ATLANTA, GEORGIA – On January 13 thru 16, 2022 at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel in Los Angeles, California NAESM will host the 18th National African American MSM Leadership Conference on Health Disparities and Social Justice under the theme, “Our Lives Matter: Turning the Tide Together.”

NAESM’s Leadership Conference on Health Disparities and Social Justice is the only national health-focused conference for and by Black gay men. The conference attracts a wide audience of gay and bisexual black men in healthcare and health organizations, LGBTQ advocacy, and national community‐based organizations, as well as professionals who seek to serve this demographic. We are looking forward to returning to an in-person conference in January 2022.

At the conference Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP), Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) will headline our speaker’s plenary with an informative interactive session moderated by our own Dr. Alvan Quamina, Executive Director of NAESM, Inc. We will also host a Federal Panel plenary that will include participants from NIH, CDC, and HRSA. Participants have also been invited from the Office of National AIDS Policy which is part of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

At the coming conference, NAESM will relaunch its Creating Responsible Intelligent Black Brothers (C.R.I.B.B.) Fellowship Program. The C.R.I.B.B. Fellowship will commence its training and development program at the conference. The C.R.I.B.B. Fellowship is a leadership training and mentoring program for Black gay and bisexual men designed to support and strength their capacity to contribute to local and national efforts in reducing and ending the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, other health disparities, and social injustices, impacting Black communities. For more information about the C.R.I.B.B. Fellowship Program or on how to apply, visit www.naesminc.org/cribb-fellowship/.

The Call for Abstracts is open at https://naesminc.org/leadership-conference/call-for-abstracts/ and we are anticipating a wide array of innovative ideas, research, and captivating presentations to educate, inform, and through dialogue, find possible solutions to turn the tide to better health outcomes. Abstracts will be accepted as institutes, workshops, or poster presentations. Because there may be multiple submissions on a single topic, the review committee requests that presenters remain flexible. For example, multiple workshops on a single topic may be combined into an institute.

Your health and wellness are our No. 1 priority. NAESM, Inc. and the National African American MSM Leadership Conference on Health Disparities and Social Justice will follow or exceed Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and CDC guidelines during COVID-19 for indoor/outdoor events. All registrants for the conference are required to be vaccinated and face masks are required.

To register and secure your participation for the conference, click on https://naesminc.org/leadership-conference/registration/.

To become a sponsor, advertise in the program booklet, or to be an exhibitor please reach out to Doug Anthony, at dsgardin1221@yahoo.com to customize a sponsorship package to meet your company deliverables, or email alvanq@naesminc.org with any questions you may have.