Marz Albarran (they/them/theirs) is a 38-year-old queer non-binary person, born in Puerto Rico, raised in inner-city Chicago. They have lived in Albany, NY for the past 14 years. They have been living with HIV since birth—a Lifetime Survivor/Dandelion. They achieved an undetectable HIV status at 15, which is also when they began sharing their journey publicly and learning how valuable lived experience could be. In recent years they have become a voice for the voiceless – an advocate and activist for people living with HIV, with a focused lens on those born with HIV – through community research and involvement. They have been selected to be a part of the HIV Stops With Me Campaign (hivstopswithme.org) for seven years in a row, which is a community of 30 spokesmodels all over NY that represent the communities they come from. They advocate to help people build self-esteem about their HIV status, building community, linking people to care with agencies in our areas, all in an effort to end HIV stigma.
Today, Marz serves as Vice President of the Board at The Albany Damien Center, Co-Chair of the Aging with HIV initiative, and Co-Founder of the Lifetime Survivors Network. Their work centers TGNC, LGBTQ, and BIPOC communities and they are passionate about creating spaces where lived experience, resilience, and creative expression are honored.
