In 2013, I joined the Life Foundation (one of the first HIV/AIDS programs in the country) as a Board Member to more directly support the community I served through my biomedical research. In 2019, we merged with CHOW Project (supporting people affected by substance abuse) to form the Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center (H3RC). We have since broadened our services to Hawai‘i Communities by reducing harm and fighting the stigma of homelessness, substance use, mental illness, and poverty in our community. We focus our efforts on those disproportionately affected by the social determinants of health, including but not limited to: people living with or affected by HIV, hepatitis, substance use, and the transgender, LGBTQ, and the Native Hawaiian communities. We also foster health, wellness, and systemic change in Hawai‘i and the Pacific through care services, advocacy, training, prevention, education, and capacity building.

I continue my advocacy because I am committed to advancing the fight against HIV/AIDS and representing our underserved communities.