Train Up
Leadership & Advocacy Opportunities for People Living with HIV

Nine self-paced online modules covering PrEP education, insurance navigation, financial assistance pathways, and supporting clients across the PrEP continuum. Updated and recertified in December 2025 with current clinical guidance.[5] Upon completion, you're listed in a national navigator directory. Earns up to 5.0 CE/CME credits (CME, MOC, NCPD, AAPA, CPE, ASWB). This is one of the most practical free certifications available for PLHIV who want to do community health work.

A library of free self-paced e-learning courses built for HIV prevention staff, case managers, peer navigators, and community health workers.[6] Topics include PrEP outreach, community engagement, harm reduction, and linkage to care. Section 508-compliant and accessible. This is the same organization that trains many of the paid staff at your local ASO — and it's free to you.

Year-round online programming specifically for long-term survivors and PLHIV over 50. Covers leadership skills, advocacy strategy, health literacy, and peer empowerment. The program also selects an annual cohort — 50 Scholars in 2025, split evenly between returning and new participants — who receive structured mentorship, attend USCHA, and access mini-grants (typically $1,000–$2,500) to run community projects.[7] If you're over 50 and living with HIV, this is one of the few programs built specifically for you — not just with you as an afterthought.

A year-long, cohort-based curriculum for cisgender and transgender women and gender-diverse people directly impacted by HIV who want to build federal policy leadership. Now in its seventh year, running May 2025 through June 2026.[8] Fellows develop skills in policy analysis, coalition building, research, and relationship-building with lawmakers. The program is designed for people historically underrepresented in federal health policy spaces — which includes most PLHIV women of color. Competitive application, but low barrier by design.

Can't make it to Washington, D.C.? AIDSWatch@Home brings state-based policy training and community advocacy institutes directly to where you are.[4] Grounded in the principle that state and local advocacy is a remarkably powerful — and underused — tool. Covers messaging strategy, how to engage your state legislature, and how to organize in your own community. Virtual format, typically held in connection with the annual AIDSWatch event in March.

A leadership development curriculum specifically designed by and for communities of color most impacted by HIV. Used by community-based organizations across the country, including many in Florida. Focuses on building individual resilience, leadership skills, and community organizing capacity. Often delivered through local partner organizations — check with your ASO or county health department to see if BLOC training is available near you.

A new training initiative from the Prevention Access Campaign (PAC) — the organization behind the global Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U) campaign — built in partnership with the CDC, the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), and the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC).[16] It expands on PAC and CDC's 2024 "Implementing and Scaling-Up Undetectable=Untransmittable" resource guide into virtual and in-person courses, webinars, and workshops for PLHIV, healthcare providers, policymakers, and the public, plus a Training of Trainers (ToT) track to build local capacity to teach U=U in your own community. If you've ever had to explain to a partner, a family member, or even a provider why an undetectable viral load means zero transmission risk, this is where you learn to make that case with the evidence behind it.

Free education, training, and mentoring programs built around a community-driven process that helps participants identify their own health priorities, understand the policies affecting their care, and step into leadership roles in their communities.[18] Open to people living with HIV, people living with or cured of Hepatitis C, people using PrEP, people accessing harm-reduction services, and — through LTI's newest track — people returning to their communities after incarceration. Supported by The AIDS Institute, LTI runs a rolling training calendar, making it one of the more accessible entry points for PLHIV who want structured leadership development with no cost barrier.

A national network for health advocacy leaders, founded and run by The AIDS Institute, built to break down silos between disease-specific advocacy communities.[19] CPALs convenes advocates at the federal, state, and local levels through webinars and in-person events, with a mission of educating and mobilizing health advocacy leaders to develop policy solutions collaboratively. It isn't HIV-exclusive, but it draws heavily on HIV advocacy experience and gives PLHIV advocates a route into broader chronic-disease and healthcare-access policy work.

A paid public policy fellowship named for HIV/AIDS activist Pedro Zamora, built for current students or recent graduates who want a foundation in HIV advocacy and public policy.[20] Fellows work directly with AIDS United's policy department — drafting policy briefs, attending Capitol Hill meetings, supporting AIDSWatch and AIDSWatch@Home logistics, and contributing to the weekly AIDS United Policy Update. The fellowship runs 12–18 weeks at 40 hours per week with a $2,600/month stipend, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis. People living with or affected by HIV are strongly encouraged to apply — this is one of the few paid entry points into full-time HIV policy work in the country.

The largest constituent-driven HIV advocacy event in the country. For 33 years, thousands of HIV advocates have gathered in Washington to train, organize, and then walk the halls of Congress to meet directly with their elected officials. AIDSWatch 2026 (March 16–18) brought together advocates under the theme "Defending Progress, Demanding Justice."[4] Three days: workshops on messaging strategy, PLHIV leadership, policy analysis, and storytelling — followed by Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. Registration is heavily discounted to reduce barriers. If cost is still prohibitive, email the organizers — scholarship support exists.

NMAC's flagship national conference, held each fall. USCHA 2026 is in Anaheim, California (Hilton Anaheim, September 17–20), themed "United and Unbreakable: The HIV Movement at 45" — marking the conference's 30th anniversary and the movement's 45th year.[9] Multi-day event with plenary sessions, skill-building workshops, and dedicated institutes for specific communities — PLHIV, long-term survivors, Black communities, women, and more. This is where the HIV movement takes stock of where it is and where it needs to go. Many first-time attendees describe it as a turning point. NMAC also selects the HIV 50+ Strong & Healthy Scholars specifically to attend this conference with full programming support.

Selected PLHIV over 50 receive a year-long structured program that culminates in attending USCHA with organized programming, mentorship, and peer cohort support.[7] Scholars participate in advocacy efforts, community education initiatives, social media campaigns, and national webinars throughout the year. A mini-grant program supports scholars in developing community projects after the conference. This is one of the most comprehensive free leadership pipelines available to older PLHIV anywhere in the country. Applications open annually — watch NMAC's site.

The Southern HIV Impact Fund supports community organizations in the South — including Florida — that run advocacy retreats for PLHIV.[10] These are smaller, more intimate gatherings focused on network-building, care navigation, leadership skill-building, and community organizing. Funded partner organizations include groups running NMAC-BLOC curriculum, faith-based leadership programs, and women of color organizing cohorts. Check with your local ASO to find out if a funded partner in your area runs retreats.

A biennial, multi-day national training academy that centers the leadership of people living with HIV in the fight to end HIV criminalization, mass incarceration, and social injustice.[17] Organized by SERO Project with partner organizations including Positive Women's Network-USA, Positively Trans, and the U.S. PLHIV Caucus, HINAC brings together PLHIV, HIV policy leaders, legal professionals, and public health experts for skills-building grounded in current science and legal strategy. HINAC7 is set for summer 2027 (location and dates to be announced); scholarship nominations are open now, with nominations closing September 27, 2026 and completed applications due October 15, 2026 — a free "How to Apply" webinar runs August 20, 2026. If you live in one of the more than 30 states where HIV non-disclosure can still lead to criminal prosecution, this training is built specifically for that fight.

The state's certification pathway for HIV counselors and testers. HIV 500 (basic) and HIV 501 (advanced) are required for anyone providing publicly funded HIV testing in Florida. The online coursework is free through the TRAIN Florida platform; the in-person classroom component is offered through county health departments including Broward, Miami-Dade, Orange, Hillsborough, and Pinellas. If you want to volunteer at testing events, work at a testing site, or become a certified counselor, this is the required path. It's also one of the most substantive free HIV education programs available in the state.

Several of Florida's largest AIDS service organizations offer peer navigator training for PLHIV, often with stipends or paid employment pathways. These programs teach you how to help other PLHIV find care, navigate benefits, and stay engaged in treatment — using your own experience as the foundation. Organizations that have offered these programs include Latinos Salud (South Florida), Pridelines (Miami-Dade), SunServe (Broward), Compass (Palm Beach), and Tampa's Metro Inclusive Health. Program availability changes — call your regional ASO directly and ask about peer programs.

In January 2026, the Florida Department of Health moved to cut AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) eligibility from 400% to 130% of the federal poverty level, citing a $120 million shortfall — a change that would have stripped medication access from thousands of low-income Floridians. AIDS Healthcare Foundation sued the state, and advocates mobilized publicly.[14] By late March 2026, Gov. DeSantis signed emergency bridge funding restoring 400% FPL eligibility for more than 12,000 Floridians, and the FY2026–27 state budget signed July 1, 2026 made that restoration permanent.[14] This is a live, current example of what trained, organized PLHIV advocacy can accomplish in this state — and exactly why the programs on this page exist.