PRIDE is Now Recruiting New Board Members and New Advisory Board Members!
A Resume Is Required. The Deadline is February 5th, 2010.
Contact/Email Lillian Nieves at Lilliann13@aol.com for Additional Information and/or To Submit Resume.


Interim Chair

Interim Chair

Lillian Nieves

Lillian Nieves CASAC, Vice-Chair of PRIDE (Puerto Rican Initiative to Develop Empowerment). Lillian Nieves , Latina lesbian, Lillian is the second child of seven children, all of which are military brats. She was born in Jersey City, NJ. to John and Aida Nieves.

Lillian Nieves, graduated from James J. Ferris High School, and came to New York to attend college, where she studied criminal law, which was her father’s dream. In the mist of coming to a new city and facing new surroundings, the HIV epidemic was unfolding, and it was not until, Lillian lost her best friend in 1988 that she realized how serious this thing that people called, the gay cancer, it was then that she knew what she wanted to do. Lillian became an activist in the field of HIV/AIDS. Currently the Program Coordinator for the P.O.P. Project at New York Harm Reduction Educators Inc. Lillian Nieves began working at NYHRE in March of 2007. She has expressed that the experience has been a very fulfilling one. Lillian gained firsthand knowledge of the effects of stigma and isolation on women diagnosed with HIV/AIDS when she worked as a volunteer orderly in the HIV/AIDS ward at Albion Correctional Facility in 1991.

She was distressed by the ignorance displayed by both the staff and the inmates concerning issues around treatment, prevention, and transmission of HIV.

Compelled to respond to this lack of information, Lillian wrote to AIDS service organizations and collected literature. She amassed a library and succeeded in convincing the superintendent of Albion to allow the creation of an inmate-run HIV education program in 1992.

After leaving Albion in 1995, Lillian entered Taconic Correctional Facility. At Taconic, she utilized the Albion model to establish an HIV education program for inmates.

In 1997, she again repeated the process at Bayview Correctional Facility. Her links to these programs remained strong, and she continues to visit the facilities providing vitally important educational literature and referral information to the inmates and the staff.

Upon becoming the Women and Family Service, Assistant Coordinator at Gay Men Health Crisis in 1999, Lillian embarked on a new phase of HIV activism. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to empower, Women Who Sleep with Women (WSW), through education, counseling and support. It is largely through her efforts that the Latina Initiative in the Women’s Institute at GMHC pursues its mission of providing a linguistically appropriate, culturally sensitive response, to the issues in the Latina lesbian community.

Lillian, has assisted in coordinating major events, including, although not limited to:

Lillian, has been recognized by her community numerous times:

The following is a partial list of awards:

Treasurer

Treasurer

Saida E. Medina

Saida was born and raised in the Bronx. Along with a sister and a brother, our parents Carmen Medina and Angel Medina raised us to be proud of our Puerto Rican heritage.

Saida first got involved in Not-For-Profit when she began working for IAVI (International Aids Vaccine Initiative) as the Administrative Manager from 2001-2004. Currently employed at a downtown Law Firm as the Payroll Manager. During my friendship of over twenty years with Luis A Robles now President and Chair of PRIDE, Saida has participated in raising money for Aids awareness by being part of several Aids Dance A-Thon as well as being a team member in the Aids walk. She has volunteered in the Meals on Wheels program delivering food and beverages to disabled seniors and individuals afflicted with HIV/AIDS.

She is happily married to Russell A Richardson and resides in Belleville, New Jersey.

Saida is currently the "Treasurer" of the Puerto Rican Initiative to Develop Empowerment and will continue her efforts of bringing the message of HIV/AIDS awareness to all individuals.

Secretary

Secretary

Ramonita Pagan

My name is Ramonita Pagan. I am a 41 year old Latina woman, and the mother of two young men ages 20 and 22. My new life began in 1999 when I arrived at The Fortune Society as a client seeking various services. After a few months my counselor, Alexander Armstrong made me aware of a job opening as a group facilitator for women’s group called “The Wise Group”.

Today aside from my job, I do a lot of volunteer work in the community. I have made a commitment to the Lesbian AIDS Project at GMHC to attend their Safer Sex kit making parties that take place from October thru May. What this consist of is making safer sex kits which are distributed through AIDS walk, all of PRIDES and three outreaches, over 20 thousand safer sex kits are made through out these months with the great coordination of the women of the Lesbian AIDS Projects. Ramonita is currently the "secretary" of PRIDE (Puerto-Rican Initiative to Develop Empowerment).

Board of Advisors:

Advisor

Rev. Raquel Algarin, Interfaith Minister

Executive Director - Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center

A former recipient of a PRIDE Award. Raquel is a founding member and currently the Program Director of the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center (LESHRC), now in its fifteenth year. Raquel is also an member of the advisory board of the Puerto Rican Initiative to Develop Empowerment (PRIDE)

Born in Cayey, Puerto Rico and raised on the Lower East Side, Raquel is a nurse by profession, but a community activist by choice. Her professional experiences have included community health care, child sexual abuse prevention and counseling, HIV/AIDS education and health promotion. Her approach to Harm Reduction is steeped in 'blended medicine', a combination of western and alternative philosophies and practices. Raquel is also a Reiki Master, Acupuncture Detox Specialist, Thai Massage and Raindrop Technique practitioner. Reiki is an ancient technique for stress reduction and relaxation that enhances the healing of mind, body and spirit. Raquel's greatest joy is being able to provide individualized healing support to people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as training of staff, volunteers and participants in HIV/AIDS organizations. Her vision for the future is to have LESHRC expand its current holistic services by creating a wellness center. She is also President and founder of Community OASIS, Inc., a non-profit community based organization who's mission is to provide complementary and alternative therapies which can be accessed by anyone in the Lower East Side community, at no cost.



Advisor

James Paul (Jimmy) Lopez-Acosta

 

James Paul (Jimmy) Lopez-Acosta is on the Board of Advisors of the Puerto Rican Initiative to Development Empowerment (PRIDE). His expertise on the Advisory Board has been in program development and grant-writing. He was also a founding Board Member of PRIDE in 1995.

Jimmy Lopez-Acosta has worked in the health education, community organizing and leadership development field for the last 25 years. He has worked for PRIDE as a consultant coordinating the Salud Boricua program in the winter/spring of 2007. He was the Health Education Program Coordinator of the Crystal Meth Awareness Campaign at the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) in 2006. The Crystal Meth Awareness Campaign addressed the growing use of crystal meth among Latino gay, bisexual and questioning men. Through community presentations, focus groups, trainings of peer educators, support groups and a public awareness campaign (of newspaper ads, phone booth posters, palm cards and brochures), the Latino community was made aware of the connection between crystal meth use and the rise of new HIV infections. c He was previously employed by Latino Gay Men of NY, Inc. as their Program Manager. While he was employed there, he coordinated the VOCES (Varones Organizing Community through Education and Service) program. It was a young adult leadership development and community organizing program. Jimmy has also worked at the Audre Lorde Project (a People of Color LGBTST Community Organizing Center), Hispanic AIDS Forum, GMHC, Body Positive and the NYC Lesbian & Gay Anti-Violence Project. He has been active and a founding member in several Latino/a LGBT organizations such as Mano a Mano, the Hispanic Outreach Committee of Metropolitan Community Church, Hispanic Catholics of Dignity/New York, Boricua Gay & Lesbian Forum and Hispanic United Gays & Lesbians.

Jimmy Lopez-Acosta is a Puerto Rican gay man born in Brooklyn and raised in Brooklyn, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. He currently lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.