Kristi Chastain, ACSW (They/She)

Gender Health and Wellness Navigator, DAP Health

Years as an ANAC member: This is my first year! Very excited for the future.

Local ANAC chapter: Greater Palm Springs

What does National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day mean to you?

National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day means taking care of a population, communities, and families that have worked tirelessly to shape the many facets of our world that we enjoy today. It means pouring back into the Latinx community as they have poured into us. It means remembering those we have lost and honoring their impact. It means prioritizing Latinx individuals, pushing back on barriers, understanding cultural practices, and finding ways to reach across the aisle to ensure they feel safe, valued, and empowered to access health care.

Do you have a mentor or mentors who have been instrumental to your career and, if so, whom and how?

I have many mentors that have supported me and shaped me into the individual that I am today. To my fellow Latinx community members, especially Ana Macias. Thank you for taking me under your wing, assisting me with my transition into the medical field, and reminding me to take care of and value myself. You have inspired me with your dedication, hard work, knowledge, experience, caregiving, and humility. You are everything.

To my Latinx family and ancestors, especially my Aunt Denise, who served as an RN for many years. Thank you for passing on your quick-witted nature and adventurous spirit.

Who/what inspires you

I am inspired by all the Latinx/Latine individuals that have paved a path for me. To the Latinx/e immigrants, mothers, caregivers, activists, advocates, nurses, physicians, surgeons, artists, bakers, healers, therapists, skilled workers, and scholars. To Sylvia Rivera and Ms. Adela Vázquez who advocated not just for Trans rights, but for all that face discrimination, and are still disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS today. May we follow in your footsteps, speak up, and fight for Latinx/e individuals everywhere.

Gabriel San Emeterio, LMSW (They/elle, she, he)

Senior Fellow and co-founder of Strategies for High Impact/Long COVID Justice

Steering committee member of the US People Living with HIV Caucus (aka The HIV Caucus)

Part-time faculty at Columbia University’s and Hunter College’s Schools of Social Work

Years as an ANAC member: 1+ years (became a member with the HIV & Aging Scholars cohort)

What does National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day mean to you?

National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day is deeply personal to me. As a queer, disabled immigrant from Mexico who has lived with HIV for many years, this day honors the generations of Latinx people—activists, caregivers, cultural workers—who have fought for our survival and dignity, even as racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism cause HIV to affect our community disproportionately. One day to remind us that Latinx people living with HIV and our allies must work year-round to foster disability justice and collective care, and to build deeper solidarity across movements to end the epidemic and improve our quality of life.

Why did you join the fight to end HIV/AIDS?

I joined the fight to end HIV/AIDS because it’s deeply personal. Living with HIV, I’ve realized that the virus is not just a health issue that can be addressed medically. In fact, we have the medications to end transmission today. It is racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and stigma that keep transmission rates higher among our communities of color. Therefore, the fight to end HIV/AIDS is a fight for social, economic, gender, and disability justice!

What’s your favorite aspect of ANAC membership?

As a social worker, I feel honored to be a member of an association of health professionals who understand that HIV care is inseparable from justice, equity, and dignity. The continuing educational opportunities that ANAC provides are responsive to emergent needs in HIV service provision and advocacy, which is a holistic approach that I deeply appreciate.

What words of wisdom might you pass on to those entering the field?

For those beginning in HIV service provision and advocacy, I encourage you to learn and integrate the 10 principles of disability justice into both your work and daily life. People living with disabilities are more likely to be exposed to HIV, and people living with HIV are more likely to experience disabilities, especially as we age. Think of disability and access in broad, inclusive terms, since all of us will encounter impairments at some point in our

lives. Building a more accessible and just world benefits everyone, not only those living with HIV or disabilities.