Public Health Boot Camp
Participant Biographies

Joe Benjamin- Test Positive Aware Network

Passionate about helping others, Joe Benjamin has worked in HIV services for seven years, first as a case manager and later as a peer counselor, helping individuals learn to cope with things like treatment adherence, sexual risk reduction, disclosure, and overall well-being. With strong research skills, having worked on a study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that examined the effectiveness of peer counseling on medication adherence and overall health maintenance, he has facilitated a number of education and support groups for HIV-positive people. He has also worked in the training field where, in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health, he helped develop and facilitate trainings on prevention for positives across the state.

His passion, helping improve life conditions for those infected with HIV, has led him to his current role of Psychosocial Coordinator at Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN), where he coordinates its support group services and is working with the National Library of Medicine on development of a website that will point HIV-positive people in corrections systems to important transitional resources and services. He also works on Project CRYSP, a multi-agency social marketing and education project seeking to promote gay men’s wellness through assets-based messaging. Finally, he is a student, completing his bachelor’s degree at DePaul University, and expecting to graduate in the winter of 2010.

Johnathon Briggs, AIDS Foundation of Chicago

Johnathon Briggs is director of communications at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), one of the nation’s leading AIDS organizations. Prior to joining AFC, Briggs was an urban affairs reporter at the Chicago Tribune, where he wrote extensively about neighborhood development and youth culture.

From 2000 to 2004, Briggs was an award-winning journalist at The Baltimore Sun where he won several honors including the Chesapeake Associated Press award in 2003 for best feature series. He has also worked overseas as an editor at the South Africa-based magazine, Challenge: Churches and People; as a staff reporter at The Chicago Reporter, an investigative monthly magazine focused on race and poverty issues; and as a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times.
A Los Angeles native, Briggs has bachelor's degrees from Stanford University in Communications and African/Afro-American Studies and helped develop “With Me Comes A Cure” (withmecomesacure.org), a public awareness campaign aimed at inspiring community action against HIV/AIDS.

He blogs for The Huffington Post about HIV/AIDS and related issues.

Juan M. Calderón, Vida/SIDA

Juan M. Calderón was born and raised in Humboldt Park, the center of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community. His father and mother came to Chicago from Puerto Rico and Mexico, respectively. Calderón’s experiences with Chicago’s Puerto Rican Cultural Center, which date back to his enrollment in the Center’s Consuelo Lee Corretjer Daycare, shaped his views regarding the importance of the community building, self determination, and LGBTQ health advocacy. He also learned to follow Consuelo Lee Corretjer’s legacy, which became the motto of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center: “Live and Help to Live”.

As a homegrown Director of Vida/SIDA Bartolo Hernandez de Jesús, Calderón oversees the daily operation of many of Chicago’s Puerto Rican/Latino prevention interventions, advocacy, and LGBTQ services in Chicago’s Near Northwest Side. Three years ago, he initiated a pageant to address homophobia and transphobia in the community and to create LGBTQ community ambassadors. Now an annual event, this marks one of Calderon’s greatest successes.

Currently, Vida/SIDA is working to initiate three innovative programs to provide safe spaces for Chicago’s Puerto Rican/Latino LGBTQ youth. Vida/SIDA’s three year vision is a to develop the first Puerto Rican/Latino LGBTQ homeless shelter (Nuestro Hogar - Our Home), open a business incubator for transgendered residents, and become the premier health center serving Puerto Rican/Latino communities in Chicago with care and compassion.

Maurice S. Chapman, CBC Initiative, Austin Health Center

Maurice Chapman received an undergraduate degree from Hampton University in 1980. He has a vast wealth of experience and knowledge in social services, counseling, program development, personnel management, and supervision at both international corporations and community based organizations in the field of HIV/AIDS. Chapman currently works for the Hektoen Institute- Austin Health Center of Cook County - CBC Initiative as Executive Director. He has served as the Co-Chair for the Westside HIV/AIDS Regional Planning Council (WHARP) and he has previously worked for the Chicago Department of Public Health and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. He is an ordained Deacon at Trinity United Church of Christ and served as co-chair of its HIV/AIDS support ministry. Chapman has presented workshops on spirituality, recovery and HIV. In July 2001, Chapman received the Sherry L. Luck Humanitarian Award from the Southside HIV/AIDS Resource Providers; in June of 2003, he received the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago’s Advocate of the Year Award; and in 2008 TPAN recognized Chapman as a “Superhero” in the fight against AIDS. Chapman has been active in the fight against HIV/AIDS since 1992.

He is married to Dena Chapman for 16 years, and is the proud father of two sons, Joshua (age 13), and Malachi (age 10).

LaTanya Chapman McLeary, Communities In Schools of Chicago

LaTanya Chapman McLeary serves as the HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative Coordinator for Communities In Schools of Chicago (CISC). She is responsible for connecting HIV/AIDS prevention education programs to Chicago public school students in the CISC network of 162 schools. In addition to connecting students to prevention education, she also recruits and trains healthcare professionals to serve as presenters of the Gilead Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Curriculum as well as collaborates with several other Chicago agencies who also provide HIV/AIDS school-based prevention education. She also serves as a member of the Chicago Connect to Protect Coalition; whose mission is to reduce HIV/AIDS among females ages 12-24 in North and South Lawndale. Prior to LaTanya’s current work she has worked in social service and education as teacher.

Born and raised in the Chicago metropolitan area, LaTanya earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. Some years after graduating from college she was surprised to learn that there were segments of the population whose HIV infection rates were steadily increasing despite the fact that 25 years into the pandemic there was more known about the disease than ever before and more resources available. She wanted make an impact and decided to become trained in HIV/AIDS prevention and education through the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago so that she might see to it that others become empowered about HIV/AIDS. That was just the beginning of the journey. Her passion has not waned and she plans to continue expanding her reach in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention and education.

Roslyn Fossett, Southside Health Association

Gifted, Ambitious and Committed to help eradicate the giant known as HIV/AIDS. Roslyn Fossett is a Marketing and Events consultant and principal of LaFossette Events & Marketing Co. providing “First Class Service with a Spirit of Excellences”. Roslyn’s passion and thirst to learn more about HIV/AIDS began four years ago when she was hired by the Luck Care Center to provide marketing and event consultation. Roslyn organized the highly anticipated black tie event “Life is a Gift Worth Living” Gala fundraiser. She also organized prevention Youth Summits with BET “Rap It UP” Campaign & produced the annual Town hall meetings “Music is the Key”. All events were designed to communicate the message of HIV prevention, raise funds, and bring a greater sense of visibility to the organization. Today Roslyn is the part-time Director of Community Affairs for the Luck Care Center. In addition, she is also the Director of Sales & Marketing at Pioneer Gardens Supportive Living Facility.

Roslyn’s desire is to address the HIV/AIDS health disparities in the African American Community and work to resolve the shame and stigma associated with the disease. Roslyn believes in giving back to the community and is in the process of starting a grass root foundation named “Don’t Be Blinded” which will provide HIV/ AIDS education and awareness to our youth.


Anthony Galloway, Test Positive Aware Network

Anthony Galloway is a native of East St. Louis, Illinois and has served as President of St. Louis Black Pride from 2003-2006, Vice President for Pride St. Louis in 2007, and a long time advocate for sexual minorities and people of color. Anthony has worked in sexual health and HIV education for nine years working for Blacks Assisting Blacks Against AIDS and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region to both organizations he credits as being a part of his professional growth. In 2004, at the age of 23, Anthony was nationally recognized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, for creating change in his community. This was one of his proudest moments.

In October of 2007, Anthony decided to leave his hometown of St. Louis to pursue a new life in Chicago.

He is currently the Prevention Coordinator at Test Positive Aware Network and a graduate of DePaul University.

Gregory D. Gross, MA, M.Div., Center on Halsted

Gregory Gross is currently the Clinical Manager of the HIV Testing & Prevention Program at Center on Halsted, Chicago’s LGBT Community Center. In this capacity, he conducts rapid HIV tests, provides pre- and post-test risk reduction counseling. He also provides crisis and long term psychotherapy for HIV testing clients and facilitates HIV Support Groups. He also frequently conducts HIV/STD educational presentations in many venues such as school and church groups. He is responsible for tracking and compiling the program’s statistical data and is currently writing the Policies & Procedures manual for the HIV Testing & Prevention program. Additionally, Gregory supervises a staff of 12 Health Educators who conduct HIV Testing, Counseling, & Referral sessions, provide HIV prevention case management, and facilitate support groups for HIV+ persons. He also assists in supervising the Hotline Resource Counselors who work on the State of Illinois AIDS/HIV & STD Hotline.

Originally from small-town Ohio, Gregory holds a Master of Arts in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a Master of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He is a licensed social worker in the state of Illinois and a commissioned deacon in the United Methodist Church. Previously, he served on the pastoral staff of several churches in Chicago and the North Shore.

In his free time, Gregory enjoys playing trombone in the Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band, following politics, practicing yoga, spoiling his niece & nephews, and dinners & movies with his friends.

Michael McFadden, MSW, Howard Brown Health Center

Michael McFadden, a licensed clinical social worker, obtained his masters degree from Loyola University Chicago where he focused his research on Mental Health and the GLBTQ community. Through his masters program, Michael worked as a therapist at both Infant Welfare Society and Center on Halsted. Michael began at Howard Brown Health Center in 2005, working with adults and youth impacted by HIV. Michael is currently the Director of Social Services at Howard Brown. In this role, Michael coordinates ongoing program development and evaluation for the multitude of client services available. He provides clinical supervision to the case managers and direct service staff throughout the agency. In addition, Michael co-facilitates a Gay Men’s Therapy Group for survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and volunteers as a Crisis Worker with the Anti-Violence Project's 24-Hour Crisis Line for GLBTQ victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, discrimination, hate crimes and police misconduct. In 2007, Michael was a recipient of a Windy City Times “30 Under 30” Award.

John Peller, AIDS Foundation of Chicago

John Peller works for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago as the Director of Government Relations. He lobbies the Illinois legislature and state government, Chicago City Council and Cook County Board to enact sound HIV/AIDS public policy, defends the right of people with HIV/AIDS, and advocates for increased services and prevention for people living and at risk for HIV/AIDS. Previously, John worked at the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, National Association of State Medicaid Directors, and American Public Human Services Association. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. John was born and raised in New York City and has lived in Chicago since 1998.

Evany Turk, Chicago House and Social Service Agency

Evany Turk is the Peer Program Coordinator for the Chicago House Positive Adherence & Stable Housing Now Program (PASHN). She has been in recovery from HIV/AIDS for seven years. Ms. Turk has experience at both ends of the HIV/AIDS continuum; she is in recovery herself as well as works as a peer service provider for Chicago House. She also has been a client at Chicago House since 2004, during this time she has participated in numerous programs at the agency, including case management, residential services and the iFOUR supported employment program. As a result, she is familiar with the types of services offered by the agency as well as the needs of other peers living with HIV/AIDS. Ms. Turk has had the opportunity to participate in intensive training related to many aspects of HIV. For example she has attended state-of-the-science multidisciplinary “core” training offered by the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center (MATEC) geared toward advanced providers including physicians, as well as MATEC’s medication adherence training and their programs related to reducing alcohol and drug use. In addition, Ms. Turk participated in intensive training offered by the Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy (CMHSRP) at the University of Illinois Department of Psychiatry related to promoting adherence, delivering specialized medication services within community settings, increasing health beliefs among people with HIV/AIDS, and strategies to identify and address service needs related to mental health, particularly depression and anxiety. These are only examples of the “academic” training and experience she brings to her role as Peer Coordinator.

Maryanne Williams, Psy.D, HIV Care Program/Mercy Hospital

Dr. Williams received her Masters in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University and her doctorate from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Williams works as a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor / training coordinator within the HIV Care Program at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center where she specializes in treating HIV positive adults and other medical patients. In addition Dr. Williams teaches Health Psychology seminars to doctoral level psychology externs within the Care Programs Psychology externship program.
Dr. Williams is also an APA- Regional Hope Trainer where she trains mental health and medical professionals about the psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS. Her trainings include HIV 101, Ethics, and HIV/AIDS and Older Adults. Dr. Williams’ research interests include HIV/AIDS and older adults and trauma issues.

Susan Zeigler, LCSW, Chicago House

Susan has been involved in HIV education, prevention, advocacy, and/or fundraising for the last fifteen years. Her first involvement was serving as a volunteer for an AIDS hospice in Baltimore, Maryland in the early 1990’s. While a college student in Baltimore, Susan also organized a week-long HIV education campaign along with 780-panel display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt at her school. Susan moved from Maryland to Chicago in 1997, for a position at Chicago House & Social Service Agency, first as an administrative assistant, then as the grants manager. After returning to graduate school to obtain a Master’s in Social Work, Susan returned to her calling to serve as a case manager at Bonaventure House, a transitional housing program for persons living with HIV. In 2004, after many years of working in HIV care and advocacy, Susan transitioned back to Chicago House to conduct HIV prevention work. Susan currently serves as the Prevention Project Manager at the agency, managing an HIV testing and risk reduction counseling program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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