Each year since The Well Project's founding in 2002, we have continued to grow in building the world we envision: one in which women living with or vulnerable to HIV have the information, support, and tools they need to advocate for their health and well-being, and live free from stigma. Thanks to the inspiration, wisdom, and leadership of our extraordinary staff, community advisory board, consultants, bloggers, and more, we have been able to offer a remarkable range of programming to our global community. Read on for a detailed accounting of The Well Project's programmatic accomplishments in 2024, listed according to the five pillars of our strategic plan (though many of our activities/initiatives fall into more than one section).
- Information and Education
- Community Support and Community Building
- Advocacy and Leadership Development
- Collaborative Engagement
- Women-Focused HIV Research
Information and Education
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The Well Project supports agency and health literacy among women living with HIV by developing and providing access to culturally responsive, scientifically accurate, women-focused HIV information.
- Reviewed, updated, and disseminated 112 English fact sheets, 51 Spanish fact sheets, 33 English slide sets, and 22 Spanish slide sets
- Developed six new fact sheets (four of them launching simultaneously in English and Spanish):
- What Health Screenings Can Help Me Age Positively? / ¿Cuáles exámenes de salud pueden ayudarme a envejecer positivamente? (part of our Women Like Us: Aging Positively program content)
- US Immigration and HIV: The Basics / Inmigración a EE.UU. y VIH: Información básica
- Immigration to the US, Women, and HIV: Facts and Resources / Inmigración a EE.UU., mujeres y VIH: Hechos y recursos
- Mental and Behavioral Health, Women, and HIV / Salud mental y conductual, mujeres y VIH (part of our SHE/HER/THEY program content)
- Black Women, Racism, and HIV in the US (SHE/HER/THEY)
- Collected Resources by and for Black Women Living with HIV (SHE/HER/THEY)
- The three fact sheets above are based on content and finding from the 2023 Women's Research Initiative on HIV/AIDS meeting (WRI 2023)
- Developed new educational resources for healthcare providers, "Providing for Women's Well-Being: A Sexual Health Conversation Guide for Clinicians," to integrate HIV prevention into women's wellness – includes infographics and a conversation guide (SHE/HER/THEY)
- Attended, presented, and/or exhibited at 10 conferences:
- CROI 2024: Stakeholder liaison Bridgette Picou attended the conference in person and published two recaps of conference presentations; Olivia G. Ford attended virtually and contributed one recap (links below)
- International Workshop on HIV & Women 2024: Director of programs Ciarra Covin and community advisory board (CAB) member Kim Canady attended the conference in person and presented the poster "Flourishing With HIV: A Roadmap for Women and Girls" and disseminated The Well Project materials at table; executive director Krista Martel also attended the conference (part of CityMatCH subcontract)
- AIDSWatch 2024: Ciarra Covin, editorial director Olivia G. Ford, and CAB member Heather O'Connor attended the in-person conference and presented a session titled "Updated Infant Feeding Recommendations for US Parents Living with HIV" (part of our BEEEBAH program content)
- Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit: Bridgette Picou attended the in-person summit and the pre-summit "PrEP in Black America," where she assisted in one of the workshops during the pre-summit (SHE/HER/THEY)
- Iris House Annual Women as the Face of AIDS Summit: CAB member Masonia Traylor, Ciarra Covin, Olivia G. Ford, and Krista Martel attended and disseminated printed materials at the conference
- NIH HIV & Women Scientific Workshop: Centering the Health of Women in HIV Research: Ciarra Covin spoke on a panel at this virtual Community Perspective session "Pregnancy and Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding" (BEEEBAH)
- SYNChronicity 2024: The 10th Annual National Conference for HIV, HCV, STIs, Harm Reduction, and LGBTQ Health (SYNC 2024): Olivia G. Ford attended in person, distributed print materials, and was a co-presenter for "Unveiling HIV: Challenging Assumptions on Molecular Surveillance and Criminalization" (BEEEBAH)
- CityMatCH Leadership and MCH Epidemiology Conference 2024: Ciarra Covin attended in person with CAB members Kim Canady and Masonia Traylor and presented "Intersections of Being a Black Mother, Advocate, and Person Living with HIV" for the plenary as well and distributed materials to attendees (SHE/HER/THEY)
- 2024 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment: Ciarra Covin and Olivia G. Ford attended in person, distributed materials, and presented The Well Project's poster "Updated Infant Feeding Recommendations for US Parents Living with HIV: Empowering Patient/Provider Partnership & Communication" (BEEEBAH)
- The "SHE Is Women's Conference": Bridgette Picou facilitated this in-person convening, presented as a speaker, and distributed relevant resources for women living with HIV
- Published 29 articles to the News/Press/Events section of our website on program events, statements, and articles featuring The Well Project team/CAB. A few highlights include:
- Ashley's Story - An Informed Journey Toward Breastfeeding (HIV.gov)
- The Unexpected HIV Advocates (POZ)
- Patient Perspective by Ciarra Covin Published in the Journal HIV Research and Clinical Practice, "Parenting with HIV: a patient's view on updated infant feeding guidelines in the US" (BEEEBAH)
- The Well Project Welcomes Pediatric Guideline Updates on Infant Feeding and HIV in the US (BEEEBAH)
- Developed and disseminated 12 conference updates (some also outlined in "Advocacy and Leadership" below):
- Disseminated educational resources and information to subscribers through:
- Monthly curated newsletters to ~14,000 (includes featured content, highlights, events, featured blogs, etc.)
- Weekly updates in English to ~10,000 (includes links to new/updated fact sheets, blogs, news/events on website)
- Monthly updates in Spanish to ~6,500 (includes links to new/updated Spanish fact sheets and blogs)
- Disseminated ~20,000 educational pamphlets in English and Spanish at national conferences and via mail (through our online ordering system) including:
- Get the Facts: Breast/Chestfeeding and HIV (BEEEBAH)
- Get the Facts: Sexual Pleasure and HIV (SHE/HER/THEY)
- Get the Facts: Reproductive Health and HIV (SHE/HER/THEY)
- Get the Facts: Aging Positively with HIV (Women Like Us: Aging Positively)
- Conducted website updates/improvements to enhance education dissemination/reach, including:
- Major development updates/migration to website platform to ensure optimal functionality and accessibility through SEO searches
- Revised site navigation menu, including adding "What We Do" and "Our Programs" as well as improved website search functionality
- Website notification system to increase engagement and foster community
- Audit of images on site to ensure inclusivity across multiple identities and demographics, as well as accessibility to people with visual impairments or using screen readers
- Security and integrity of website and newsletter platform
Community Support and Community Building
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One of our primary goals is to sustain a secure, supportive, trusted space we all share. To that end, The Well Project fosters a strong and engaged global network of women living with HIV across the gender spectrum.
- Supported community connection:
- Maintained private Facebook group (moderated by Heather O'Connor) for individuals seeking resources and materials regarding infant feeding and HIV (BEEEBAH)
- Maintained private Facebook group (moderated by Bridgette Picou) for 60 women aging with HIV to connect and share resources (Women Like Us: Aging Positively)
- Published and disseminated 98 blogs (81 English/17 Spanish) written by a diverse group of women, sharing experiences of living with HIV and creating community connection
- Added four new bloggers to A Girl Like Me / Una Chica Como Yo
- Engaged regularly with 7,747 website members and 25,000 followers across our social media platforms—posting daily on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. We also post regularly on LinkedIn and have recently started posting on Bluesky (we are soon taking down our X/Twitter account).
- Offered community-led educational programming:
- Engaged CAB members Ashley Cason and Heather O'Connor and prevention advocate Bre Azanedo in A Girl Like Me LIVE programming for National HIV Testing Day to discuss the importance of HIV testing and prevention for women and navigating healthcare and advocacy within the context of HIV (SHE/HER/THEY)
- Bridgette Picou hosted Leadership Exchange LIVE "Aging Positively: Health Screenings for Women with HIV" with Eileen Scully to discuss medical health screenings and vaccinations (Women Like Us: Aging Positively)
- Ciarra Covin hosted Leadership Exchange LIVE "Sex, Pleasure and PrEP" with Kim Canady and sexologist Ashley Cobb for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day to discuss the importance of sex, pleasure, and PrEP for all women, regardless of their HIV status (SHE/HER/THEY)
- Conducted first two episodes of WATCH! 2.0 (Women's Advocacy and Treatment Coalition on HIV), a seven-part monthly treatment advocacy webinar series (concluded in May 2025)
- HIV Advocacy: Awareness in Action (Bridgette Picou, Tiommi Luckett, Masonia Traylor)
- Knowledge Is Action: Learning the Basics of HIV (Olivia Ford, Bridgette Picou, Louise Vallace)
Advocacy and Leadership Development
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The Well Project offers programming that enhances advocacy and leadership among women living with HIV, including webinars and discussion series; a strong presence at scientific, advocacy, and policy conferences; and opportunities to ensure women living with HIV are meaningful participants at decision-making tables.
- Provided 58 discrete compensated opportunities for CAB members and other women living with HIV to date (not inclusive of full-time staff):
- Provided ongoing contract work to seven women living with HIV including Global Ambassadors, CAB chair, consulting, etc.
- Supported 13 CAB members for annual participation, paid bi-annually
- Conducted four CAB meetings led by The Well Project
- Conducted four CAB meetings led by CAB chair Marissa Gonzalez
- Identified, facilitated and compensated leadership and networking opportunities for CAB members and other women living with HIV to:
- Co-moderate a Leadership Exchange LIVE session (Kim Canady) in March 2024
- Attend and present at AIDSWatch in March 2024 (Heather O'Connor)
- Attend, present, and/or develop conference write-ups at the International Workshop on HIV & Women in April 2024 (Kim Canady, Katie Willingham)
- "Alabama-Based HIV Researchers Discuss Care and Prevention Concerns: A Recap from the International Workshop on HIV & Women 2024"
- "Debating the Role of HIV Treatment in Hypertension: A Recap from the International Workshop on HIV & Women 2024"
- "Shedding Light on Menopause and HIV: A Recap from the International Workshop on HIV & Women 2024" (Women Like Us: Aging Positively)
- Attend and present at the Women's Research Initiative on HIV/AIDS 2024 meeting
- Attend and represent The Well Project at exhibit table at the Iris House Women as the Face of AIDS Summit in May 2024 (Masonia Traylor)
- Participate in focus groups for NIH-funded HIV cure research for PERSIST (eight women living with HIV)
- Provide expert content review for new and existing fact sheets (Kim Canady, Harmony Zorio)
- Co-author a fact sheet on the intersection of racism and HIV for Black women in the US (Connie L. Johnson)
- Attend, participate, and network through booth exhibit at US Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) in September 2024 (Masonia Traylor)
- Develop conference write-ups on their experiences attending and presenting at the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) in Munich, Germany, in July 2024 (Kim Canady, Louise Vallace)
- Facilitated opportunities to develop The Well Project's team leadership and expand our reach, including:
- Virtual screening of Unexpected and Q&A hosted by the CDC (for CDC employees) (Ciarra Covin, Krista Martel, and Masonia Traylor invited to present)
- SIECUS/AIDS United HIV "If/Then Webinar" (Ciarra Covin participated as panelist)
- In-person screening of Unexpected and Q&A at The Health Federation of Philadelphia Women and Girls Day Event for NWGHAAD (Ciarra Covin attended and participated in the Q&A)
- NASTAD's "Social Determinants of Health and Black Maternal Health Webinar" (Ciarra Covin as presenter)
- Take Control HIV "Living Positively: Inspiring Stories" profile series (Ciarra Covin featured)
- O'Neill Institute convening on HIV, Aging, and Healthcare resulting in August 2024 publication, "Better Integration Between HIV and Aging Systems is Critical" (Bridgette Picou attended)
- HIV Research & Clinical Practice journal publication, "Parenting with HIV: a Patient's view on Updated Infant Feeding Guidelines in the US" (Ciarra Covin authored)
- NASTAD "National Consultation on Populations Aging with and Vulnerable to HIV" (Bridgette Picou participated)
- Collaboration in Care Conference: Empowered Aging, Thriving Beyond HIV (Bridgette Picou on planning committee, attendee, hosted "Aging in Place" session, and hosted exhibitor table)
- "Future of Personal Health" USA Today June 28 issue insert (Ciarra Covin, Olivia G. Ford, and Krista Martel featured)
- "Envisioning the Future of HIV/STI Prevention and Contraception" at NIH Summit (Bridgette Picou attended and spoke as a panelist)
- World AIDS Day screening and Q&A of Unexpected at the Mecklenburg County Department of Health in North Carolina (Ciarra Covin and Masonia Traylor attended an in-person screening and participated in a Q&A)
- Submitted five abstracts to conferences featuring women living with HIV as authors:
- AIDSWatch 2024 (Ciarra Covin, Heather O'Connor) – accepted
- International Workshop on HIV and Women (Kim Canady, Ciarra Covin) – accepted
- Ryan White HIV Conference (Ciarra Covin, Heather O'Connor) – accepted
- CityMatCH Leadership and MCH Epidemiology Conference (Kim Canady, Ciarra Covin) – accepted
- Positive Living Conference (CAB emerita member Katie Willingham) – accepted
Collaborative Engagement
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The Well Project develops mission-aligned partnerships with key organizations in HIV and intersecting fields. These relationships elevate our respective work, inspire collaboration, and ensure that all our endeavors add value by uniquely addressing gaps in current programming and resources.
- Welcomed seven new partner organizations working at the intersections of HIV, aging, research, lifetime survivor advocacy, infant feeding support, STI advocacy, and leadership development:
- Dandelions Movement
- HUES at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation
- Melanin Milk SD
- San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation (partner page forthcoming)
- Something Positive for Positive People (SPFPP)
- The Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination (HANCC)'s Women Research Collaborative (WHRC)
- American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM) (partner page forthcoming)
- Engaged regularly with 60 established partner organizations through curated "Dear Partner" emails as well as collaborative partner projects including:
- Participated on planning committee and acted as community partner for Iris House's Women as the Face of AIDS Summit
- Participated in a screening and Q&A of Unexpected hosted by SisterLove
- Co-presented with community partners Sero Project, Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP), Positive Women's Network – USA (PWN-USA), and the International Community of Women Living with HIV – North America (ICW-NA) at the SYNChronicity 2024 conference
- Presented and attended at AIDS United's AIDSWatch conference
- Presented on NASTAD's Social Determinants of Health and Black Maternal Health Webinar
- Collaborated with NASTAD to develop new educational resources for providers to integrate HIV prevention into women's wellness
- Co-presented with community partners (SERO, CHLP, PWN-USA, ICW-NA) at the 2024 USCHA on criminalization and HIV
- Co-presented with community partners (Prevention Access Campaign, AIDS United, IAPAC, and GNP+) at USCHA in a three-hour workshop focused on U=U implementation in the US
- Moderated Q&A discussion (with Masonia Traylor) after a screening of Unexpected at the annual Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) conference
- Collaborated with partner organization POZ magazine to increase awareness of The Well Project's resources by posting 18 blogs to POZ Blogs and adding our events to POZ Events
- Collaborated with partner organization TheBody for "At Home With" live series to share about The Well Project's resources and programming (Krista Martel interviewed)
- CityMatCH Steering Council and Working Groups (CDC-funded project subcontract)
- Finalized organizational values and created infographics
- Added to Who We Are page
- Created video of multiple stakeholders highlighting values
- Launched article featuring them (early 2025)
- Organizational values were the focus of a successful fundraising drive, which exceeded its goal by almost $7,000
Women-Focused HIV Research
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The Well Project identifies opportunities to advance the HIV research and policy agenda on women, ensure the implementation of evidence-based strategies, and increase research involvement and advocacy among women living with HIV.
- Women's Initiative on HIV/AIDS (WRI) 2024
- Developed and conducted 2.5-day meeting, "The Role of Policy in Access to HIV Research and Services Among Women Living with and Vulnerable to HIV" for 35 multi-disciplinary stakeholders, co-moderated by Bridgette Picou. The meeting took place March 21 – 24, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina.
- Developed and disseminated WRI 2024 Issue Brief: Implications of Federal and State Policy on HIV Research and Services for Women Living with and Vulnerable to HIV
- Developed and disseminated new document "What to Expect When Attending the WRI" to WRI participants in advance of the meeting
- 2024 Infant Feeding and HIV Survey (BEEEBAH)
- Developed and conducted survey in early 2024 (n=234) to measure stakeholder knowledge and attitudes, as well as the impact of the 2023 HHS guidelines updates on infant feeding and HIV
- Developed and disseminated survey report and infographics of the study findings, The Well Project Survey Reveals Dramatic Shift in Provider Support of Breast/Chestfeeding After 2023 HIV Guideline Updates
- UPLIFT IMPAACT 046 research study (CDC-funded research on infant feeding and HIV) (subcontract/BEEEBAH related)
- Ciarra Covin became a member of the UPLIFT research Protocol team (monthly virtual meetings and annual in-person meeting)
- As a subcontractor for UPLIFT research team, The Well Project will provide feedback on the qualitative interview guides, recruitment, study findings, materials development, etc.
- Language/stigma survey development
- Began process (with five expert advisors) to develop and conduct a survey for women living with HIV to evaluate their experiences with stigmatizing and/or person-first language. Findings will be used to develop and disseminate educational materials for healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers, etc.
- Conducted evaluations/needs assessments (varied program funding):
- Eight program evaluations for in-person and virtual events
- One major survey
- Four targeted needs assessments to specific stakeholders for program development purposes
