Lab News

Brian Ragas is an accomplished administrator with over 10 years of experience focused on health and human rights within civil society organizations. He has a strong management background and a record of improving organizational efficiency through strategic communication. Brian excels at building relationships with major donors, funders, clients, and other stakeholders. His educational background includes a degree in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University and studies in HIV/AIDS Management at Stellenbosch University. He is currently pursuing studies in Global Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Brian serves as the Director of Black Health at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, where he is responsible for developing and implementing programming, staffing, training, protocols, and marketing materials. He also manages relationships with subcontracting agencies, oversees data reporting systems, and addresses emerging programmatic issues. In a previous role, he developed a solidarity media campaign for human rights issues in the Philippines and built an international coalition of civil society organizations to advocate for policy reform.

Ebony Gordon (she/her) is the program coordinator of the SFAF aging services, she is a new member of the SF Bay Area community. She has served in the HIV space for over seven years in the South and has worked in a variety of roles from prevention and education and trauma-focused case management to direct support services and volunteer roles. Ebony’s continued mission has been to demystify the stigma surrounding HIV and to eradicate the epidemic through trauma-informed care, education, advocacy, and prevention efforts. Ebony is currently doing work to honor and support Black women in conversations surrounding HIV and to create brave spaces wherein Black women living with HIV can center their own health, wellness, joy, happiness, and pleasure. She hopes to strengthen her work by completing her master’s degree to licensure in clinical mental health counseling. Ebony loves to spend her time listening to true crime podcasts, doing her makeup, and drinking extra sweet vanilla lattes in small cafes.

Richard Strange (he/him) grew up in London and graduated from King’s College, Cambridge in 1963 with a degree in Physiology and Chemistry. He then spent five years in Africa, initially in Ghana as a school-teacher and member of VSO, the British Peace Corps. After ten years working in London, he moved to the USA in 1978 to work in IT for the US Environmental Protection Agency but then joined the IT staff of the World Bank in Washington DC in 1991, where he worked until 2012. Since the mid-1990s, he has been a volunteer participant in numerous NIH studies, including eight phase-1 drug trials, and vaccine studies and as a tissue donor. In 2010, he joined the CAB for the DC Cohort, a longitudinal study of HIV treatment in Washington DC, when it was first set up. In 2017 he joined the CAB for the BELIEVE HIV Cure study and is now on the CAB for its successor study, REACH.

Thomas J Villa (he/him) is a longtime advocate for the LGBT community, an accomplished leader and successful business executive. He has thirty years of success building and leading new teams and new businesses, primarily in healthcare services. In 2017 Tom co-founded Impacto LGBT, a nonprofit community-based organization that serves the LGBT Latinx community of Northern Virginia. Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, graduate studies in Health Systems Management (University of Baltimore) and Leadership (Walden University), and is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army. Tom leverages his experience as a long-term survivor of HIV through service on community advisory boards for the DC Clinical Trials Unit of the ACTG led by George Washington University/Milken School of Public Health and the Whitman-Walker Institute; on the Virginia Community HIV Planning Group; as an Ambassador for the HOPE Martin Delaney Collaboratory for HIV Cure Research; through volunteer participation in various clinical trials focused on ending the HIV epidemic; and as a Convening Member for the National HIV & Aging Advocacy Network. Tom is an avid reader and a practicing writer. He is a longtime resident of the Washington metropolitan area and enjoys its rich cultural offerings, the diversity of its people, and spending time with friends and family including his four grown children.

Francisco Felix (He/Him) is a black cisgender man with a background in Social Services. A dedicated community educator, Francisco has extensive experience working with both traditional and innovative approaches to HIV and STI prevention and treatment, with a strong emphasis on fostering dialogue among peers.

Carlota was born in Caxambu, Minas Gerais, Brazil. A 43-year-old non-binary travesti sociologist, Carlota advocates for the rights of transgender and non-binary individuals. They serve as an educator in the Community Education Program at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo.

Rhavi Ravenna is a transgender Black man, born in Tocantins, Northern Brazil. He is an activist for LGBTQIAPN+ rights and holds a degree in Engineering from PUC-SP. Rhavi serves as the Coordinator of the Community Education Program at the Clinical Research Center of the Faculty of Medicine at USP, and also acts as an Advisor to the Municipal Secretariat for Social Assistance and Development in São Paulo.

On his 27th birthday, Raif Derazzi (he/him)’s greatest fear came to life when he was diagnosed with AIDS. Realizing his ‘victim mindset’ he was determined to change and regain control of his life. Seven years later, Raif is now a pro natural competitive physique bodybuilder. In response to the scarcity of ‘positive’ role models in the HIV community, he now talks about his HIV status on social media in hopes of providing guidance and inspiration to others. As the host of a fitness segment on cable TV show ’Plus Life’ a growing YouTube subscribership and following on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook, he shares his life and his journey living with HIV, embracing a fitness lifestyle, personal-growth and inspiration! Raif cofounded the non for profit Black Queer Town Hall.

Alecia Tramel-McIntyre(she/her) is the founder of Positive People Network, Inc, a non- profit organization whose mission is to change the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS and to change the Norms. For the rest of the community, Education, Awareness and Prevention. Alecia is the Florida State Lead for Positive Women’s Network, a member of BTAN, The Southern Aids Coalition CAB member, Florida Community Health Worker Coalition, Florida HIV Justice Coalition, Member of Miami-Dade HIV/AIDS Partnership, Chair of The Community Coalition of The Partnership, Board member of ICWNA, Blogger for A Girl Like Me: The Well Project, member of The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, and Florida HIV/Aids Advocacy Network, among others. Alecia is committed to eradicating stigma and has worked on initiatives such as restoring voting rights through Amendment 4. Being an ambassador for Prevention Access and U=U, Alecia proudly empowers and educates the community on the facts and science of Undetectable=Untransmittable.

Luis Gutierrez-Mock (he,him), MPH, MA, is a Public Health Specialist Supervisor at the UCSF Pandemic Initiative for Equity and Action. He is the qualitative lead on several COVID research projects, including a rapid qualitative study on vaccine hesitancy among San Francisco residents. He also serves as a training lead and subject matter expert for the California COVID-19 Virtual Training Academy, which has remotely trained over 10,000 contact tracers and case investigators. Prior to COVID, Luis worked in transgender HIV prevention for 20 years through direct service, advocacy, capacity building, and research. Luis holds an MA in Sexuality Studies, a second MA in Ethnic Studies, and an MPH with an emphasis in community health education. He is currently completing his Doctorate in Medical Sociology at UCSF.