Transitions Project Staff
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Susan Kegeles, Principal Investigator [e-mail]
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Jae Sevelius, Co-Principal Investigator [e-mail]
Jae
Sevelius, PhD, is a Post-Doctoral Scholar with the Center for
AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS). At CAPS, Dr. Sevelius is the
Co-Principal Investigator of the Transitions Project, which
provides capacity building assistance and technical assistance
to community based organizations and health departments throughout
the U.S. to promote knowledgeable, sensitive, and effective
HIV/AIDS prevention for transgender communities of color and
HIV+ transgender people. In addition, she is the Principal Investigator
on two transgender specific research studies, one focusing on
HIV risk behaviors among transgender men who have sex with men
and another on the experiences of transgender women who have
been incarcerated. As Co-Principal Investigator of the CoE,
Dr. Sevelius is the liaison to CAPS and is responsible for the
systematic review and synthesis of existing transgender HIV
prevention research and programs in California, and identifying
research priorities, best practices, and service gaps to inform
a report on emerging issues and a research agenda for transgender
HIV prevention in California. -
Paul Cotten, Project Director [e-mail]
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JoAnne Keatley [e-mail]
JoAnne
Keatley, MSW, was born in Mexico City and became a citizen of
the U.S. in 1986. Ms. Keatley received her Master of Social
Welfare degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Beginning at CAPS in 1999 JoAnne has directed numerous NIH transgender
research projects and co-founded the Transgender Resources and
Neighborhood Space (TRANS) project. She is Chair of San Francisco
Transgender Empowerment Advocacy and Mentorship (SFTEAM) and
has served on the UCSF Chancellor’s Advisory committee
on LGBT issues since 2000. In addition, she has consulted on
transgender health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA),
and at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) of the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
As Director of the Center
of Excellence for Transgender HIV Prevention (CoE), Ms.
Keatley is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the CoE
scope of work. She develops the infrastructure to support a
successful and sustainable CoE, provides day to day leadership
of CoE staff, oversees the state-wide Community Advisory Board,
supervises the design and implementation of the website, identifies
potential funding sources, assures the quality of deliverables,
and is the liaison with the California
Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS and community
partners. -
Luis Gutierrez-Mock [e-mail]
Luis
Gutierrez-Mock, MA, is a fierce biracial, queer, transgender,
Chicano. He received his Master’s Degree in Human Sexuality
Studies from San Francisco State University (SFSU) in 2005 and
is currently completing his second Master’s Degree in
Ethnic Studies at SFSU. His role on the Transitions Project
as a Capacity Building Assistance Specialist involves providing
technical assistance to agencies implementing HIV interventions
with transgender populations. Prior to joining the Transitions
Project in 2008, he worked as the primary case manager at Bay
Area Young Positives, the world’s first peer-based HIV/AIDS
youth agency. He recently co-authored the Bay Area Multiracial
Youth Health and Wellness Guide with Dr. Andrew Jolivette and
is published in Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender
and Conformity edited by Matt Bernstein Sycamore (Seal Press,
2006).
Luis sits on the Board of Directors of Interracial Family Pride, an agency serving mixed heritage and transracially adopted youth and their families. The creator of Mixed Fruit Productions, he produces events featuring LGBT mixed race people and LGBT transracial adoptees. He has been a featured performer in The National Queer Arts Festival, Mixed Fruit, Gender Pirates, Trans as F*ck, and many other events throughout the Bay Area.
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Yavanté M. Thomas-Guess, Capacity Building Assistant Specialist [e-mail]
Yavanté’s
previous HIV prevention experience includes assisting Atlanta,
GA in starting their needle exchange program back in the early
90’s when HIV/AIDS first became rampant. Since then, he
has had a few jobs that focused on instilling self-worth in
individuals & helping them to reduce their participation
in activities that compromised their HIV status. In 2007, he
became a council member on San Francisco’s HIV Prevention
Planning Council (first Jewish African American Transman), where
he represents the African American Transgender Community. His
overall purpose is clear: to ensure that each member of the
transgender community is represented regarding health care (mental/physical),
employment rights, and the right to be human beings. As a council
member, he makes sure that the Community Based Organizations
(CBO’s) that have accepted the challenge to assist the
transgender community are adequately funded. He believes that
regardless of their primary function, if they are assisting
people in bettering their circumstances, they are also helping
to fight HIV/AIDS.
“Address all of me, not just my addiction, mental/physical health, HIV status, housing situation, educational level or my employment needs. Help my community to become truly healthy beings by partnering with other organizations that can assist in accomplishing this critical mission. It’s never one single thing that leads us down the path of contracting HIV/AIDS.” Yavanté is also Co-Chair of San Francisco Transgender Empowerment, Advocacy & Mentorship (SF TEAM), where they attempt to strengthen the transgender community through various large community-wide events. It is their goal to instill worth for both self and community.
He joined the Transitions Project as a Capacity Building Assistant (CBA) Specialist in 2008, where he provides technical assistance to agencies implementing evidence based HIV interventions for transgender populations.
Spare time? “I write & one day I actually will complete my autobiography. Being a Jewish African American Transgender male, has not been easy and I never did find any printed material that I could relate to. I hate the idea that there is another guy out there thinking that he is as alone as I thought I was. It’s my duty to make life better for the generations of transgender males of color that follow me.”