At PRIDEnet, we engage LGBTQ communities to participate in health research.

PRIDEnet is a national network of individuals and organizations that actively engage our community in every stage of how LGBTQ health research is created, analyzed, and shared from The PRIDE Study. Through our Community Partners and an advisory group of health care specialists known as the Participant Advisory Committee (PAC), PRIDEnet builds on decades of work by activists, health advocates, service providers, and researchers to improve the health and well-being of LGBTQ communities.

PRIDEnet is funded by Stanford University and staffed by Carolyn Hunt, Micah Lubensky, Mahri Bahati, Darren Arquero, and Zubin Dastur.

As a participant, PRIDEnet works to ensure your annual participation with the study is an enjoyable experience:

Access

We want you to be included. Many LGBTQ people have difficulty accessing adequate care and achieving optimal health because of a long history of discrimination, stigma, and medical neglect. Many are also marginalized from health care due to other bias related to age, race and ethnicity, language, class, or legal status.

PRIDEnet wants to know about these experiences in a way most accessible for you. That is why joining The PRIDE Study can be done by telephone or on any web-enabled device (computer, tablet, or smartphone).

Belonging

We want you to feel welcome. Coming out, many LGBTQ people experience rejection from families, friends, and society. Despite these challenges, we remain resilient. Our communities possess a hard-earned wisdom from never backing down in the face of adversity.

PRIDEnet seeks to actively incorporate your input to help doctors and researchers develop a better understanding of the physical, mental, and social health needs of our communities.

Meaningful participation

We want you to be heard. Like many other groups, the voices of LGBTQ people have been left out of research. Where research has included us in the past, results oftentimes stigmatized us further or were used to the detriment of our community. As a result, we know less about our health and ways to provide the best care. PRIDEnet strives to engage your voices in an intentional way by seeking, collecting, and incorporating input from our Community Partners and PAC members.

Our strategic values:

In catalyzing LGBTQ health research, how we do our work is as important to us as what we do.

We develop give-and-take relationships.

As participants, we want you to benefit from our study as much as our projects benefit from your input.

We recognize complex identities and communities.

We respect that many of you belong to multiple communities and hold many identities.

We create equity.

Each of our communities have unique health experiences and needs. Our goal is to work with you in the most appropriate way and not in the same way.

We create transparency.

We want you to know what we’re up to and strive to communicate openly and clearly.

PRIDEnet Participant Advisory Committee (PAC)

Ward Carpenter, MD

Dr. Ward Carpenter is a Board--Certified Internist and expert in HIV medicine, transgender medicine, and LGBT primary care. He earned his medical degree from UMDNJ – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where he first discovered his passion for community health. He did his residency training in Medicine-Pediatrics at St Vincent’s Hospital in New York City. Following his passion for LGBT health and care for the underserved, he worked at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in NY, one of the premier LGBT health centers in the country. Dr. Carpenter then transitioned into private practice, taking over a busy HIV and primary care practice in Manhattan. Seeking an escape from NY’s long winters, Dr. Carpenter moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and returned to his LGBT community health roots, accepting a position as the Director of Primary Care at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In this role, he continues to expand and optimize the Center’s offerings in primary care, HIV treatment and prevention, and transgender health.

Loree Cook-Daniels, MS

Loree Cook-Daniels, FORGE’s Policy and Program Director, has helped design and co-facilitate FORGE’s multiple in-person and virtual support groups, research studies, and programs since 2000. She has been involved in advocacy, research, training, and services for LGBT populations since 1975, and is nationally-known for her writing, training, and policy work on LGBT aging, trauma and trauma recovery, and transgender issues. She co-chairs the Policy Committee of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs and serves on the National LGBT Aging Roundtable. Cook-Daniels holds a B.A. in women’s studies and history, an M.S. in conflict management, and a post-graduate Certificate in trauma counseling.

Laura Durso, PhD

Laura E. Durso is Vice President of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress. Using public health and intersectional frameworks, she focuses on the health and well-being of LGBT communities, data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity, and improving the social and economic status of LGBT people through public policy.

Prior to joining the Center for American Progress, Laura was a public policy fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, where she conducted research on the LGBT community, including LGBT homeless and at-risk youth, poor and low-income LGBT people, and the business impact of LGBT-supportive policies. Earlier in her career, Laura conducted research on the health impact of weight-based discrimination. Her research has been published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Obesity, and the International Journal of Eating Disorders, and she has presented her work at both national and international conferences.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University as well as master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

Porsha Hall, MPH, MA

Porsha Hall is the Program Manager for Health and Wellness at Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE), where she oversees and evaluates the health management, exercise, and nutrition programming for the organization's five senior centers located throughout New York City. At SAGE, she also assisted with the evaluation of the nation’s first federally-funded National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. She has worked in the fields of aging and health education for over a decade, conducting gerontological health research in academic institutions, providing case management to homebound older adults, and working as a fitness consultant for community-dwelling retirees. She holds an MPH in Community Health Education from Hunter College and an MA in Gerontology from Georgia State University.

Tari Hanneman, MPA

Tari Hanneman is the Director of the Health Equality Project at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. In this role she oversees the annual LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) and other projects related to LGBTQ health and aging.

Tari has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, primarily focused in the areas of health and women’s issues. Prior to joining HRC, she served as the initial Director of The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem where she led all aspects of developing The Fund’s programs and brand in the community. Prior to her move to North Carolina, she served in a number of roles at The California Endowment, one of the nation's largest health foundations. She has also worked for elected officials and non-profits focused on the environment, reproductive rights and HIV. She has a Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis on Nonprofit Management from the University of Southern California, where she also did her undergraduate work.

Gabe Murchison, MPH

Gabe is a doctoral student in Population Health Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research interests include mental health and substance use among LGBTQ youth, and the primary prevention of sexual and dating violence in teens and young adults. Previously, Gabe was Senior Research Manager at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, where his publications included Supporting & Caring For Transgender Children, a guide co-published with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians; and Preventing Substance Use Among LGBTQ Teens, co-published with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. He holds a BA in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Yale University.

Tonia Poteat, PhD, PA-C, MPH

Tonia Poteat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a joint appointment in the Department of International Health. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on HIV and LGBT health with particular attention to transgender health. She completed her doctoral dissertation on stigma, HIV risk, and access to health care for transgender adults, co-authored a global meta-analysis examining the burden of HIV among transgender women worldwide, and is lead author of a comprehensive review of HIV among transgender sex workers in The Lancet HIV and Sex Workers series. In addition to her academic work, she provides medical care for people living with HIV at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Poteat graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1991 and received a Masters of Medical Science from Emory University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program in 1995. She earned a Masters of Public Health from Rollins School of Public Health in 2007 and completed a PhD in the Social and Behavioral Interventions Program in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 2012. During her 20 years as a PA, she has devoted her practice to providing medically appropriate and culturally competent care to members of the LGBT community as well as people living with HIV. Dr. Poteat is a certified HIV Specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine; and she has provided primary care for trans-identified individuals since 1996.

Asa Radix, MD, MPH, MPhil

Dr. Asa Radix is trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Connecticut, and also holds postgraduate qualifications in tropical medicine and public health. Previously Dr. Radix held the position of Associate Medical Director at Callen-Lorde. In addition to having a clinical practice (HIV primary care and transgender health), Asa coordinates electives in LGBT health for medical and nursing students and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at NYU and Yale.

Dr. Radix is of West Indian origin and has a special interest in the needs of LGBT populations of immigrant status. For 7 years, Asa was the director of a public health department in the Netherlands Antilles and assisted in the development of insular strategic plans for HIV prevention as well as federal guidelines for communicable disease prevention. Other positions prior to Callen-Lorde have included being the medical director at the University of Hartford, serving a population of 5,000 undergraduates under 24 years of age and being an infectious disease specialist in private practice in West Hartford, Connecticut. A major focus of Dr. Radix’ work has been the development and dissemination of prevention, treatment and care guidelines for HIV+ and at-risk persons in the Caribbean including provision of LGBT cultural competency training to Caribbean healthcare providers.

Dr. Radix is an associate editor of Transgender Health and member of the editorial boards for the International Journal of Transgenderism and the PRN Notebook. Other contributions include being a consultant for the World Health Organization/PAHO on transgender health issues and the co-chair of the WHO/PAHO HIV/STI technical advisory committee. Dr. Radix is the site-PI/co-investigator for 3 NIH/NIMH studies, including a demonstration project on PrEP.

Javier Ríos, MA

Javier Ríos was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico and is a New Mexican of diverse Irish, Mexican, and LGBTQ background. Javier joined UNM Truman Health Services in the Manzano School Based Health Center as the Health Educator in October 2016, bringing 11 years of non-profit and government experience focused in health equity, HIV/AIDS prevention, harm reduction, immigrant health, and cultural humility. In 2017 and 2013 Javier participated in the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission program Líderes a través de las Fronteras/Leaders across Borders addressing binational and border health. Since 2005 Javier has worked in HIV/AIDS prevention with LGBTQ+ communities of color focusing in community organizing, outreach, and education. His community recognitions include the 2013 Pride and Equality Vincent R. Johnson Models of Hope Award, the 2012 NMCPAG Kahlo Benavidez Leadership Award, and service as a 2012 HIV/AIDS Embajador/Ambassador for the National Latino AIDS Action Network at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington D.C. Currently Javier is the Communications Chair of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities Region VI Southwest RHEC, as well as the co-chair for the Immigrant Committee of the City of Santa Fe. Javier earned his M.A. in Spanish: Southwest Studies from the University of New Mexico in 2005 where he taught Spanish as a Heritage Language. Javier received his B.A. from Creighton University in 2001. Javier is excited to be a part of The PRIDE Study team that cultivates health awareness of our diverse LGBTQ+ communities.

Shalonda Ingram

Leveraging decades of experience, Shalonda Ingram is an innovator who embodies the mantra: Strategize. Design. Produce.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Shalonda is committed to cultivating collective consciousness and empowering communities to take actions that transform their circumstances. Shalonda has deployed worldwide to produce transformative experiences with artists, activists, and changemakers. Native to grassroots activism, Shalonda serves social justice, spiritual, and corporate organizations to explore network effect and elevate opportunities for resource sharing. Shalonda influences existing structures to create collaborative environments for communities to thrive. Shalonda is honored to serve Queer+ Communities in the areas of arts presenting, wellness research, placemaking and enterprise development.

Charlie Solidum

Charlie Solidum joins the PRIDEnet PAC with over 12 years of direct service experience in HIV/AIDS and LGBT health. As a lifelong activist and grassroots organizer, Charlie is deeply invested in utilizing participatory research methods to empower vulnerable communities. Before starting his current position as a Research Associate at Hunter College's HIV/AIDS Research Team (HART), he served as the Linkage Coordinator for Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, navigating newly-diagnosed HIV-positive youth into primary care. A firm believer in interventions that come directly from the communities they serve, Charlie co-founded The Tool Shed in 2016, NYC's first and only in-person support group for transmasculine-spectrum individuals dedicated specifically to discussing issues related to phalloplasty, metoidioplasty, and related surgical procedures.