By owning her power, A. Toni Young is reducing healthcare disparities for hard-to-reach populations. As guest of honor for a Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Women’s Café: A Global Perspective on Women’s Leadership, Young will share strategies for how we can all own our power to make meaningful change. The virtual event takes place Tuesday, March 30, at 11 am EST.
Young is a new member of the Board of Directors at YAP, a nonprofit that provides alternatives to youth incarceration and other forms of out-of-home placements. YAP has programs in 30 states and the District of Columbia and serves communities in Australia, Guatemala, Ireland, and Sierra Leone. 
The Women’s Café is one of YAP International’s global Women’s Day and Month initiatives, where guests participate in conversations about “trailblazing as we prepare for an equitable future,” said YAP International Development Director Diana Matteson. YAP’s Women’s Month programming is part of the organization’s Global Youth Voices efforts, which celebrate resilience, hope and collectively advocates for positive change for young people.
Founder and Executive Director of Community Education Group (CEG), Young is a national leader and public health activist for HIV/AIDS training and prevention. CEG is a community-based organization originally founded to provide HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention services for African American Women in urban areas. Recently opening an office in West Virginia, the nonprofit has evolved to serve all at-risk communities, including rural populations impacted by opioid-related deaths and related HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. The core of CEG’s success is the CHAMPS (Community HIV/AIDS Model Prevention Services) model, where formerly incarcerated people, rehabilitated substance users, and HIV positive individuals serve as healthcare advocates.
Young consults with the National Institutes of Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Organization, and serves as an advisor to The George Washington University District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research and the Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services. She previously oversaw National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, sponsored by the Office on Women’s Health of the Department of Health and Human Services. Young co-chaired HIV/AIDS prevention groups in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. and has conducted international workshops on HIV/AIDS prevention in Australia, Mexico, and South Africa.
Registration at https://cutt.ly/YAPCafeATY is required to attend the event. Learn more about YAP at www.yapinc.org. Follow YAP @yapinc on Twitter.
