Join the CCNY LGBTQ+ Student Center, the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, the CUNY School of Medicine, and CCNY Undergraduate Student Government for an informative session discussing Monkeypox. Joined by our public health experts Dr. Keosha Bond and Rene Johnson and co-facilitated by Jake Nill and Tara Hernandez, we will discuss:

- What is Monkeypox

- How to recognize Monkeypox signs and symptoms

- How to protect yourself and your community from getting Monkeypox

- Learn NYC Government's response to Monkeypox

- How to get vaccinated

- Dispelling the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and misinformation around the virus

- and more! Audience Q&A will be available towards the end of our program

Dr. Keosha T. Bond is a Behavioral Scientist and Sexual Health Educator who has centered her work on the complex intersections of race, sexuality, social justice, and health disparities among individuals of marginalized genders. Dr. Bond’s primary research interests have focused on understanding how socio-structural and cultural factors influence the transmission of HIV and using rigorous, formative research to develop culturally appropriate interventions to address these factors. Specifically, her work is focus on the exploration of the relationship between race, gender and power imbalances in society, heightened risk of sexually transmitted infections, and sexual inequality among marginalized genders. Dr. Bond is currently an Assistant Medical Professor in the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine at the City University of New York School of Medicine, a Visiting Faculty Fellow in the REIDS Scholars program at Yale University School of Public Health, and Diversity Scholar for the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions.

Rene Johnson is the Program Coordinator for the Young Adult Sexual Services program within the Institute for Advanced Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her program focuses on educating, testing, and navigating queer men of color to HIV and STI prevention and treatment. Prior to her promotion to Program Coordinator, she served as an Entitlement Coordinator, in which she assessed patients’ financial status and then connected them to the appropriate insurance or public health coverage. She received her Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management from Howard University in Washington, DC. She is currently in graduate school at Rutgers University, studying Healthcare Administration, with the desire to shift into project management.

YASS! serves queer cis and trans youth of color between the ages of 13 and 29 but provides sexual health prevention and treatment services to anyone who is interested. YASS! providea free rapid HIV testing, STI screening (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and hepatitis C), PEP & PrEP, Monkeypox vaccination, immunization (hepatitis A & B, flu, HPV, and meningitis), and linkage to other services like, insurance, mental health care, primary care, and social groups. YASS! provides services in several clinic throughout NYC, and is open on Monday – Friday, between 9am and 5pm. To further connect with the YASS! program, please fill out this survey here.

Jake Nill is the Program Manager of the LGBTQ+ Student Center at the City College of New York, CUNY. In 2019 he graduated from the CCNY Colin Powell School with a B.A. in Political Science and double-minors in Community Change Studies and Women and Gender Studies. Additionally, Jake is a 2021 graduate of the Queen’s College’s Urban Affairs master’s program where he was also a TA for their URBST 101 Urban Issues: Poverty and Affluence course. As a graduate student, Jake’s master’s thesis “Hidden Rainbows” was a call-to-action toolkit for New York City’s elected officials to understand and act upon issues affecting LGBTQ+ homeless and street-involved youth.

Tara Hernandez is the VP of Students Affairs for Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at The City College of New York. At CCNY, Tara is a senior studying Environmental Earth Systems Science with a concentration in Hydrology & Climate. Although aspiring to be a scientist, she is an advocator for public health & accessibility, civil rights & minority groups.

This event is made possible through the generous support of LaGuardia Community College, the New York City Council, and the New York City Council LGBT and Queer Caucus.

Co-sponsors: CCNY Colin Powell School of Civic and Global Leadership, CCNY Division of Student Affairs, the CUNY School of Medicine, CCNY Undergraduate Student Government, CCNY LGBTQ+ Open Alliance Club, the YASS! program at the Institute for Advanced Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, the CUNY Office of Student Inclusion Initiatives, and CUNY LGBTQI+ Council.

The City College of New York is a proud member of the CUNY LGBTQI+ Consortium.

This event will be recorded and archived at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives.

To get text alerts about vaccination appointments and other monkeypox updates for NYC, text “MONKEYPOX” to 692-692 or, for Spanish, text "MONKEYPOXESP"

Join the CCNY LGBTQ+ Student Center Email List here and follow us on Instagram (@ccnylgbtqstudentcenter)

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