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Speakers

Sunday, February 26, 2006 7:00 pm
Warwick Center Ballroom, UNCW
Lecture Presentation: Tom Alford, HIV/AIDS+ peer educator
Hosted by UNCW Crossroads, Greek Affairs and OutWilmington

Tom Alford is a level 3 Peer Educator, trained through Duke University Medical Center, one of only four Peer Educators Training Sites (PETS) in the United States. Peer Educators trained through this program assist other people affected by the virus, as well as provide prevention and outreach to the community.

Tom is now holding weekly hours at the OutWilmington Community Center at 311 Castle Street. His services as a peer educator will enable newly diagnosed individuals to find case workers, resources, and help in the southeastern area and engage those already diagnosed with the disease with support for their continued care. Tom also participates on the HIV/AIDS Consortium of Southeastern North Carolina and is a member of the Health and Human Service Care board.

BJ Ellender, MSN RN - Moderator
BJ Ellender is currently UNCW’s Associate Director of Student Health Services where her primary role is one of Health Promotions Manager. Prior to this role she was on Faculty with the School of Nursing.

Her educational background includes a diploma in Nursing from Forsyth Memorial Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a Masters in Nursing from The University of North Carolina Charlotte. She has completed certification in various fields of nursing, been selected to affiliate with nursing honor societies, and been recognized by Who’s Who, Advanced Practice, and the Great One Hundred. Ms. Ellender’s practice areas include critical care, research settings, parish nursing, and home health where she has cared for many individuals with AIDS.

Ms. Ellender is active in the North Carolina Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association. She serves a delegate to both state and national conventions. Ms. Ellender has also held office as a public official on a local level. She is active in her church and Oak Island community, and continues to mother three college-age sons.

Jeanne K. Kemppainen, PhD, RN, CNS
Dr. Jeanne K. Kemppainen is an Associate Professor of Nursing in the School of Nursing at UNCW.  Dr. Kemppainen completed her PhD at the University of California San Francisco, and a three-year national appointment as a VA Postdoctoral Nurse Fellow. She maintains American Nurses Association (ANA) Certification as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adult Mental Health. Dr. Kemppainen has been actively engaged in international and interdisciplinary research since 1996, much of her research dealing with HIV/AIDS. She has completed over a score of publications dealing with this epidemic. During a VA post doctoral nurse fellowship, Dr. Kemppainen completed extensive training in the use of the critical incident methodology at the American Institute of Research, Palo Alto, California (1998-2002), and currently serves as a research method consultant for nationally funded research grants.

Leigh Ann Senior, RN
Leigh Ann Senior is a graduate of the UNCW School of Nursing. She works at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where she serves as an AIDS Certified Register Nurse. Out of her twenty-six years of nursing, she has devoted the past eight years to HIV care.

Gabriella Heib, SFO
Gabriella Heib is a HIV Chaplain for CARE, she also serves as Program Director for C.A.R.E., a volunteer job she has held for 9 years. C.A.R.E. is an organization exclusively for educational, charitable, and health purposes, including advocacy for individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as education to the community about the disease and methods for its prevention. In addition, Ms. Heib is a Maryknoll affiliate and on the board of directors for the Global HIV AIDS Task Force. She is a native of Germany, a mother of three grown children and a grandmother of four. Ms. Heib has resided in Wilmington for twelve years.

Dan
Hello, my name is Dan. I have lived with HIV for over twenty years. Being infected at an early age and living with HIV has given me a knowledge and appreciation for life. I grew up in a rural community not far from Durham, NC. I played high school football and was the Beta Club president. I enrolled in NC State in Raleigh, NC, and after my freshman year, I decided to experiment in different sexual involvements. In the early 1980s HIV was a death sentence. After AZT came out in 1985, I went on drug therapy. I have been a patient at Duke University Medical Center for many years. I ran a small construction business with employees for over twenty years. After many different HIV meds and many struggles to acquire those medications I was unable to work. I had to apply for any help that was offered by the state and federal agencies. That was a struggle to lose my pride and ask for help. Today my health is fairly good, I have a lot of complex medical issues, but I volunteer with C.A.R.E. and I am a patient advocate for people who don’t seem to be able to find their voices. HIV is a very isolating disease. It still carries a stigma that no other chronic disease does. I enjoy life and appreciate all of its pleasures.

Gordon and Karen
Individuals living with HIV