Leslie Clark, PhD, MPH
Center Director
Dr. Clark is the Director of Intervention Science in the Division of Adolescent Medicine. Her HIV prevention work around capacity building in communities and structural change includes work in Birmingham, Alabama; Jamaica; Rwanda; and Zambia. She was a founding member of the Behavioral Leadership Group of the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) and the Behavioral Science Core Leader at the University of Alabama’s Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Clark has worked with minority youth populations, including young gay men, for 15 years and specifically with an intervention for transgender youth for four years. Her Project AIM for middle school youth is designated as an evidence-based HIV prevention program by CDC Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions. She has adapted Project AIM for high-risk older youth, including African American gay youth, transgender youth of color, and homeless youth. As the SYPP Center Director, she provides a vision and overall leadership for the project.
Miguel Martinez, MSW, MPH
Program Director
Miguel has been a part of the Division of Adolescent Medicine for 10 years and has worked in various areas of HIV prevention and care. He is the Program Manager for the Risk Reduction Program, which houses all HIV prevention, care, and research projects in the Division, and the Co-Principal Investigator of numerous studies, including the ATN. He fulfills numerous community leadership roles: former Co-Chair of the Evaluation Subcommittee and member of the Executive Committee for the Los Angeles County Prevention Planning Committee, Chair of the Los Angeles Unified School District HIV/AIDS Materials Review Panel, and a member of the Transgender Service Provider Network. Miguel is known for his deep commitment to serving transgender youth, young gay men of color, and HIV-positive youth. His role as Program Director includes overseeing staff and guiding development of all services and activities.
Mia Humphreys, MSW
CBA Coordinator
Mia began working at the Division of Adolescent Medicine while she was earning her MSW in Community Organization, Planning, and Administration and has a strong interest in the intersection of social justice and public health. Since joining the Division, Mia has worked on numerous community-based research projects involving transgender, homeless/runaway, and gang-involved youth and has worked with Dr. Clark in packaging the Project AIM intervention for community-based organizations. Mia has been instrumental in the development of the Connections for Youth model and is responsible for the coordination and delivery of CBA services.
Julia Dudek, MPH
Health Communications Coordinator
Julia served as Community Coordinator of Connect to Protect®, the research intervention from which Connections for Youth was adapted, prior to her current position. In that role, she facilitated a community mobilization process around HIV prevention for young gay and bisexual men of color. As Health Communications Coordinator, she is responsible for technology-based services and communications materials, as well as and for contributing to the development of the Connections for Youth model and project evalution. Julia incorporates a background in graphic communications and medical anthropology into her work.
Mona Desai, MPH
Evaluation Director
Mona has been developing mixed-methods evaluations and analyzing data for the past ten years. She currently oversees several community-based evaluation research projects examining issues related to youth and families living in high-risk environments, including a transgender harm reduction project, substance abuse treatment services, and the SAMHSA-funded Community Trauma Treatment Center for Runaway and Homeless Youth. Development of evaluation instruments, as well as data collection and analysis, are managed by Mona.
Bamby Salcedo
Transgender Services Coordinator/Trainer
Bamby is the Project Coordinator for Transgender Services at the Division of Adolescent Medicine, where she currently oversees the Tranny Rockstars; Belong, Believe, Become (B3); and L.I.F.E. projects. She is an outspoken advocate at the national level for transgender issues and rights. She has presented at several national conferences, including as a plenary speaker at The United States Conference on AIDS in 2009. Bamby has chaired the Los Angeles Prevention Planning Committee Transgender Task Force and serves on the Advisory Board of the All Gender Health Online study with the University of Minnesota; Unid@s, the National Latino LGBT civil rights organization; and the National Latino AIDS Action Network. Bamby brings her expertise from the Latino and transgender communities to her Trainer role with the SYPP Center.
Mauricio Franco
Evaluation Assistant
Mauricio graduated with his BA in 2008 from the University of California Los Angeles. He focused his studies on social justice and public health, while serving as a Co-Director and board member for two pre-med organizations that offer educational and health services to underserved communities in Los Angeles and Tecate, Mexico. He is committed to the LGBTQ community as an advocate and member of coalitions that aim to address and provide solutions to health disparities affecting the community. He supports the SYPP Center as Evaluation Assistant.
Veronica Montenegro
Project Director, Connect to Protect
Veronica has been part of the Division of Adolescent Medicine for 16 years, during which time she has worked in a variety of research-related projects. For the last nine years, she has coordinated the Connect to Protect® project. She currently chairs the national Community Coordinators Group of the ATN and serves as an officer within the executive body and site performance groups. Veronica has served for many years as Co-Chair of the LA Planning Committee for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) and has directed the all fundraising efforts for NLAAD. She serves as an advisor to the SYPP Center, particularly with the development and implementation of Connections for Youth.
Marvin E. Belzer, MD
Director, Division of Adolescent Medicine
As Director of the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Dr. Belzer is responsible for the clinical services, academic training program, and research activities at the Division. He also serves as Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine in the Keck USC School of Medicine and the Medical Director of HIV Services at the Division. He has been a leader in clinical research on youth with HIV for over 20 years, chairing the national Adolescent Trials Medical Unit Principal Investigators Committee of the ATN from 2001 to 2009. Dr. Belzer is a frequent lecturer on adolescent transgender health issues and has provided capacity building assistance for organizations working with HIV-positive youth.
Arlene Schneir, MPH
Associate Director, Division of Adolescent Medicine
Arlene has been instrumental in developing the Division of Adolescent Medicine’s programs and specialized services for pregnant teens and teen parents, youth living with HIV, transgender youth, and homeless youth over the past 24 years and is Associate Director. Concurrently, she serves as the Director for the Community Trauma Treatment Center for Runaway and Homeless Youth, part of the SAMHSA-funded National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, and the Director of a SAMHSA-funded Minority AIDS Initiative Project supporting HIV and substance abuse prevention services for homeless youth. In both of these projects, she develops and oversees capacity building assistance to a variety of youth-serving agencies.
Eugene Beronilla, MPH
Consultant
San Diego, CA
Eugene has over fifteen years of experience in HIV prevention programs, specializing in subpopulations of Asian/Pacific Islanders, men who have sex with men, youth, and transgender communities. Most recently, he worked as the Lead Counselor in a community-based organization that contracted with San Diego County’s Alcohol and Drug Services awardees, allowing him to provide tailored HIV/AIDS education and testing in treatment programs. Aside from direct service, he takes great interest in research and evaluation. Eugene is a San Diego-based consultant trainer for the SYPP Center.
Cathy K. K. Kapua
Consultant
Honolulu, HI
Cathy Kiana Keiko Kapua, or “Taffy” as she is known by the transgender community, has worked with the transgender community since 2003, first as a Peer Educator and Employment Specialist for the Working Divas Program at Kulia Na Mamo and then moving on to numerous other empowering projects and advocacy work. She is currently an HIV Prevention Specialist at the Life Foundation and is an expert at providing culturally competent trainings on sexuality and gender identity to agencies, colleges, and high schools. Cathy is a Honolulu-based consultant trainer for the SYPP Center.
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