gown and graduate from High School in St. Charles, near St. Louis. Shielded from the public for much of his life since his father's high-profile criminal trial a decade ago, Brryan is now an outspoken advocate for people with AIDS, and the power of faith and forgiveness. Brryan has started a nonprofit called Hope Is Vital. He will work this summer with Project Kindle, a Valencia, Calif.-based organization that sponsors summer camps for children affected by the disease. He also serves as a speaker with that group and a St. Peters, Mo.-based ministry, Upward Bound Ministries.

Justin B. Smith, 29, has been an HIV and Gay Civil Rights activist in the Washington DC area for about 10 years. An Air Force veteran, he was honorably discharged with awards and decorations in 2003.He has served and volunteered in several organizations, including the HRC, Whitman Walker Clinic and the National Black Justice Coalition. Justin writes for many publications including GBMNews.com, Baltimore Gay Life,POZIAM and Swerve Magazine. He resides with his partner of 3 years, Dr. Philip Terry, to whom he is recently engaged, in Laurel, MD. Justin created ‘Justin’s HIV Journal’ to advocate for education, prevention and awareness when it comes to HIVIn his journal he tells people about the trials and tribulations when it comes to living with HIV/AIDS.

Mayor Duran was elected to the West Hollywood City Council on March 6, 2001. Throughout his legal career he has worked to defend human rights, including the prominent legal case Kolcum v. L.A. County, where he successfully sued Los Angeles County for denying medication to inmates with HIV/AIDS. Mayor Duran was identified as one of the 20 most influential members of the gay community by "In Los Angeles Magazine." Besides leading the effort for marriage equality in California, he also serves as a role model for HIV positive people as one of four HIV-positive elected officials in the United States. Mayor Duran has been a gay activist since 1985 and is currently writing a history of the gay rights movement in Southern California.

Nicholas Snow has been out of the closet in the media as an openly gay man since 1985. In 1988 he was on the staff of the first ever National Coming Out Day and later also served on the board of the Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Artists in the Entertainment Industry. From 1993 to 1998 he produced and hosted the television show "Tinseltown's Queer!" which he describes as "a queen's version of Larry King" - this morphed into the Nicholas Snow Show with co-host Fabrice Tasendo which ran until 2000. In a dramatic twist in his own storyline due to a collision of circumstances, Snow became HIV positive in August of 2007. He has since founded ActionEqualsLife.com, devoted to raising HIV/AIDS awareness; creating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered civil rights; and supporting human rights in general. Visitors to the web site can watch "Action Equals Life: The Series!" Later this year Snow will record a dance anthem with leading music producer Bruno Brugnano, the music video to be directed by O. Nathapon. The so

Brandon Macsata serves as Managing Partner of The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc. – a national governmental and public affairs consulting firm specializing in grassroots campaigns and political fundraising. He is widely recognized for ability to connect national, state and local stakeholders interested in influencing public policy. Macsata has extensive experience working with political candidates, national and statewide trade associations, and other corporate entities. First diagnosed as HIV-positive in March 2002, Macsata has dedicated much of his professional and personal life advocating for persons living with AIDS. He currently serves as CEO of the ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+), a national non-profit organization working to improve the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. From November 2003 to March 2006, he authored a weekly news column on national HIV-related stories for The Weekly News in Miami, Florida. He is also a former ADAP recipient. Brandon will also be discussing the ADAP Advocacy Association's

Anthony Bongiorno the President of The Friends of AIDS Foundation will share his story. During the 1990’s, Anthony was involved in the drug scene and as a result, found himself picking up several cases. He continued to struggle with the whole drug lifestlye for many years until he met his soon to be wife in 2003. They married and he began to clean up his legal wreckage from the past and was ordered to do time. He took a short leave of absence from work. While away, his wife had an extra-marital affair and contracted the HIV virus. Upon his return home, the virus was transmitted to Anthony and their relationship became strained. The following year she committed suicide and Anthony was now alone. His personal interest is to create a positive impact that will change the future course of the pandemic by helping to develop healthy futures for communities impacted by HIV/AIDS. It is his goal to help bridge the gap for those impacted by this disease by delivering innovative programs that enhance the quality of lif

Marvelyn Brown Shares her story and will talk about her autobiography "The Naked Truth". Marvelyn Brown is an Emmy Award winning AIDS Activist and has even appeared on Oprah and MTV and many other tv shows. The surprisingly hopeful story of how a straight, nonpromiscuous, everyday girl contracted HIV and how she manages to stay upbeat, inspired, and more positive about life than ever before. At nineteen years of age, Marvelyn Brown was lying in a stark white hospital bed at Tennessee Christian Medical Center, feeling hopeless. A former top track and basketball athlete, she was in the best shape of her life, but she was battling a sudden illness in the intensive care unit. Doctors had no idea what was going on. It never occurred to Brown that she might be HIV positive. Having unprotected sex with her Prince Charming had set into swift motion a set of circumstances that not only landed her in the fight of her life, but also alienated her from her community. Rather than give up, however, Brown found a reason to

Ken Howard will be speaking with POZIAM Radio .Ken is a gay, poz psychotherapist and life coach in Los Angeles. Ken has been poz for 19 years, and has worked with gay/poz men to "Have the Life You Want!", by doing in-person counseling, an iTunes Podcast, newsletter, and various public speaking engagements. On Ken's website he has an archive of the many articles he wrote as the HIV mental health columnist for A&U magazine for two years. Ken also chaired the Los Angeles County HIV Mental Health Task Force for 10 years, and co-chaired their annual HIV Mental Health conference along with UCLA/Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center.

KengiKat will share his amazing story. Kengi’s life took a turn that he never thought could or would ever happen in February 2007. He had just recently buried his Pops after caring for him for over 3 years. was also in my 5th battle with cancer. Homeless for 22 months , April 2008 Kengi was told he was HIV+. Not only was he homeless and battling a life long fight with Sickle Cell, Cancer and now HIV. Kengi thought he was already sinking, but with being told was now HIV positive he felt as if someone had just tied two anchors to my ankles and I was now being pulled under. While Kengi was homeless he created an outreach program to draw attention and raise awareness as well as provide support for people who suffer through homelessness. Do Something Saturday .On the year anniversary of him being HIV positive Kengi launched two outreaches Unplugging HIV~empowering a positive life and Kengi's get tested party. Unplugging HIV is a monthly outreach to low income and homeless people living with HIV and AIDS His Blog n

Sunday June 14th at 9pm EST Youth HIV/AIDS educator Bob Bowers also known as " Da Pirate" returns to POZ I AM Radio. Bob is a 25-year thriving survivor of HIV/AIDS. To broaden his message of prevention through education, survival, hope and compassion, he founded HIVictorious, Inc., which is based in Madison, Wisconsin. He is a powerful and motivating speaker that reaches out to a large array of diverse audiences. He is a tireless and passionate advocate helping to shape HIV/AIDS policy. He is also active in fund-raising events, camps for youth affected or infected by HIV, guest-speaking engagements at colleges, jails, community organizations, and high schools and middle schools. Bob is truly dedicated to making a lasting difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as well as addressing AIDS stigma and other social issues. www.hivictorious.org www.onetoughpirate.com www.whatifitwereyou.org  

Wednesday June 10th at 2pm EST Jim Frederick a HIV+ Artist will be sharing his story with POZIAM Radio. Jim is a Midwest boy, who grew up in Washington, Missouri. He has a double bachelors degree in Advertising and Marketing. After one brief year with a small advertising agency, He started his own t-shirt business. He designed under the label Jymwear Dallas for a little over 10 years. Selling to a national market was challenging but it left him wanting more creatively. What started out at a hobby creating greeting cards Jim created Jim Frederick Studios which is growing strong with over 150 designs in both greeting cards and gift totes. The biggest surprise and Jim’s newest passion is his fine Art. You can view his gallery at www.jimfederickstudios.com

Nina's premature birth in San Jose, California facilitated the need for a blood transfusion that infected her with the HIV virus in 1983. However, it was 1991 before her infection came to light during an accidental preoperative test; she was eight years old. This discovery began an investigation into the U.S.Department of Defense, which had known of her donor's HIV-positive status two years before her diagnosis. Prompted by her case, the Department of Defense's "Blood Look Back" program now requires a practice of case non-closure if a blood recipient cannot be immediately located. Nearly twenty-six years after her infection, Nina holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and government from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and she is a candidate for the Master of Science in Public Health in the summer of 2009 from Emory University in Atlanta.

Mark Olmsted is a long-term survivor who dates his seroconversion from New York in the early 80s, where he also graduated from NYU with a degree in film. In 1989 he moved to the West Coast, where he took care of his brother, who died of AIDS in 1991. Mark was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS in 1993, and lived for the next several years with the assumption they were his last, as he pursued a screenwriting career . He developed a crystal meth habit, which in turn led to drug-dealing to support his addiction. In 2004, he was arrested, and spent 9 months in various California prisons. While incarcerated, his sister offered to start a blog documenting his life as an out HIV+ inmate, a blog which he continued upon his release. He recently celebrated 4 years of sobriety.

Robert Breining and Jeromy Dunn will be speaking with Steve Albert. Steve was diagnosed HIV+ in 1988 ,his partner at the time died from complications of AIDS in November of 1989 His Mom was his biggest support outside of the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT)She passed away in 1992 and after meeting his current partner he relocated to a small town north of Toronto where he came up against a lot of ignorance and and fear and was subsequently fired from a job. With the help of the local ASO Peterborough AIDS Resource Network (PARN) Steve was able to speak at a town meeting and help in educating the locals. Steve continued to volunteer for this organization until he moved back to Toronto with my partner in 2005. At that point Steve decided to go to school and obtain my diploma in social work.After graduating Steve was diagnosed with Hep C at which point he elected to take the Interferon treatment.The treatment was very difficult and for a year he was unable to function up to my normal potential however after it

Robert Breining and Dab Garner from -Dab the AIDS Bear Project _will be speaking with Alina Oswald. Alina is a freelance writer/photographer and author living in NYC area. Her works have appeared in publications like "A&U," "NY Blade" and "Out IN Jersey" and in NYC art galleries like Visual AIDS ("Postcards from the Edge") and Leslie-Lohman ("Strike A Pose"). Her own photography show is "Backbone," hosted by 32 Jones Gallery in Jersey City. Her new books include "Journeys Through Darkness," a biography of an award-winning photographer left legally-blind by CMV retinitis and "Backbone" a collection of images celebrating queer courage, from the show with the same name.

Claes Lilja shares why he started the Brotherhood Retreats. This 5-day retreat is an international gathering of HIV-positive gay and bi-sexual men who seek to enrich their lives through deeper insights, awareness and connections to both the community and oneself. We will be learning about medical, psychological and spiritual tools to help create healthier and more fulfilling lives while forging bonds and friendships with other HIV-positive gay men from different parts of the world. The program will include informational and instructional sessions as well as exercises and participation by all the attendees with attention given to the full body-mind-spirit connection. We will also have plenty of time for social activities with movie screenings, nature hikes, and some parties. Learn more- www.pozretreats.com

Mikey was born in Lancaster Pa. and has lived in Harrisburg, Baltimore and now resides in Santa Cruz Ca. He was a gymnast for 18 years and placed in the top 10 on the floor exercise in the north Atlantic championships in college. He is a certified diamondtologist and gemologist with Diamond Council of America. He worked as a male stripper in Baltimore Md. for five years and has been a personal assistant to hair stylist who does non-surgical hair replacement for cancer patients, people with trichotillomania, and the transgender community. Since he was diagnosed with AIDS he is now speaking at HIV/AIDS trainings, colleges and schools in his area, Mikey just completed filming a documentary for the Youth Empowering Youth Project about how he found out he had AIDS.

Living with an illness can be very emotionally and physically draining. The psychological toll in itself is huge. Healing Waters exists to help you step outside from all of that for a day or weekend -- we offer incredibly fun weekend and weekday trips open to people with HIV and AIDS. Our participant trips have been designed specifically with the special needs of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in mind. For low fees, we are able to provide transportation, insurance, accommodation (tents, sleeping bags and pads), equipment, instruction, and any warm clothing you may need including rain jackets, wool socks, and much more. The meals we provide are specially designed to be high in protein and nutritionally balanced as well. We also welcome caregivers and partners on our trips regardless of their HIV status, for the same low price. A bit apprehensive? Most people who join us on our trips are new to outdoor sports and many have never been camping. Our programs have been designed to accommodate all skill levels a

Richard Berkowitz was born in Newark, New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University in 1977. An author and activist, he is probably best known for two landmark writings, which he co-authored along with Dr. Joseph Sonnabend and the late Michael Callen. First, the controversial 1982 New York Native article, "We Know Who We Are: Two Gay Men Declare War on Promiscuity" and second, the self-published 40 page manual, How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach, in May 1983, which has been hailed as the invention of safe sex and has served as the framework for safe sex campaigns ever since. His 2003 book, Stayin' Alive: The Invention of Safe Sex (Westview Press) tells the story of his life as a sex worker in New York City before and after AIDS. He is the last surviving co-founder of the People with AIDS self-empowerment movement, which helped sparked patient advocacy groups and breast cancer activism. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications and has been quoted, attacked, misrepresented and occasional