Transgender – Stories

Barb Cardell is an educator, activist, and advocate. Barb has been a part of PWN since joining the Steering Committee in 2009.  In 2013, when PWN created its Board of Directors Barb joined the board and served as the Board Chair for 6 years.  Stepped down early in 2019. Barb joined PWN USA staff as the Training and Technical Advising Director becoming their Program Director in 2023. Barb is Engaged in local, statewide, national and global HIV issues and currently serving as a Governor appointed representative to the statewide Colorado Alliance for HIV Prevention and Education.  Barb co- founded PWN USA CO, a Colorado based advocacy group for ALL self identified women living with HIV in the state of Colorado. Barb is a founding member and served as the Vice-chair of the US Persons Living with HIV Caucus (USPLHIV Caucus), now in an Emeritus role. Barb is the Legislative Chair of the Colorado Organizations Responding to AIDS (CORA) and led HIV criminalization reform which modernized HIV statutes and repealed two criminal statutes that targeted people living with HIV. They are currently working on grassroots mobilization, electoral organizing, meaningful involvement of people living with HIV and Denver Principles, collaborating to support a Racial Justice framework in HIV advocacy and the People Organizing Positively project.

Ja’Mel Ashely Ware is a 33-year-old entertainer, entrepreneur, and educator, known for his work in HIV awareness and entrepreneurship. In 2022, he became a proud seahorse dad, giving birth to a beautiful child, which inspired him to use his platform to raise awareness about gender diversity and the experiences of trans men who choose or desire to give birth. Born with HIV, Ja’Mel has been traveling the nation since he was seven years old, sharing his life story and inspiring people with hope and compassion. Despite being orphaned at the age of 15, Ja’Mel continued to pursue his academic journey at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he earned a degree in Social Work. He then created his brand, Intellectual Ratchet (IR), and became an entrepreneur, public speaker, and educator. Ja’Mel is currently working on his next entrepreneurial venture, but in the meantime, he runs Project Innovate, a micro-grant program of THRIVE SS. Through a curriculum he designed himself, Ja’Mel teaches aspiring entrepreneurs between 18 and 29 how to use their brand to reduce HIV stigma. In addition, his calm-rational approach allows him to connect and engage with diverse communities to transform their experiences into tangible resources for themselves and their communities.

Ja’Mel’s community contributors and developments have awarded him several awards for his hard work, including the Hope Award from I Am Human, the Pioneer of Resilience Award from Trans Life Awards, the Transgender Advocate Award from the Men’s Engagement Network, Young Entrepreneur of the Year from the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Community Spotlight Award from the Urban Community Arts Network. Ja’Mel centers himself through his faith in God and continues to inspire and empower others through his work, promoting healing, inclusion, and compassion in diverse communities. Ware is committed to making a positive impact on the world and follows the moto, “Live Life Whole. Be your complete self, and live life fully.” He will continue his educational pursuits this fall at Emory University Goizueta Business school to obtain his MBA in the class of 2026.

Katie Willingham is a bisexual, two-spirit woman of transgender identity and a freelance blogger for WebMD and The Well Project, she is an HIV activist with The Positive Women’s Network USA and works in HIV prevention in her local state communities with The 6:52 Project Foundation and the HIV Prevention and Care Planning Committee for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

“I wish I had had a resource like this when I was diagnosed 23 years ago, a resource that is not only medically factual but also has contributions from people who actually live with the disease. This is a resource BY the community FOR the community.”