2007-2009 International Advisory Board Members

AFRICA

Mayowa Joel
Program Director, Communication for Development Centre, Ikosi-Ketu, Nigeria
Email: mayowajoel@yahoo.com

Mayowa Joel is the program director for Communication for Development Centre, a non-governmental organization promoting development and public health issues, especially HIV/AIDS through interactive media and community-based strategies. Mr. Joel has more than 10 years of experience in promoting sexual and reproductive health, managing programs, research, training and capacity building; and he serves as a consultant to many local and international organizations. He also serves as resource person on television and radio programs. Mr. Joel specializes in development and public health programs, especially treatment advocacy and has been working in several capacities with UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Nigeria, Advocates for Youth in Washington, D.C., the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) Nigeria, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), and others. Mr. Joel is an active member of Treatment Action Movement (TAM), Nigeria; a member of the International Steering Committee for the Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM), Washington, DC, and community representative on the Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization (ACSM) Workgroup under the Stop-TB Partnership of World Health Organization (WHO). He is a member of numerous international associations and contributes to wide range of publications focusing on HIV/AIDS, youth, development and public health issues. He has participated in many relevant national and international trainings and conferences, and has been a Candlelight Coordinator for four years.

Bernadette Otieno
Founder & Coordinator, St. Rita Community Based Orphan Care, Kisumu, Kenya
Email: familybased89@yahoo.com

Bernadette Otieno is founder and coordinator of St. Rita Community Based Orphan Care, which finds homes for children who have lost parents to HIV/AIDS in Kisumu, Kenya. An advocate for children’s rights, Mrs. Otieno works with a group of mothers to care for some 90 orphans in Kisumu, providing them with food, clothing, medicine, homes and schooling. She has participated in the creation of national guidelines on orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya, and in 2005, Ms. Otieno and the Mothers of St. Rita Women’s Group were awarded the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child in Sweden to honor their commitment to helping children. Ms. Otieno is a consultant with Rocheh Management, providing management training, conducting counseling and workplace HIV/AIDS training, and instructing communities how to implement care and support of orphans and vulnerable children. Ms. Otieno worked for some 17 years as an industrial relations officer in a textile industry and as a personnel administration manager for the cigarette manufacturing industry until she decided to devote her time to orphans and vulnerable children with the hope of providing them a life equal to their peers. She has both a master’s and bachelor of arts degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of Baroda, India. Ms. Otieno has been a Candlelight Coordinator for the last five years.

ASIA

Hector Nihal
Director, AIDS Awareness Society, Lahore, Pakistan
Email: aas.org.pk@gmail.com

Hector Nihal is director of the AIDS Awareness Society (AAS), an organization providing awareness and prevention interventions, as well as research, training, counseling and testing, and advocacy in Lahore, Pakistan. For the past eight years, Mr. Nihal has been working to mobilize communities around social and human rights issues, and to build capacity for community workers and leaders. In addition to his work at the society, Mr. Nihal is coordinator of the Asian People's Alliance for Combating HIV & AIDS (APACHA), Pakistan; district coordinator of the Punjab AIDS Consortium; and a member of the Global Fund Pakistan's Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). Prior to his work at the society, Mr. Nihal was coordinator of the Community Worker's Training Program for Catholic Social Services, and wrote and transcribed a number of books and other publications. Mr. Nihal has an MBA in NGO management from Greenwich University in the United States and a bachelor of arts degree from Punjab University in Pakistan. He is presently attending a course titled “Social Enterprise Management Programme (SEMP) at Lahore University of Management and Science (LUMS). He has been a Candlelight Coordinator for four years.

Sister Mary Soledad Perpiñan
President, Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women, Manila, Philippines
Email: soledadperpinan@yahoo.com

Sister Mary Soledad L. Perpiñan, RGS, popularly known as "Sister Sol," is chair and founder of the Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women (TW-MAE-W) in Quezon City, Philippines, which provides drop-in centers and homes for abused and exploited women and children. Sister Sol was the first person in the Philippines contacted by the Memorial's organizers some 16 years ago, and has since served as a Candlelight Coordinator. For eight years she was the Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association, as well as convener of the Women and Peace Commission of the International Peace Research Association. Sister Sol has also served as an expert for UN bodies on women's issues and was a temporary advisor to Jonathan Mann at the World Health Organization. In 2005, Sister Sol was one of the 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was cited among women activists worldwide in the millennium Roll of Honour of the UN General Assembly to be remembered and honored for her work. She is author of several publications including books From Darkness to Light and Flint and Fire. Sister Sol was a Fulbright scholar, graduated summa cum laude in English literature and theology from St. Theresa's College, Manila, and holds a master's degree in Education from Fordham University in New York where she majored in Counseling.

Mzia Tabatadze, MD, MPH
Save the Children, Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia
Email: mzia@savechildren.ge

Mzia Tabatadze, MD, MPH, is STI/HIV Prevention Project Manager for Save the Children in Tbilisi, Georgia. Although she has practiced medicine for six years, Dr. Tabatadze specializes in health administration and management. At Save the Children, she coordinates an STI/HIV Prevention Task Force funded by USAID that serves an action-oriented network, and unites experts and people living with HIV/AIDS. Most recently, she has served as the focal point for planning and implementing public awareness raising campaigns for HIV/AIDS. Prior to working at Save the Children, Dr. Tabatadze served as a program manager at the AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center, co-authored the amendment of HIV/AIDS state law adopted by the Georgian Parliament in 2000, and was appointed a national coordinator for HIV/AIDS State Law implementation and enforcement in Georgia. In 2000, Dr. Tabatadze was awarded the Edmund Muskie Fellowship and was sent to the United States for graduate study. Dr. Tabatadze has a medical degree from the Georgian State Medical University and a master’s degree in Public Health from the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been a Candlelight Coordinator for four years.

EUROPE

Ivo Procházka, PhD
Chairman, Czech AIDS Help Society, Prague, Czech Republic
Email: ivo.prochazka@seznam.cz

Ivo Procházka, PhD, has served as a Candlelight Coordinator for 20 years. He is chairman of the Czech AIDS Help Society in Prague, Czech Republic, which presides over a forum of non-governmental organizations working in HIV/AIDS throughout his country. Dr. Procházka is an expert in sexology and has worked in the field of HIV/AIDS since 1986 as a clinician, researcher and teacher. At the society, Dr. Procházka conducts seminars and trainings for medical practitioners, introducing them to issues related to HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Dr. Procházka works part-time as a psychiatrist at the AIDS Treatment Center in Bulovka, Prague, provides voluntary counseling and testing, and gives clinical care to patients with sexual and psychological problems. He teaches sexology, HIV counseling and prevention, and postgraduate training for pedagogists as a member of the medical faculty at the University Hospital at Charles University in Prague. He has written over 150 scientific publications and 200 popular publications. Dr. Procházka is a member of the Executive Board of the AIDS National Committee representing the non-governmental organizations, and focuses on human rights and sexuality. He is a member of the Sexological Society Committee and the editorial board of Homosexuality. Dr. Procházka has a Medical Degree from Charles University in Prague and a PhD in Psychiatry.

Cristina Vladimirov
Education Programs Coordinator, Baylor-Black Sea Foundation, Constanta, Romania
Email: cvladimirov@baylor-romania.ro

Cristina Vladimirov is the Education Programs Coordinator of the Baylor-Black Sea Foundation, an organization providing care and support for people infected and affected by HIV in Constanta, Romania. At the foundation, Ms. Vladimirov manages training and scientific events for health professionals, international conferences on HIV/AIDS, and educational sessions for students to improve their knowledge and promote acceptance of HIV infected people. Ms. Vladimirov coordinates international events such as World AIDS Day and the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, and international conferences on HIV/AIDS such as the 7th Biannual BIPAI Meeting. Prior to her work at the foundation, she was coordinator of publications and translator at Speranta Association, a non-governmental organization working in a similar field. She graduated in the Faculty of Letters, Ovidius University from Constanta and graduated the Master Academic in Cultural Studies at the same university. During her studies, she was awarded a certificate in creative writing issued by the College of Humanities, University of Nevada. She has served as a Candlelight Coordinator for the last four years.

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

Merlene Blackett
Executive Member, AIDS Society of Barbados, Inc., St. Michael, Barbados
Email: merleneb@caribsurf.com

Merlene Blackett is an executive member of the AIDS Society of Barbados, Inc. in St. Michael, Barbados, where she has been working for the past eight years. At the AIDS Society, Ms. Blackett serves on the education committee, visiting with parent-teacher associations, church groups, and other organizations to provide information about prevention of HIV/AIDS. She is also a voluntary counseling and testing provider with the Ministry of Health. Prior to her work at the AIDS Society, Ms. Blackett served as president of the support group C.A.R.E. in Barbados, a program and research assistant with the Caribbean Regional Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, a medical records clerk, and a co-trainer with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance Caribbean Program’s peer treatment counseling program. She has also served as commissioner on the National HIV/AIDS Commission where she advocated for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Ms. Blackett has a general certificate of education and an associate’s degree in medical record technology. She has served as a Candlelight Coordinator for the last three years.

O’Leo Lokai
Project Coordinator, RED Initiatives, Arima, Trinidad & Tobago
Email: redtnt@gmail.com

O’Leo Lokai is the founder and project coordinator for RED Initiatives in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago. The foundation uses film, media and other creative approaches to promote research, awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually-transmitted infections, and rights, with a focus on youth and social minority groups. Mr. Lokai has worked as a researcher, writer, coordinator, and advocate in HIV/AIDS and STI, SRH, and rights for the last five years, engaging the public through documentaries, radio and television shows, behavioral research, workshops, and international events. He is a certified community health educator, a VCT/HIV counselor, and an advocate for sexual and reproductive rights. Mr. Lokai has coordinated a variety of events, including an international film premiere on HIV/AIDS issues, the World Beat Concert in 2004, the Red Ribbon of Hope Campaign for media, and World Vaccine Day. He has his own television talk show dealing with the subjects of HIV/AIDS, proper condom use, sexuality, and other social issues. In 2002, Mr. Lokai was one of 10 film producers awarded funding by the Commonwealth Vision Award Committee in London, England, to produce a short film on diversity and development. He has also illustrated and co-produced two books for children and is himself a candle maker. Mr. Lokai has been a Candlelight Coordinator for three years.

NORTH AMERICA

Dave Chandler
Senior Manager, Youth Now Collaboration/Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona, Tucson, United States
Email: dpchandler@gmail.com

Dave Chandler is the senior manager for Youth Services at the Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona/Youth Now Collaboration in Tucson, United States. Mr. Chandler has 33 years of program and community development experience, working in a variety of faith-based organizations, public schools districts, and nonprofit groups. Mr. Chandler specializes in the areas of leadership development, program design, and volunteer management. He volunteered with Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (TIHAN), the second largest AIDS Service Organization in Southern Arizona, for 12 years and was on staff as director of education. Prior to his current work, Mr. Chandler owned a consulting business specializing in children, youth and family programming. He was director of Children, Youth and Family programs at St. Francis United Methodist Church, a business community specialist at the Tucson Unified School District, and executive director of the Downtown Arts and Business Alliance in Tucson. The Metropolitan Education Commission awarded Mr. Chandler the Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Education for his work with alternative education programs while at Tucson Unified School District. Mr. Chandler studied at Northern Arizona University. He has served as a Candlelight Coordinator for four years.

George McGarry
Founding Director, Siouxland & Local Area AIDS Project, Sioux City, United States
Email: geomcgarry@cableone.net

George McGarry is founding director of the Siouxland & Local Area AIDS Project, an organization assisting people living with HIV/AIDS and their families in Sioux City, United States. As director, Mr. McGarry provides case management for clients, oversees HIV testing and counseling, and provides community outreach and education. He also assists in the writing of grants and reviews national grants for HIV/AIDS funding in the United States. Mr. McGarry is president of the board of directors and secretary of the Patient Advisory Committee for the Siouxland Community Health Center, secretary of the Western Iowa Care Consortium, and a member of both the Siouxland AIDS Coalition and the Patient Advisory Committee for the Iowa AIDS Housing Network. Prior to his current work, Mr. McGarry was a unit coordinator and surgical nursing coordinator at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. He has received the Community Service Award in 2005 and the Naomi del Rey Legacy Award the same year. He also volunteers as an outreach worker for HIV/AIDS programs at the Siouxland Community Health Center as well as a musical director. Mr. McGarry has served as a Candlelight Coordinator for five years.

OCEANIA

Eamonn Smythe
National Positive Health Manager, New Zealand AIDS Foundation, Auckland, New Zealand
Email: eamonn.smythe@nzaf.org.nz

Eamonn Smythe is the National Positive Health Manager for the New Zealand AIDS Foundation in Auckland, New Zealand. Mr. Smythe has more than 20 years of managerial and health-care experience, and is known for being the first in the Australasian region to introduce counselor-driven rapid HIV testing. At the foundation, Mr. Smythe provides leadership for counselors, psychotherapists and social workers. He manages relationships with senior clinicians, HIV positive peer support groups, and pharmaceutical organizations. Mr. Smythe has an extensive clinical background across a number of specialties, as well as experience in management at both the government and non-government levels, and plays a key role in ensuring equity of access to antiretroviral medications. He is a working member of the Treatment Officers Network in Australia, the Auckland District Drug Advisory Committee with the Ministry of Health, the coalition for Access to Medicines, the International Rectal Microbicide Working Group, and the Practice Managers Association of New Zealand. Mr. Smythe, who trained as a registered general nurse in Birmingham, England, worked for a number of years in Germany before moving to New Zealand in 2000. He has provided national coordination and development of the Candlelight Memorial in New Zealand over the past three years.