HIV Advocacy Network

Advocate for meaningful change

San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s HIV Advocacy Network (HAN) is a grassroots group of activists in the Bay Area fighting to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic and improve the lives of communities impacted by HIV.

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Since the early days of the HIV epidemic, AIDS activists have mobilized to fight for funding, equality and our lives. We’re applying that legacy to the modern-day context by bringing community activists together to advocate for critical policies that affect us all.
Advocacy helps me to realize that it’s not just about me, and that we can’t do this alone…
Michael Stoutmire Black Brothers Esteem Program Member

Advocacy Issue Areas

Health Justice

We fight for equitable access to healthcare for communities most impacted by the HIV epidemic.

Harm Reduction & Drug User Health

We believe in evidence-based public health policy that treats people who use drugs with dignity and respect in their journey around substance use.

HIV & Aging

Our elders fought for our rights to access healthcare ensuring HIV/AIDS would not be a death sentence. Now it’s time to step up together and fight for the right to age with dignity.

Housing & Homelessness

Housing is a human right, and we know that if you’re worried about where you’ll be sleeping you won’t be able to take care of your health. Housing is fundamental to achieving justice for our communities.

Intersectional Solidarity

We recognize the diversity inherent in the HIV movement and stand in solidarity with other progressive social justice movements working to dismantle systems of oppression that harm our communities.

The HIV Advocacy Network is a proud coalition member of: AIDS United • Care4AllCA • Coalition on Human Needs • Communities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief (CAEAR) Coalition • EndHepC SF • Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP) • Harm Reduction Coalition • HIV/AIDS Provider Network (HAPN) • Homeless Emergency Service Providers Association (HESPA) • Human Services Network • Medicaid Coalition • National AIDS Housing Coalition • National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition • National Coalition on LGBT Health • National Coalition on Low Income Housing • Our City Our Home Coalition • San Francisco HIV Frontline Organizers Network (SF HIV FOG) • SAVE for All Campaign • The Food is Medicine Coalition • Yes to SCS California

How are advocacy efforts organized?

HIV Advocacy Network members are organized into the following teams:

  • Leadership Team guides the strategic direction of advocacy efforts by empowering community members in advocating for issues affecting communities impacted by HIV and is composed of the co-chairs for each of the working group teams and the coordinator.
  • Mobilization & Training Team develops strategies to train and mobilize our members at key moments around advocacy campaigns and actions.
  • Community & Outreach Team plans activities and outreach to recruit new members and build community within our group to retain members and build solidarity.
  • Policy & Education Team informs membership on the progress of different bills and campaigns.
How do members stay informed?

Members of the HIV Advocacy Network are regularly provided with:

  • Updates related to our active campaigns that may include linked articles, fact sheets, and policy briefs related to our priority issue areas.
  • Shared toolkits, guides, and trainings to help members sharpen their advocacy skills and comprehension of key legislative processes.
  • Opportunities to take action like public marches and rallies, public comments at hearings, legislative visits with policymakers, phone banks, petition drives, canvassing, tabling, and social media actions.
When is your next membership meeting?

General membership meetings are held once a month. Depending on your commitment, additional meetings may be necessary to coordinate with team members on active campaigns and mobilizations.

Sign up today to attend our next membership meeting.

HAN Leadership Team

Jose Murillo

Community Chair

(He/Him)
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(He/Him)

Jose Murillo

Community Chair

Jose is a passionate person who enjoys being around the community and understanding their needs. He has been working in the field for almost 5 years and finished his first term as the outreach co-chair with HAN this year. He is very passionate and loves every minute of being involved with the different events and community settings that give him perspective, fulfillment and understanding of what our community needs. He is honored to be part of the fight - every person deserves to be heard and he wants to encourage and uplift people to speak their heart.

Yves Chu

Community Co-Chair

(He/Him or They/Them)
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(He/Him or They/Them)

Yves Chu

Community Co-Chair

Yves Chu (he/they), is an active community member of SF; small biz owner; realtor; pansexual, polyamorous, trans masculine, HIV+, sober, neurodivergent and multiply disabled individual. He is honored to serve HAN in any capacity to achieve Getting to Zero, particularly for historically under-looked communities growing statistically in seroconversion.

Xander Briere

Outreach Co-Chair

(They/He/Fae)
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(They/He/Fae)

Xander Briere

Outreach Co-Chair

Xander Briere, who uses the pronouns They/He/Fae, is a dedicated advocate for Queer harm reduction and Sex Worker rights. Alongside their activism, Xander is also a talented Drag Performer. In 2024, Xander was honored as the Grand Marshal
for SF Pride, recognizing their significant contributions to the LGBTQ+ community and was a 2024 Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program graduate with the Transgender District. Currently, Xander holds the role of Program Specialist 2 at the San Francisco Community Health Center, where they continue to make a positive impact. In addition to their advocacy work, Xander is also the founder of Co. of Dionysus LLC, a consulting firm dedicated to promoting healthcare as a social justice movement.

Aurora Vasheresse

Outreach Chair

(She/Her)

Akashdeep Singh

Policy & Education Co-Chair

(They/Them)
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(They/Them)

Akashdeep Singh

Policy & Education Co-Chair

Akash is a legal and policy expert, filmmaker, and storyteller. They care deeply about making a tangible impact on peoples’ lives and advocating for a society where we care for one another. They’re not always sure how to do that and so it means a lot to them to be able to learn with other folks who share that core value.

Paul Aguilar

Policy & Education Co-Chair

(Anything Respectful)
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(Anything Respectful)

Paul Aguilar

Policy & Education Co-Chair

Paul A. Aguilar is a fourth generation native San Franciscan. Growing up in the Haight Ashbury he witnessed many of the social justice movements of the late 60's and early 70s. He remembers attending his first Pride March at the age of 13 in 1976 and remembers how exciting it was to have the first openly gay candidate, Harvey Milk, running for public office. It was two years later on the night of the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Milk when, as Paul recounts, "that the activist within me was unleashed. It was then that I finally understood what my father meant when he would tell me: ‘if you see an injustice happening and you do nothing to stop it, then you're just as guilty as the person perpetrating said injustice.’ And that's how I've tried to live my life since then."

Eva Mancini

Mobilization & Training Co-Chair

(She/Her)
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(She/Her)

Eva Mancini

Mobilization & Training Co-Chair

Eva is currently a Field Organizer at San Francisco Rising where she empowers everyday people to have meaningful conversations with voters about the issues and values that shape our communities, using elections to turbocharge year-round campaigns for racial and economic justice. She loves exploring the intersections of queerness and sexuality in the ways we order our relationships, and stays grounded through hot yoga, traveling the country, and hanging out with cats.

T.J. Lee-Miyaki

Mobilization & Training Co-Chair

(He/Him)
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(He/Him)

T.J. Lee-Miyaki

Mobilization & Training Co-Chair

T.J. is an advocate for HIV/AIDS, LGBTQIA2+, cancer, the formerly incarcerated, homelessness, and other vital social justice issues. He has served as a program manager for the Shanti Project, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Stop AIDS Project, and the SF HIV CARE Council, as well as an housing/education specialist at PRC. Additionally, he’s held council and board positions on local, state, and national levels, including the SF Ryan White CARE Council, the SF HIV Community Planning Council, Positive Pedalers, and the CA LGBT Health Equity Team for the American Cancer Society. He also loves to cycle and will be doing the 2025 AIDS LifeCycle.

William Dean

BBE Advocacy Chair
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William Dean

BBE Advocacy Chair

William is happy to join HAN’s Leadership Team as a current participant with SFAF Black Health’s programs: Brothers Who Read and Phoenix Rising. He is a retired high school teacher of English and a current tutor at a senior center lab.

HAN Leadership Team

Jonathon Salinas

Community Chair

(He/Him)
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(He/Him)

Jonathon Salinas

Community Chair

I am Jonathon Salinas (he/him), born and raised in Salinas, CA. I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2020 with community worker experience as an educator, events coordinator, and youth services advocate. My current work with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation focuses on increasing access to sexual health and HIV prevention services, particularly for communities most impacted by sexual health disparities. In my free time I like to lay in Dolores Park with a good book or visit my favorite bars, El Rio and Oasis.

Alton Lou

Outreach Co-Chair

(He/Him or They/Them)
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(He/Him or They/Them)

Alton Lou

Outreach Co-Chair

My name is Alton (he/they), I have been a PrEP Navigator for the past 3 years working in the Bay Area. HIV prevention and care has always been super important to me, as it was a vital part of my development. I hope to learn, to teach, and to grow with the community.

Jose Murillo Cisneros

Outreach Co-Chair

(He/Him)
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(He/Him)

Jose Murillo Cisneros

Outreach Co-Chair

My name is Jose Murillo (he/him). I am very enthusiastic, optimistic about new opportunities, and open minded. I enjoy challenges and have come a long way and am looking forward to doing my best to shine!

Akashdeep Singh

Policy & Education Co-Chair

(They/Them)
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(They/Them)

Akashdeep Singh

Policy & Education Co-Chair

My name is Akash Singh (they/them). I work in environmental legislation and have been volunteering as the Policy & Advocacy Co-Chair for a year. I enjoy film, baking, and writing in coffee shops.

Bravery Scott

Mobilization Co-Chair

(They/Them)
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(They/Them)

Bravery Scott

Mobilization Co-Chair

My name is Bravery (they/them). I'm a gay non-binary artist who loves to go for long walks in the redwoods and will probably give you a tarot reading. I dress in drag on Fridays.

Paul Aguilar

Mobilization Co-Chair

(He/Him/Y'all/El)
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(He/Him/Y'all/El)

Paul Aguilar

Mobilization Co-Chair

I am Paul Aguilar (he/him/y’all/el), and have been a member of HAN since 2018. In addition to being a former Policy & Education co-chair, I was one of the first to receive an End the Epidemics fellowship, and have recently become a co-chair of the Getting to Zero Consortium's HIV & Aging Subcommittee. In 2023, I received the Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal at SF Pride.

Robert Mitchell

BBE Representative

(He/Him)
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(He/Him)

Robert Mitchell

BBE Representative

I am Robert Mitchell (he/him), a long-time Human Rights Activist. My initial interest in health care really manifested itself with the onset of the AIDS crisis. Out of necessity l have become a soldier in this war on HIV and AIDS, thanks to all the guidance and mentoring from dedicated staff and other volunteers. I am a peer leader with Black Brothers Esteem (BBE) with about 20 years of focusing on a community disproportionately impacted by this virus. I passionately champion for the needs of our communities.

If you have any questions about current campaigns or initiatives, please contact Ande Stone, Director, Community Mobilization & Policy.

 

Program Director

Ande Stone

Pronouns: He/him/his

415-487-8010
astone@sfaf.org

If you have any questions about current campaigns or initiatives, please contact Ande Stone, Director, Community Mobilization & Policy.

Justice Dumlao

Community mobilization manager

Pronouns: they/him
jdumlao@sfaf.org

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