On December 3, 2021 East Bay Getting to Zero, along with our partners hosted the (virtual) East Bay World AIDS Day 2021 event.
The event, titled ‘Roses in the Concrete: Together Breaking Through to End the Epidemic‘ drew over 120 participants.
The event included art, music, performances, poetry, awards and updates on five strategic priority areas. See below for a recording of the event, a copy of the live art piece & slides and a program.
Some components of the program included:
- An award ceremony honoring our esteemed colleagues
- A keynote address by author George Johnson
- Musical offering by Breanna Sinclairé
- Poetry by Yosimar Reyes
- A performance to remember by Bella Aldama
- Live visual art by Vero D. Orozco
- An update on our strategic priority areas!

The award categories and awardees:
1) Loren Jones Memorial Award
Awardee: Diana Dupree, Oakland Transitional Grant Area Planning Council
2) Empathy & kindness: This individual consistently shows up with compassion.
Awardee: Dr. Anthony Jones, Primary Care at Home
3) Resourcefulness: This individual relentlessly works to create opportunities for others.
Awardee: Marisol Reza-Ruiz, Adult Immunology Clinic, Highland Hospital
4) Self-Care as Community Care: This individual models what it means to care for self while caring for others.
Awardee: Christian Aguirre, Rainbow Community Center
5) Audacity & Innovation: This individual is unafraid to step out of the box to create solutions.Awardee: Shirley Gainey, Cal-PEP
6) Joy personified: This individual is our go-to optimist, it is a joy to be around them.Awardee: Vanessa Flores, Lifelong Ashby Health Center
