Introducing Netroots Nation Blogging Scholars!

by Emilia Dunham

Program Associate

Last week we put out a call for applications for blogging scholarships to the Netroots Nation conference in Minneapolis. We’re pleased to announce two blogging scholars who will be joining Gustavo and Scout in Minneapolis. Read more about the conference on their website: www.netrootsnation.org/

Hale Thompson

Hale Thompson cut his teeth in politics in San Francisco where he was elected to lead the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club as Secretary in 2008 and subsequently as Vice President of External Affairs in 2009. In SF, he worked on numerous political campaigns, served as an appointee to the San Francisco Mental Health Board, and conducted a rapid HIV needs assessment of transgender men for the local HIV Prevention Planning Council. Although his passions lie in community building and political organizing for social justice, particularly with respect to transgender health, he has spent the last two years in the progressive oasis that is Minneapolis advancing his vocation in public health via total immersion in epidemiological training (aka grad school). He has high hopes for a civil union of these passions and skills one day very soon.

You’ll be able to keep up with Hale’s posts here: https://lgbthealthlink.wordpress.com/author/thom3574/

Sean Arayasirikul

Sean’s roots lie in social justice, LGBT activism and HIV/AIDS prevention, care and research. His personal experiences with homelessness, discrimination and violence shapes the lens through which he analyzes health and illness. He recently completed a Health Policy Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion where he authored and championed national Healthy People 2020 objectives, emphasizing the integral role of social support in making healthy decisions. As a doctoral student at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Sean will investigate the role and impact of social structures and technology on health and illness.

Keep up with Sean’s posts here: https://lgbthealthlink.wordpress.com/author/seana723/

Published by Emilia Dunham, MPP, MBA

Emilia Dunham is currently a Project Manager at MassHealth/Department of Public Health, and formerly the Project Manager of the Life Skills project at The Fenway Institute, an HIV intervention study for young transgender women. Emilia worked at Fenway for 7 years, first as a Quality Control and Regulatory Assistant mainly involved with biomedical HIV prevention trials, before serving as the Program Associate for The Network for LGBT Health Equity, a network instrumental in many national LGBT health policy improvements. She is also involved with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, serving as a Steering Committee member and the Policy Committee Co-Chair, an organization largely responsible for the recent passage of the Trans Rights Bill. Additionally she serves as a member of the Massachusetts Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth, Co-Chair of the Recommendations Committee. Emilia received a Bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University. There she served as President of the LGBTQ student group where she planned programs such as Pride Week, Transgender Day of Remembrance, and AIDS Week. In addition, she advocated for LGBTQ inclusive policies and programming on campus such as a Gender Neutral Housing program, an LGBTQ Center and the expansion of Women’s Studies to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Emilia recently earned a Master of Public Policy and Master of Business Administration in health policy and management from the Brandeis Heller School School for Social Policy and Management. View more posts

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Hale Thompson

Sean Arayasirikul

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Published by Emilia Dunham, MPP, MBA

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