This is how community engagement advocate Diana Feliz Oliva has broken barriers for others…
You can read the transcript of their conversation below. The thoughts and opinions of Diana Feliz Olivas are hers and not those of Gilead Sciences.
DIANA
The more information and the knowledge and education regarding HIV, the more powerful we become.
KARL
Hello, there. Welcome to +TALK talk on +LIFE, where we’re all about turning positive into a plus. Today my guest is joining me from Mexico City. It’s Diana Feliz Oliva. Good to see you, Diana.
DIANA
Hi, how are you, Karl?
KARL
I’m very well, thank you. We’re gonna get to the fact that you’ve broken quite a few milestones in your time, especially with Gilead Pharmaceuticals. We’ll get to that in a bit, but I want to take you back to 2000 when you were diagnosed with HIV. Walk me through what is going through your mind as somebody, I’ve got my notes here say that you were struggling with your gender identity back then, so you’ve got that, and then you get an HIV diagnosis. What’s that moment like?
DIANA
I was born in a small rural agricultural town in central California outside the big city of Fresno. There’s a small town called Sanger, mostly Latinos, mostly farm workers, mostly conservative, churchgoing, strict values and morals. And so growing up as a shy, feminine, awkward little kid in that small town was difficult. I-
To say the least Didn’t develop, yes, right? And so I didn’t develop the healthy levels of self-esteem that I needed for decisions later in life. In my twenties, I decided to come out, as you say, right? Or begin my transition. I just really hung out with my LGBTQ chosen family, my tribe and tried to navigate my gender identity and all my other multiple overlapping identities through the Latino cultural script that I was programmed to adopt, right? And then also struggling with my gender identity at the same time. And so walking into the public health department for Fresno County at that time, walking into that clinic was already stigmatizing because everybody knew when you walked into that public health department clinic, you’re only going for one reason, HIV testing or STI testing, right? And so you’re automatically labeled.
KARL
I’ve been there with my HIV diagnosis. It’s crazy that 41 years after the discovery of this, we’re still having those same reactions that you talked about, that I had, that I spoke to somebody the other day who was diagnosed two years ago still had, and I’m sure the young person in the clinic today who gets that news today will still have, so-
DIANA
Yeah, and I don’t think-
KARL
How do you get beyond that?
DIANA
Yeah, and to be honest, I don’t think that that stigma or shame will probably ever go away if we’re not openly enough to talk about sex, because I think that’s the dominating factor.
KARL
Oh my gosh, I agree completely.
DIANA
Our society, we show images of sex and we see it all around. but to actually have family discussions around the kitchen table around sex or having sex education in schools, where some states are prohibiting that, I don’t think, and once we get over the sex taboo subject and then we can actually eliminate the stigma and shame attached to HIV.
KARL
Tell me about the big milestone, the groundbreaking, the life-changing moment that happened for you in 2017.
DIANA
Well, in 2017, I was recruited by Gilead Sciences to be their community liaison for the greater Los Angeles area. And a dear friend of mine and a mentor who was in the HIV field for many years recruited me because she was already a community liaison. She was switching roles to sell Truvada for PrEP at that time, and she said, “I think you would be a great community liaison. “You’ve been in the field for a number of years. “You’re positive, you’ve been on meds. “You can relate to community and patients,” and so she recommended me and I got interviewed and luckily enough I was hired. And when I was hired in 2017, in November, five years ago, I became the first openly trans person to be hired in its 30 year company history at Gilead, and then just made really successful inroads in Los Angeles. I was in my role for about nine months and then was given the opportunity to speak on the main stage at the United States Conference on HIV and AIDS in Orlando in I think September of 2018. And all of Gilead leadership team was there. You know, we always do a lunch plenary session for Minority AIDS Project. And we had the first trans panel during the lunch session, which hadn’t never been done at the USEHA conference before. And so I moderated that panel, and because of that opportunity that was afforded to me by Gilead, the Gilead leadership team was there, and afterwards we came back to the table at Gilead and they started picking my brain and started reaching out to me and saying, “Hey, we wanna develop some trans health equity initiatives. “Can you help with that?” And I said, why don’t you create a rotation program or kind of like a fellowship program for me to leave the field in Los Angeles, come to Foster City, our corporate headquarters office, and work with the public affairs team to actually be intentional of developing initiatives and strategies to support the trans HIV communities. And so it was agreed upon. I left LA, moved to Foster City for three months, and created the TRANScend Community Impact Fund, which is a huge milestone that I’m very proud of that we were able to create. We’re the largest funder for trans-led organizations in the country, and then the following year got to help them manage the HIV decriminalization initiative, which is the largest funding source in the US, to help decriminalize HIV laws that are still happening in like 28 states-
KARL
Yeah.
DIANA
Unfortunately, and which I was personally impacted by. In 2002, when I arrived in Los Angeles, I was struggling with not only my gender identity still and my HIV status that I ended up resorting to survival sex work on the streets and was arrested numerous times, was incarcerated because of my HIV status, because it was enhanced from a misdemeanor to a felony and spent some time in county jail. And so now I get to 20 years later full circle moment where I get to help manage grantees and the work that we’re doing on behalf of Gilead to decriminalize HIV, because criminalizing people living with HIV also creates stigma and discrimination and decreases access to HIV testing. Because if you’re a sex worker, you’re not gonna get tested because you don’t wanna know you’re status, because if you get caught loitering with the intent to solicit, then it automatically-
KARL
I know.
DIANA
Becomes public and legal record.
KARL
Yep.
DIANA
And they could enhance those charges moving forward, so.
KARL
What’s the most important message that you want to communicate, not just to your trans family out there, but any young person or any person for that matter who might be struggling with the idea that perhaps they’ve contracted HIV, but they’re still too afraid to walk into that clinic. Much like you said you were, that fear of walking into that clinic because anyone who might have seen you would know, we know why she’s going in there. What’s the most important message you want to share about that?
DIANA
You know, I think, if I can go back in time almost 23 years later and tell the young person that was fearful of going into the clinic and saying, you know what? No matter what the news or the outcome may be at this visit, that you will survive. That you already have built some resiliency and some perseverance and determination of owning your own health, and I think a huge step is just walking into that clinic, meeting with your providers, getting the test, and understanding your diagnosis. Because I think the more information and the knowledge and education regarding HIV, the more powerful we become. And we could get to become the authors of our own stories. We are able to direct the narrative that we want everybody to see, and then so I would say to that young person 23 years ago or to any person that’s fearful or has the stigma or embarrassment or shame around HIV diagnosis or HIV testing, rather, is that it’s gonna be okay, that you have a whole tribe of people that are HIV positive that are gonna support you and surround you if that’s the case. And if not, you’re gonna have another tribe of people that is gonna help you provide you the necessary tools and resources in order for you to stay HIV negative, right? And so I wanna say to that person out there who’s struggling with their HIV status or not, is that you have a whole network of people that love you, that support you, and that will always be here to embrace you no matter what.
KARL
And we are grateful for all the fantastic work that you do, but also Gilead Sciences and what you with them are doing to help make it easier for people when they go into those clinics, so that the people sitting on the other side of that desk are more informed and are more, as you said, compassionate and understanding of just how much it takes a person to step through those doors to get tested. And it’s sad that 41 years after we discovered this virus, that people are still afraid to walk through those doors and get those tests. Diana, thank you so much for your time. I wish we had longer to chat, but great talking to you and thank you for sharing your story.
DIANA
Thank you so much, Karl, anytime.
KARL
That’s gonna do it for this episode of +TALK If you want more information, check out the website, pluslifemedia.com, and remember, and please follow us across social media platforms. We are at @pluslifemedia. Until next time, be nice to one another, say hi to your neighbor, and we’ll see you soon.