POZ magazine, the award-winning print and online brand for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, today announced the annual “POZ 100,” highlighting individuals working to combat HIV/AIDS chosen from nominations by readers.

Our 10th annual list focused on advocates from across the United States—both living with HIV and HIV negative—who are transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary. HIV disproportionately affects trans people. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, trans people test positive for HIV at three times the national average.

“As a cisgender gay man, I believe in the idea of belonging to a larger LGBT community,” said Oriol Gutierrez, POZ’s editor-in-chief. “What we have in common as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is greater than what we do not,” Gutierrez continued.

“Coming out—as HIV positive, as gay or as trans—not only empowers us but also inspires others,” Gutierrez said. “In that spirit, we are thrilled to announce this year’s POZ 100 honorees,” concluded Gutierrez.

Among this year’s list, in alphabetical order, are Alexandra Billings, an actress who was the first trans woman to play a transgender character on TV; Cecilia Chung, an internationally recognized civil rights leader whose life story was dramatized in the ABC miniseries When We Rise; Masha Gessen, a renowned journalist, author and activist; Kris Hayashi, the executive director of the Transgender Law Center; Marissa Miller, the lead organizer of the first National Trans Visibility March on DC; Janet Mock, a writer, director and producer best known for the FX series Pose; Angelica Ross, an activist and actress from Pose and American Horror Story: 1984; Bamby Salcedo, president and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition; and Jonathan Van Ness, the groomer and hair expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye.

Go to poz.com/100 to see this year’s full list.

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POZ is an award-winning print and online brand for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Offering unparalleled editorial excellence since 1994, POZ and POZ.com are identified by our readers as their most trusted sources of information about the disease.

 

POZ is published by Smart + Strong, which produces health-focused magazines and websites that empower and inspire. Our additional award-winning brands include Real Health magazine and RealHealthMag.com; Hep magazine and HepMag.com; and Cancer Health magazine and CancerHealth.com.