The Latest Additions to the Body Positive Outreach and Education Staff

Two new staffers have recently joined Body Positive's Department of Education and Community Outreach: Linda Zayas as Coordinator of Education and Community Outreach and James Governale as Treatment Education Coordinator. Below, Linda and James and Linda introduce themselves in their own words.

Linda Zayas

I was sixteen years old when my father died from an AIDS-related illness. I had a very difficult time dealing with his death; I really felt like I had nowhere to turn for help or support, that no one knew what I was going through. My family members were dealing with his death in their own way. It was at that point that I decided that I wanted to help other kids in my situation deal with having a parent infected with HIV. I tried to volunteer with many agencies and really did not find a place that I thought I could make a difference and be helpful.

When I spoke to Body Positive, I finally felt that this was an agency where I could really help out. I first started working at Body Positive as a volunteer for the Body Positive Helpline last spring. I was trained to provide HIV/AIDS-related information to callers of the Helpline. When the position of Coordinator of Outreach and Education became available, I jumped at the opportunity to utilize my B.S. degree in psychology within the HIV field. I feel this experience enables me to effectively execute the management of the Peer Education Program. Our educators go out into the community and educated people about HIV/AIDS, so my primary concern is to have an encouraging and productive relationship between the peer educators and the facilities they visit.

James Governale

After two months as an intern with Body Positive, I accepted the position of Treatment Education Coordinator in June 2002. I saw the position as a great opportunity to establish the skills I developed as a student in East Stroudsburg University's Masters of Public Health (M.P.H.) program.

My position mainly functions as a liaison for BP to communicate treatment information among agency, medical, academic, and community settings. I have recently expanded our presentation curricula to include topics including: Hepatitis C co-infection, HIV vaccine research, and treatment concerns related to those re-entering the workforce. I look forward to maintaining our communication process through creating on-going trainings for BP staff and accessing various informational workshops provided by other HIV/AIDS organizations within NYC.

Working closely with the Coordinator of Outreach and Education and our Director, Laurie Cullen, our department is reshaping an education program that will keep both staff and clients abreast of the latest developments that concern us all.

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This article was provided by Body Positive. It is a part of the publication Body Positive.