A roundup of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day activities, the latest actions from members and the Coalition, and more
We were thrilled to see so many companies raise their voices last week on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. In this newsletter, you’ll find a round-up of awareness day activities, the latest actions from members and the Coalition, a spotlight on our new local managing partner of the Atlanta Chapter, and more!
This month we are pleased to introduce you to the local managing partner of the Coalition's new Atlanta Chapter:
Chris Lugo (he/him)
Executive Director
OUT Georgia Business Alliance
I am the Executive Director of the OUT Georgia Business Alliance, where I proudly serve as Georgia’s LGBTQIA+ and Allied Chamber of Commerce. I've worked hard in leading the chamber’s strategic development and growth efforts, including the launch of the OUT Georgia Impact Fund and TGX360, the economic empowerment program centering Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Expansive Georgians. I am also honored to serve on the City of Atlanta Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board as co-chair of its Economic and Community Development Committee and as a Board Member of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Prior to this role, I held marketing, fundraising, and nonprofit management positions with IBM Corporation, Direct Energy Business, Alzheimer’s Association, and The Cavaliers, a Chicago-based nonprofit developing young leaders through the performing arts, where I served as the organization's first-ever Executive Director. I am an alumnus of the University of Florida and the proud husband of my long-time partner, Pyro Lugo-Allen. We reside in Atlanta, Georgia, with out dog Varik. I recently shared my story about my late father and the connection to HIV/AIDS.
Founded in 1994, OUT Georgia Business Alliance is our state’s only LGBTQIA+ chamber, and our roots connect us to Atlanta and to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, organizations like the Atlanta Business & Professionals Guild and Fourth Tuesday started in the early 1980s with a priority to support businesses and individuals who were impacted by the epidemic and those subjected to intense discrimination, misinformation, and stigma. Those organizations, and many others, laid the groundwork for how OUT Georgia shows up for our community and prioritizes economic access, accountability, opportunity, and prosperity. When we partner with large Atlanta-based employers, it is with a multi-faceted approach to address access, visibility, impact, engagement, and empowerment for Georgia’s LGBTQIA+ community. As an affiliate of the NGLCC, OUT Georgia was connected with the U.S. Business Action to End HIV to learn more about the coalition’s strategy, distinct value, thoughtful support, and why Atlanta was on its radar. The alignment with our chamber’s mission was immediately clear, and we felt uniquely positioned to serve as local managing partner to navigate the stakeholder ecosystem, drive commitments and measurable progress, and explore what’s possible on a local level.
Atlanta Influences Everything. It’s a phrase that rings true in the Southeast, across the United States, and around the globe. Atlanta is a diverse, international community in the cradle of the modern Civil Rights Movement, with dynamic leadership, innovative companies, cutting-edge institutions, and a growing pool of diverse talent and bold changemakers. With excellence, progress, and inspiration abound, Georgia’s capital city is also home to the stark realities of income inequality and health disparity, especially among Black Atlantans.
It’s my hope that OUT Georgia’s involvement in the Atlanta Chapter will help motivate our Partners and Atlanta’s corporate community to acknowledge their privilege, power, and responsibility to address the HIV epidemic, both inside their organization and beyond. We will be the local resource to better understand joining the Coalition and what taking action might look like for their organization. The potential for employers to directly impact thousands of lives within their own company is wildly inspiring, but I believe the magic here in Atlanta will be exploring what’s possible when Coalition peers celebrate each other’s impact, share progress and data, advance best practices and lessons learned, and ultimately challenge each other to collaborate in obvious and unexpected ways to dramatically influence the trajectory of HIV. While I love dreaming and strategizing about the potential for unprecedented impact amongst those living with HIV, those at risk of contracting HIV, and all those who are impacted, I ask those who are not yet involved to embrace a simple curiosity about the U.S. Business Action to End HIV coalition. One conversation could impact someone’s life. If your company is based or has a strong presence here in Atlanta, let’s connect to discuss how to get started.
Thank you for your commitment and leadership. Let's keep up the momentum!
Sign up for our newsletter to keep updated on HAA’s latest initiatives, insights and recommendations, and be first to receive new resources and event invitations.
Sign up
.svg)
