4.18.2017

Countdown to #HealtheVoices17


It's that time of year again!! I'm so excited and I honestly only get excited for one event of the year as much as this and that energy is reserved for Thanksgiving. I guess you can equate these as the same since I am TRULY thankful for my attendance, participation, and opportunity to experience this.


So, last year I got to have this amazing experience with health bloggers and social media experts from all over the nation. Around 80 of us gathered in downtown Chicago for #HealtheVoices16 and I can tell you it was nothing I expected. You can read about it here.

Now, I'm here to write about #HealtheVoices17 and from an even more cool and different perspective. I have had the honor of working as an advisory panelist AND a presenter to help plan the conference and offer input on what will make this year one to remember in providing skills and resources to health bloggers and social media experts again. I mean, it's no coincidence that someone with a grassroots organization called emPOWERed Legacies, works to help empower patients, #amirite?



So, in case you didn't feel like clicking on the link to my other blog and opening another tab (I have multipletabitis, so I understand), here's the rundown:



What: HealtheVoices - conference designed and built to meaningfully empower and develop leaders in patient advocacy across the nation and various health conditions. This year's theme "Together We Thrive" stems from last year's theme of "Deeply Rooted" where bonds and connections were formed that stretched across health issues, personal experiences and varied diagnoses to unite the participants in a collective experience of empowerment. This year we will show the various and powerful ways that we thrive through all of our health conditions even more so than last year since a LOT of the sessions were planned by and led by the patient advocates (the experienced experts) themselves!



Who: Johnson & Johnson's medical branch, Janssen Pharmeceuticals, Inc. and other organizations (listed below) sponsor this impactful and innovative event

When: April 20th* - April 23rd
*The official conference begins on the 21st, but the day before, small groups of advocates from specific health conditions will meet for a pre-conference summit to kick off their experience. It's going to be a family reunion for the #HIV tribe! I cannot wait! 

Where: Swissotel Hotel in Chicago, IL



Why: In case this isn't emphasized enough, this conference is a gathering of health patients that are experts and advocates in their field of health condition. These conditions range from Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Psoriasis, HIV, Mental Health, Type 1 & 2 Diabetes, to Breast Cancer, Alzheimer's Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Heart Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis (and more). This is an opportunity for the patients of these conditions to gather with other patients that utilize social media to advocate for their community and be a "healthy voice" to inform, motivate, and connect about the ins and outs of their health.

Don't be misled, these advocates aren't just posting and sharing scientific data, which is a strong and useful component to understanding health conditions and how they impact any community, but these are movers and shakers, mothers, daughters, husbands, fathers, athletes, teachers, wonder women and supermen all trying to navigate life and live it to the fullest. They give you a glimpse into their life, what wakes them everyday, what lifts them up to speak out, what carries them through their diagnosis and demonstrate what living really looks like. I want to share these individuals with you, but since I don't have permission just yet, follow #HealthEvoices17 and you will meet them through their social media as they post.



When we gather this weekend, we will be speaking with one another, learning from each other and channeling the collective energy that medical and science professionals need to continue making the advances they have in improving our health. To me, this conference is an exclusive opportunity to put a spot light on the issues that we face as patient advocates. Some of those issue topics are:

  • Maintaining privacy while being a go-to person on social media
  • Dealing with stigma
  • Energy management
  • Using data to be effective in social media
  • and much, much more!
There will also be moments for fun, connection, networking and relaxation. This year will be the first ever Open Mic night where patient advocates will get to express themselves through their talents as well as group dinners where we will fellowship and break bread and getting to know one another better. It's going to be fun on epic proportions and I cannot wait. 

You'd think as excited as I am I would have started packing by now, right? 

Feeling left out? Have symptoms of FOMO? If you couldn't be a part of the in-person experience of HealtheVoices, fret not because participants will be live streaming the sessions and you can definitely follow the hashtag #HealtheVoices17 through all social media platforms as well as directly from @healthevoices accounts.

Thank you again to Janssen and supporting sponsors FacebookhealthlineWebMDWEGOHealthWisdo, and YouTube for making this experience such an enriching one for all participants. Thank you for setting the bar for health companies to meaninfully value patients for their experiences and give them a platform to magnify their voices. 



Now, time to go pack!


4.09.2017

Here We Go Again...Update

I'm trying to not be overwhelmed, frustrated or hard on myself for neglecting my blog. I do not own the monopoly on being busy. I think it's a rites of passage for people to be able to have so much on their plate, they can say that they are too busy. It's not healthy though. So with that being said, I'll give a quick run down on why I abandoned another attempt at a series blog, dust my shoulders off and move on to my current life.

Last blog post, I was on a roll focusing on using prompts to get my thoughts out and was pretty satisfied with the inspiration it generated in spite of the political cess pool I was surrounded in after our 45th President was elected. I was also just starting out at the new Florida Community Organizer for The SERO Project to help modernize HIV specific laws that were being misused to prosecute people living with HIV based on their status and not the actual transmission of the virus. That included a lot of traveling, meetings, conferences, webinars and coffee. During this time, my paternal grandmother passed away suddenly. Actually, my last blog post was a week before her 79th birthday and a month before her passing. I flew out to Arizona to be with family that I hadn't seen in over 20 years. It was heartbreaking, healing and horrible. I might blog about that later, since I did make away with my grandmother's favorite coffee mug! So, through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday I was an emotional wreck and come New Year's I was using what little energy I had left to not be depressed. I attended a women's retreat where I was slotted to speak on HIV criminalization; however was the one who walked away feeling that I had embraced and learned new things. I will definitely blog about that soon. My time there is what kept me from going under, pushed me into seeking a professional mental health counselor and brought me to a place of healing and peace. So, I started the year off with a vision board and a word for the year, "SURRENDER". When I tell you about the year I've had so far, you'll get it. It's not about giving up, trust me.

So, there you have it. I abandoned the health writer's challenge not because it was a challenge, but life was just loud and in the way. I might revist those prompts just to say I completed it and I might just move on. There is so much in my life that I am learning about what makes me operate. I feel that I have to stop waisting time with looking back and feeling incomplete. I need to look back to know how to move forward. Just small glances to remind me how far I've come and how much closer I am to fufilling what purpose I have on this planet.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't post something amazing and random!

My amazing is that I am in love with our new family car, Ford Escape. I've always wanted an SUV that wasn't too big and it's changed my life.

My random is that I have a new clothing obsession thanks to my twin friend. I've become a LuLaRoe junkie. I only own one piece to date but I have already found my unicorn piece, just can't find it in my size. This has happened in a span on two weeks max. I fought it as long as I could and then I went to an online album party by the amazing Amy Ball and got my first Amelia. OMG! A dress with pockets, I cannot resist. Cannot. Then I'm attending Twin Friend's party at the end of the month as well as hosting my own with my longtime MySpace friend Mahealani Maes out in CA! I'm sure there will be more spiraling from that!

Ok, so thanks for those that have stuck around and wandered back to my posts squinting through the dust to see I'm still here. I'll be working on rebranding and making this more interactive instead of like a journal. Which reminds me of another reason I haven't been around...this INFJ thing can be heavy ya'll.

*gigles, sips coffee, skips away*

xoxo
www.kamaria.org | #embracehealing | #giveinspiration | #livevictorious | #empoweredlegacies



4.03.2017

12 Women + 12 Months = PWN Policy Fellows



I think this accurately expresses the excitement, honor and joy I felt when I received an email from Arneta Rogers, (pronounced ARR-nee-tuh) Positive Women's Network - USA Policy & Advocacy Manager. I distinctly remember I was having a pretty fabulous day as Florida HIV Justice Coalition celebrated their HIV modernization bill SB 625 had just passed the Criminal Justice committee with a unanimous vote. I was back in my hotel room with my daughter who was with me on Spring Break and decided to check my email before the end of the day. Disregard the 3,380 unread emails - a lot of them are list serv chain responses.



This cannot be my life. There were 40 amazing, talented and dedicated applicants. Out of them, I was chosen to be among twelve great women that are ready to do the work and take names later.

The process to apply really happened for me at the last minute. PWN kept announcing it and then someoine mentioned in an email non-related to this that they hadn't seen an application come in from me yet. I was stunned and kind of laughed it off. I was scared to make the time committment because SERO is my priority and while I knew that these two opportunities would go hand in hand, I didn't want to stretch myself too thin. Then another PWNer mentioned to me in passing that she thought I should apply. She said, "Don't think about it, just do it." So, that's exactly what I did.

I told myself, if this is meant for me, then it will be. This year whenever I have been nervous or apprehensive about taking a leap of faith, I look up at my vision board to remind myself how confident and inspired I was when I made it. The entire right side of my vision board has phrases like, "Leading woman", "StrongHer", "She's the Boss", "Build Your Dream", "Nothing For Us Without Us", "I am Enough" and images of Michelle Obama, Janelle Monae and I even put a image of myself standing among them because I stand on the shoulders of greatness. Looking at that board told me that I could accomplish something great with this fellowship. I don't know what that is yet, but I know I will be prepared to try.

I hit send on the application and didn't give it another thought.


Until I received an email asking me to prepare for a video interview.

A what, now?

My luck, this would be me...


However, I knew and was comfortable with my interviewers Arneta and Cammie. They asked me questions that made me dig deeper to my WHY I wanted to be a part of the fellowship, what my plans were for my future with the training I'd be given and other questions that helped me own my truth about how little I knew about policy work, but how much I knew this fellowship would not just help me but my community. I plan to bring all the knowledge I gain to others.

After the interview, again I put it out of my head beacuse I didn't want to stress too much about it, but inside I really was on pins and needles to know who was selected.

And then, that beautiful day came when I got the email and I screamed with joy and felt all warm inside. The next question was...who else is going to be in this inaugural team? I'm looking forward to working with the amazing 12, getting to know those that I haven't met before and work with those who's reputation I've admired from afar. I can't believe I'm a PWN Policy Fellow. You can meet the others here.


We are also assigned a coach and by coach, I mean Rock Stars of policy and advocacy work. Suraj Madoori, Kathie M. Hiers, Jessica Terlikowski, and my coach, Kimberly Miller are all people I want to be like when I grow up. With their expertise, committment and resources each participant in this fellowship will be equipped to do just that.

While I was assigned to focus on the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, everything somehow overlaps and we will be cross-trained in a lot of topics. What are some other issues I want to work on? 

  • For my state: 
    • the modernization of our outdaed HIV statutes (long-term goal)
    • Medicaid & the Affordable Care Act (FL was one of the southern states that did not expand Medicaid)
  • For my personal passion:
    • Women's reproductive justice, comprehensive sex education in all schools
    • Economic equity among women living with HIV
We will spend the next year on webinar trainings every other week, including supplemental trainings in between. We will participate in the PWN Policy Workgroup that meets once a month to discuss local and fedeal policy issues; have reading and writing assignments from the webinar trainings; scheduled conference calls with our coaches and we will have a face to face meeting and training mid-way through in Washington D.C. Oh and the super kicker that I'm excited about is that we get to take the one issue we are passionate about and find an organization through our coach to work with that organization in bringing about effective policy change. Talk about being the hands and feet to the work! Woooo!

Lastly, not only do I get to work with some of the fierecest women in the field, but we get to be coached by influential change makers. I am so honored that they will be investing time in us for a year among their busy schedules. 2017 has me feeling like Beyonce. Seriously.






xoxo
www.kamaria.org | #embracehealing | #giveinspiration | #livevictorious | #empoweredlegacies