APLA Health & Wellness COO Vallerie Wagner Receives Advocate Award

On March 28, APLA Health & Wellness Chief Operating Officer Vallerie Wagner will receive the Advocate Award from the Better Brothers LA and the DIVA Foundation. The First annual Truth Awards Ceremony is to take place at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.

"Your work is a testament to the importance of living one's life unabashedly and with vigor," Better Brothers LA Founder Vincent Holmes said in a letter announcing Wagner's award. "These are the characteristics we seek to highlight and honor as we work to strengthen the black gay community in Los Angeles. In honoring you, we acknowledge your work and courage which serves as a shining example to us all."

AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and APLA Health & Wellness (APLAHW) announce that Wagner will receive the Advocate Award from Better Brothers LA in association with the DIVA Foundation. These organizations are recognizing Wagner for her extraordinary efforts to establish HIV/AIDS prevention and education initiatives in communities of color and for providing invaluable resources to communities disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.

"I'm honored and humbled to receive this recognition in its first year," said Wagner. "I'm equally honored to work alongside a remarkable community committed to fighting and advocating for LGBT people of color as well as those living with HIV and AIDS."

Wagner has been an exceptional advocate for the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS for more than 25 years. She has worked for APLA and APLA Health & Wellness since 2008 and before that worked at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center as well as the Black AIDS Institute. She currently oversees APLA Health & Wellness' operations, including prevention education and the flagship Gleicher / Chen Health Center, located in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood. The new health center offers free or low-cost medical, dental, and behavioral health services, including a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) program.

Better Brothers LA was founded in 2014 to provide spaces for black gay men to network, socialize, and live better lives. Since its inception, the organization has sponsored cultural, recreational, social, and networking events for a community that still faces significant difficulties from cultural and religious opposition. For more information see betterbrothersla.com.

The DIVA Foundation was founded in 1990 by Tony-nominated actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, star of the original cast of the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls." The foundation has worked to break the silence and erase the stigma still connected to HIV/AIDS, especially as it poses a threat to women and children. For more information see thedivafoundation.org.

Please join APLA and APLAHW in extending our warmest congratulations to Vallerie Wagner for this exceptional honor. Tickets to the inaugural Truth Awards Ceremony on March 28 start at $125 and can be purchased online.

AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) was founded in 1983 and is one of the largest nonprofit HIV/AIDS service organizations in the United States. APLA provides bilingual support to more than 6,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County annually and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Additionally, APLA conducts behavioral research designed to inform the development of evidence-based interventions and assists health departments in evaluating their HIV/AIDS services to ensure the delivery of effective and quality programs.

APLA also provides administrative and fiscal support to the Global Forum on Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSMGF), which promotes and advocates for the health and human rights of MSM internationally. APLA is proud to be a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national, and global reach. For more information, please visit apla.org.

APLA Health & Wellness (APLAHW) provides primary medical and oral health care, behavioral health services, HIV testing, PrEP counseling and management of eligible clients, STD screening/treatment, and health education and HIV-prevention services, with a specific focus on low-income gay and bisexual men of color and transgender individuals living in Los Angeles County.

APLAHW is a federally qualified health center that includes: the Gleicher / Chen Health Center in South Los Angeles; the Wilshire Dental Clinic downtown; Behavioral Health Services at the David Geffen Center in Mid-City; and a mobile dental facility. The S. Mark Taper Foundation Dental Clinic in South Los Angeles is also part of APLAHW. APLAHW serves more than 8,000 people each year.

For more information, please visit aplahw.org.