Hello everyone,

After an amazing year working under the auspices of the Stronach Prize and wonderful mentors, I have unfortunately (and unexpectedly) neglected this website. I have been thinking long and hard about the mission and goals of this Project with the intention of realigning resources and strengths without duplicating the efforts of other organizations. I have long stressed the need of creating and fostering a space where people living with HIV, particularly youth and women of color and the transgender community, feel safe and validated. But throughout the course of the project, I found that this was not feasible for the fact that stigma effectively silences their voices. In the midst of budget uncertainty and the increasingly “medicalization” of care, I remain a steadfast advocate for HIV/AIDS care, prevention and support. The face of the epidemic is changing and so should we.

Our generation needs a new batch of leaders to take up the mantle and to continue advocating for change. Participating in this project has challenged and moved me in ways I am still trying to understand. The concept of what makes a great leader has always eluded me and I am sometimes loath to call myself one. I cannot expect of others what I cannot expect of myself. To this end, I will be repositioning the website to be more of a personal/informational blog where I post relevant current events, commentary and my own experiences living with HIV. This will certainly be a learning period for me too as I try to make sense of the world and my own place within it.

In other news, I have also been undergoing a few personal transitions of my own. After working for an HIV/AIDS nonprofit in San Francisco for the past year or so, I will be undertaking a new and exciting opportunity this fall. So stay tuned!

I would like to thank you all for joining me on this wonderful journey. As always, please feel free to contact me at william@beyondstatus.org with any thoughts or comments. I would love to hear from you!

William

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