At the AIDS 2022 Conference in Montreal, LetsStopAIDS is the host organization of the YouthForce and is responsible for managing the creation and development of the Montreal YouthForce as well as the execution of its activities. LetsStopAIDS is pleased to partner with the International AIDS Society (IAS) for the AIDS 2022 Conference to promote youth involvement in the HIV response.
Shamin Mohamed Jr. is the Founder and President of LetsStopAIDS, Canada’s largest Youth-HIV charity. His activism over the last 18 years saw him recognised at the age of 15 as Canada’s ‘Top 20 under 20’. His response to the global Youth-HIV epidemic has made positive impacts on over 72 countries. As one of the founding members of DECIEM, a multinational skincare company, Shamin possesses a unique perspective on organizational leadership. He has been an invited guest to several UN events, most recently the International AIDS Conference. He continues to use his voice to speak out for global Youth-HIV issues.
Tatiana, PMP, MBA, began her career with Fundação Dom Cabral, a Business School in Brazil, gaining unparalleled experience in the education space, while also establishing herself as a respected Project Director. Currently working as a National Manager for LetsStopAIDS, where she started as a volunteer Program Manager, Tatiana is in charge of leading the Montreal YouthForce initiative alongside with the LetsStopAIDS' team and she is responsible for all National Programs. Her desire to contribute and work within the HIV and AIDS field came from a need to spread information after some relatives became HIV positive. Passionate about people, mentorship and leadership, through LetsStopAIDS' projects she looks to promote change and knowledge exchange among youth. While her professional and personal projects have taken her to Canada, Tatiana is proud to call Toronto home.
Rhian is Project Coordinator at LetsStopAIDS and is currently coordinating the Montreal Youth Force as well as other LetsStopAIDS projects including NoTimeToWait, a Youth-HIV Leadership Conference. Her projects focus on raising awareness about HIV amongst youth, helping young people develop advocacy and leadership skills, and inspiring them to take action and make positive change in their local communities. As a former language teacher, Rhian has worked with youth in university and school settings, and she has also volunteered and worked in non-profit organizations particularly in environment and health related fields. She is committed to helping make this world a more sustainable, safe, and inclusive place for current and future generations.
Ogonna works at LetsStopAIDS where she coordinates the activities of the Montreal Youth Force. She is a Nigeria-trained medical doctor and has been involved in managing HIV and AIDS cases, providing medical care among resource-depleted communities, organizing outreach programs, and creating digital tools that improve access to health services. She has a keen interest in developing public health projects that address the needs of underserved populations.
Erika Dupuis (she/they) is a Social Worker and youth engagement organizer based on the unceded and traditional lands of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, currently known as the greater Toronto area. Primarily working in global health advocacy, Erika organizes within the intersections of gender equality, drug policy, and sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Erika currently works with UN Women and Harm Reduction International. In addition, Erika is the Country Coordinator for the Canadian Chapter of the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning and sits as Vice-Chair of The PACT and PMNCH’s NGO Constituency.
Mitchell Rae (masculine pronouns) works as the Executive Director of Project 10, a nonprofit community organization dedicated to supporting the well-being of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth between the ages of 14 and 25 in the Greater Montreal Area. Mitchell is also a graduate student focusing on the way that white racial identity operates to the detriment of people of colour. In his spare time, Mitchell co-founded ChamPaint Montreal which hosts art events for young Black, Indigenous, and people of colour to share stories in relation to their lived experiences as racialized people.
Mickey Andeweg (1991) is a global advocacy officer at Hivos, working to strengthen the position of youth and LGBTIQ+ people worldwide. Starting at the age of 16, Mickey has been involved in influencing policies to protect human rights and achieve gender equality. Working with leaders from four continents, Mickey facilitates dialogues between policy makers and activists. Previous experiences include working for CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, Aidsfonds and the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights.
Asha Ulusow works at St. Stephen's Community House (TNG), Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Blackcap) and LetsStopAIDS. She is a Child and youth care practitioner. Asha is working towards fostering youth involvement and innovation in key issues that affect their lives. She is dedicated to elevating the experiences and expertise of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) young people, especially young people who are living with HIV in Canada. Asha has spent most of her career talking to and encouraging conversations about taboo topics in her community such as mental health, addiction and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) mainly HIV/AIDS in hopes of lessening the stigma surrounding them.
Maxwell Changombe is the Programs Coordinator with Restless Development Zimbabwe Hub. His focus is on creating a global community of activists committed to ending AIDS by 2030 through collaboration, conversation, awareness, youth engagement, public support and campaigning together on AIDS issues that young people care about, including testing and prevention education, more funding for HIV response, and an end to all forms of discrimination. Maxwell is working with Youth Ambassadors from 15 countries across the world who are committed to ending AIDS by 2030 promoting their leadership in HIV response and providing opportunities to strengthen their skills as a new generation of advocates. He also worked on different projects including #GenEndIt, Peak Youth Tackling HIV, and International Citizen Service. Maxwell trusts #YouthPower and believes that enhancing their leadership skills will be the game-changer in ending AIDS by 2030 as a global epidemic.
Kaweme Chunga is a current Vice Chair on the Y+ Global board & a Law Graduate from the UK. Some of her experiences include educating people in schools on the risk of hiv to help reduce stigma; as well as strongly advocating and promoting the ethical & meaningful engagement of young people, their rights, dignity & wellbeing in policy and decision-making spaces. In her spare time, Kaweme is a Transformational Youth Coach and Mentor, founder of Anchor of Destiny where they believe if you mentor the youth, you mentor the land.
Asif Umair is a social and sports activist. He is a Ph.D. scholar at UQAM Montreal Canada. He explores social and health development through sports-based interventions. He is also the founder of Kafka Welfare Organization Pakistan which has been doing advocacy on HIV/AIDS issues.
Cosima Lenz is a Technical Officer supporting adolescent, youth, and child programs at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). Working on the global Technical Strategy and Innovations team, Cosima supports projects to develop training, technical tools, guidance, and innovation and implementation of programming. Her focus technical areas are adolescent and youth SRH and HIV, and gender-based violence. Cosima additionally coordinates the Committee of African Youth Advisors (CAYA), EGPAF’s meaningful engagement mechanism.
Stephen Brace is the local co-chair for the logistics and operations working group representing AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM).
Damilare is The PACT Partnership & Resources Mobilization Co-Lead where he works on partnership development to mobilize resources for the organisation. Damilare joined The PACT with the sole aim to contribute meaningfully and actively to advance its mission in creating spaces for young people and their networks to meet, network and chart a pathway to end AIDS by 2030. He has keen interest in equitable access to information and knowledge development. To this he works with the team to explore opportunities to strategically position the need to promote equitable access to information and knowledge about sexual and reproductive health to young people. Damilare is currently a Mastercard Foundation Scholar, studying Global Challenges at the African Leadership University, Kigali Rwanda.
Dr. Yvonne Su is the Local Co-Chair on the Fundraising, Events and Sponsorship Working Group of the YouthForce for LetsStopAIDS. Dr. Su is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University. Dr. Su is an expert on international development and have studied force migration and queer migration in many regions of the Global South. She holds a PhD in Political Science and International Development from the University of Guelph and a Masters in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies from the University of Oxford. She is a faculty fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research.
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