Council Members

I have been an HIV/AIDS volunteer/advocate for over 20 years. I am a long term survivor of HIV and a long term user of Ryan White services. Organizations I have volunteered for include, the AIDS Legal Referral Panel for over five years, Health Legal Services, part of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, for fifteen years and the HIV Food Basket in Santa Clara County for over fifteen years. I have been on the Community Advisory Board for the SF Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group for over twenty years. I was a member of the Santa Clara HIV Planning Council for almost ten years and moved to San Francisco where I have been a member of the San Francisco HIV Community Planning Council for over 4 years. My focus has been and will continue to be on client level services.

Robert Arnold is the Director of Integrated care for San Francisco Community Health Center, where he has worked since 2017. There, he oversees five HIV Medical Case Management teams that link HIV Positive clients to medical care, behavioral health, and housing. He has been working in the Tenderloin Area since 2010 as a nurse and in Leadership positions, getting care to complex clients for HIV care and substance use. Robert looks forward to continuing helping our communities have healthier outcomes by continuing his work in these communities and by participating in the SF HIV Planning Council.

I am the Director of HIV Health Services with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. I have worked in the HIV care and prevention field for over 35 years.

Franco Chevalier, MD, MPH is a member of the council who possesses a robust background in non-profit work and public health. He has served as chair of the executive advisory board for Latinos Salud (one of the largest non-profit organizations in South Florida, serving the Latinx LGBTQ+ community and offering HIV/STI prevention/treatment services). He currently is the deputy medical director at San Francisco City Clinic. With dual board certification in Internal Medicine and Infectious disease, as well as a master's in public health from UC Berkeley, Dr. Chevalier is deeply committed to advocating for vulnerable communities, particularly as it relates to HIV prevention and treatment. His personal experiences and unwavering dedication to ending the HIV epidemic drive his passion for equity and improving access to care for vulnerable communities and fuel his ambition to one day become a national advocate for policy change in HIV/STI prevention and treatment.

I have been an AIDS Activist since the mid-eighties. I taught in public schools for 7 years. I have been working in HIV/AIDS nursing since 1992. My entire nursing career has been in the field of HIV. As an HIV specialty nurse (ACRN), I have worked in hospital, home health and hospice. I retired from Kaiser SF Medical Center in 9-2018 to take care of my father. I served as the HIV Patient Care Coordinator/Program Coordinator for approximately 18 years. I look forward to continued service on the SF HIV Community Planning Council.

Appointed Seat: Community Behavioral Health Services/Mental Health Zachary is a Behavioral Health Clinician at San Francisco Department of Public Health’s South Van Ness and City Clinics. They are a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a passion for working in community behavioral health.

Community Member Long-term Marin HIV/AIDS Care Council Member Membership Committee Co-Chair

Clinical Services Manager – Public Health, San Mateo County Health Matt has worked as a social worker providing services in the HIV community since 1996. He currently is the Clinical Services Manager for Public Health in San Mateo County, having worked for San Mateo Health since 2005. His current position manages all programs that oversee Title 17 reportable diseases; HIV, STD, Tuberculosis and Communicable Disease Control. He is a strong harm reduction advocate and strives to create a system in San Mateo County that provides non-judgmental and comprehensive services.

Elyse Judge Griffin is a seasoned public health professional based in San Francisco, CA, with a background in epidemiology and data analysis. She has made significant contributions to quality management initiatives and pandemic response efforts at institutions such as the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the CDC, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Texas Department of State Health Services. Notably, she served as the Program Specialist V: Program Evaluation Team Lead in Austin, TX, overseeing tuberculosis elimination programs across the state, before joining the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as the QA and Data Team Manager for the Clinical Operations Support Center (COSC), where she continued to drive impactful initiatives. Currently, she serves as a Healthcare Analyst overseeing infection control at Zuckerberg General Hospital for the City of San Francisco Department of Health, where she applies her expertise to improve public health outcomes. With a Master of Public Health from Boston University, Elyse brings extensive experience and dedication to her work in the field of public health.

Jesus Guillen, is an immigrant, Latino, Gay, yes, Single, 38 years HIV long-term survivor living with chronic pain, who in the end, even if it sounds corny, is simply a human being who wants to help others. Independent HIV and Aging consultant who works with agencies, organizations, politicians, pharmaceuticals, and anyone who wants to work for the common goal of helping our community because he believes deeply in "WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER". He is one of the founders of one of the older GAY LATINO groups in SF: "AGUILAS", as well as founder and administrator of the incredibly diverse HIV LONG TERM SURVIVORS group in social media, with close to 5000 members. Newly appointed member of the Octavia Market planning board, and also collaborating for our Latino elders with FRONT PORCH.. Jesus Guillen is honor to be the "poster boy" of the Emmy-awarded documentary "LAST MEN STANDING", the first and only documentary from the San Francisco Chronicle. Follow this link for free streaming: https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2016/living-with-aids/documentary.

Reina is a non-affiliated member of the council. She is interested in strategies that seek to engage legally and economically disenfranchised communities, which experience disproportionate criminalization and heightened surveillance.

San Francisco Resident Local Community Volunteer HIV Services Consumer SFHCPC Member

Lee Jewell is an Associate Marriage Family Therapist (AMFT) with a MA in Psychology, and part-time usher with BroadwaySF. Lee joined the San Francisco HIV Community Planning Council in 2008. He is a past co-chair and currently the Council representative to the CAEAR Coalition Board of Directors. Lee is a Patient Representative to a stem cell HIV clearance study with California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Additionally, Lee volunteers as a small group facilitator with the Positive Living for US Seminar (PLUS) at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and as a LGBTQ Senior Volunteer with OpenhouseSF. Lee is proud to be a member of the San Francisco HIV Community Planning Council to improve the Continuum of Care for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

Juba has worked in HIV related community health services since moving to the in the San Francisco Bay Area in January 1999, beginning as a chaperone for youth events with Sexual Minority Alliance of Alameda County drop-in center (SMAAAC) in Oakland. He concurrently worked as outreach staff and a publication design consultant for AIDS Project of the East Bay (APEB), later serving to a program assistant for Our Love at Stop AIDS Project in 2002, and received a Creating Change Award from the National LGBTQ Task Force in 2005 for his work in queer music community. He spent eight years as a test counselor and outreach worker at AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Magic Johnson Clinics before joining the HIV Services team at St. James Infirmary (SJI) in 2015, and was among 40 artists and advocates to attend the White House Bisexual Community Policy Briefing that same year. He currently serves as Community Healthcare Services Director at SJI and has served on the boards of BiNet USA,sex worker advocacy org Desiree Alliance, The National Queer Arts Festival , and Bay Area rideshare service Homobiles. Juba earned a BA in Art, Secondary Education from Chicago State University in 1993 and an MFA in Poetics from New College of California in 2006.

Appointed Seat: State Office of AIDS Chris Kent (he/him) is a Data Specialist for the Office of AIDS at the California Department of Public Health. He also has experience working in community centers and serving on an LGBTQ nonprofit board, and he studied LGBTQ history in his MA program.

Thomas Knoble, MSW, is the Testing Program Manager with the Community Health Equity and Promotion Branch of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. He has been doing HIV/STD/HVC testing work in San Francisco since 1991 with a focus on gay and bisexual men, transgender women and with people who inject drugs. Thomas started with Shanti as emotional support volunteer where he supported people with HIV in with the dying process. Many were alone due to all their friends had passed or family had disowned them. In 1993 he became HIV test counselor test and has many hours of support people with complicated issues impacting their lives. In this work he has supported many people in a most vulnerable moment of learning they are living with HIV. Thomas is one of a handful of California HIV State Certified Trainers charged with training/certifying all new test counselors. In his work with the DPH he is still in an active HIV/HCV/STD Counselors with many of the sites funded by the DPH. Over the years Thomas has worked all with all DPH funded testing programs including the jails and homeless encampments. The landscape is changing, PrEP, U=U, syringe services, and support people with retention are critical to our future efforts. Thomas's role is to support community based organizations to assure these critical activities are assessable to clients.

Senior Program Coordinator with Marin County – Department of Health & Human Services, Communicable Disease and Community Preparedness

T.J. Lee-Miyaki is an advocate/activist for HIV/AIDS, LGBTQIA, Cancer and Cancer Survivors, the Formerly Incarcerated and Homelessness issues. T.J. has been a San Francisco resident since July 1994. He has worked for Shanti Project and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation as a program manager. He was also the Program Manager for the SF CARE Council for five and half years. He currently is an interventionist/case manager at PRC working with HIV+ clients that are either formerly incarcerated or homeless. He is a former two-term SF Ryan White CARE Council Member, a two-term SF HIV Community Planning Council Member and has been a two-term Long Term Care Coordinating Council Member in the past. He has served on local, state and national level board teams like Healing Waters Wilderness Adventures and Positive Pedalers. Mr. Lee-Miyaki also created and currently still facilitates the only Northern California cancer support group for Gay/Bi/Trans Men, called “Jeffrey’s Place” through Shanti Project. He has been doing this since July 2009.

Helen Lin, LCSW Social Work Supervisor UCSF Positive Health Program at ZSFG Helen has been doing HIV prevention and social work in San Francisco since 1997 with a focus on quality care and services for LGBT, communities of color, and those affected by mental health, substance use, homelessness and incarceration. She is a graduate of UCLA and SF State University.

I work as a Senior Services Care Navigator and Health Counselor at the Shanti Project. I am dedicated to working and volunteering in HIV and GLBTIA+ communities advocacy. I'm involved with several HIV-related research networks to advocate and represent community interests and concerns in trials' development. I have formerly worked for the HIV CARE Council when its staff support was located at ABC, now PRC, and a member of the former HIV Prevention Council.

Marco is the Director of Programs and HIV Services for Mission Neighborhood Health Center (MNHC), a federally qualified health center that operates five clinic sites, serves some of San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents, and is the one of the largest providers of health care services to the Latinx community in San Francisco. MNHC provides services for over 15,000 Bay Area residents. Marco provides strategic planning, and organizational development leadership, supervises HIV services staff and its operations management, monitors funding and prepares grants and manages contracts. He develops and implements policies and procedures, and maintains positive community networks with relevant local, state, and national agencies supporting HIV/AIDS support and clinical services.

In 1990 after graduating from college with studies in Teaching, I decided to change fields due to the HIV epidemic impacting several of my close friends. For the last 30 years, I've worked in multiple settings, providing direct services to individuals dealing with HIV diagnosis and their loved ones. Currently employed at the San Francisco Health Department‐ Jail Health Services. Council Co-Chair

Southeast Health Center Integrated Health Program Coordinator

Senior Program Manager, Lutheran Social Services of Northern California John Paul (“JP”) has worked in the social services field for over 22 years. In his current position as Deputy Director at Lutheran Social Services, he maintains oversight and responsibility of all programs and services for the agency, specifically supporting low-income individuals and families who are homeless, formerly homeless, or at risk of homelessness in San Francisco. JP has been a member of this planning council since 2003. In his spare time he volunteers and works closely with the Imperial Council of San Francisco in fundraising and promoting community awareness with local nonprofits supporting housing, health, and safety for those in need.

I am a member of the End Hep C S.F., San Francisco Hep C Task Force, SFAF Syringe Access Services and volunteer as a St. James Infirmary Outreach Navigator. I am also a student at City College of San Francisco working towards a certificate in the Recovery and Addiction Counselor Program, as well as a student at SFSU working towards a certificate in the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Course. I am honored to have this opportunity to help the community in the area of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. I was diagnosed in 2004. I believe in giving back and offering hope and understanding to all those in need, particularly to marginalized populations. I have lived experience in navigating the full treatment spectrum, and would be more than willing to help in any way possible.

Director of Harm Reduction Policy San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Manuel Vasquez is the HIV Housing Programs Manager for the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD for short). Manuel manages the oversight of several HIV housing assistance programs that are funded by the Federal housing assistance program HOPWA (Housing Opportunity for People with AIDS/HIV) in San Francisco. Manuel earned his Masters Degree in Counseling and Psychology from Troy University and has years of experience working and developing social service programs that serve people living with HIV/AIDS. Prior to MOHCD, Manuel managed an HIV peer community health worker program and RAPID ART program at a Ryan White clinic in Atlanta, GA. Manuel also coordinated several HIV programs and services for several years at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Manuel has a keen interest in improving the provision of housing, healthcare and social services to those living with HIV/AIDS and is excited about the to serve on the HIV Community Planning Council.