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Every month through “Destacades” Zero will highlight two LGBTQ Latines leaders from one region/state during a one-hour virtual dialogue. Destacades will put a spotlight on the work, activism, and community leadership of LGBTQIA+ Latine leaders across the country and discuss the innovative and everyday ways we can and should resist homophobia/transphobia.
Destacades will be recorded and held live on Zoom while being streamed on social media. Conversations will have a rotating host of Zero representatives and be in English or Spanish with interpretation provided for those who are not fully bilingual.
DESTACADES 2: PUERTO RICO, 6/14/2023
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TBA soon!
Mila Genesis Hellfyre is a trans woman, the mother of the Haus of Hellfyre, and a student at the Rio Piedras campus. She is currently in her 5th year of college where she studies Marketing, Economics, and Women's and Gender Studies. On the Rio Piedras campus, she currently directs the Gender Committee, the Housing Committee and the Library Committee . She is also the founder of the Cuir Youth Library of Puerto Rico, a community project that seeks to safeguard queer literature and preserve the stories of LGBTQI people from Puerto Rico and the diaspora. Additionally, she is the vice president of Sé visible PR, an organization led by trans women who work in public policy and seek to solve the different needs of the trans community.
Mila also stands out for being a model, poet, and storyteller.
DESTACADES 1: GEORGIA, 5/17/2023
Jennifer Perez Arellano is an activist, influencer, and radio host living in Atlanta from southern Mexico. Earlier this year, she became the first Atlanta-based Mexican citizen to change her gender-marker on her birth certificate. On her radio show, “Jenny sin censura”, she connects with other Latinos and discusses cultural issues without limits. Throughout her journey to becoming so outspoken, Jennifer has experienced many setbacks due to stigma from society, other individuals, and sometimes herself. These personal struggles inspired her to give back to the trans and LGB community in any way she can. On a regular week, you can find Jennifer working her day job as a stylist, hosting her radio show, or participating in an event educating the Latino public about homophobia/transphobia.
Carlos S. Saldana, MD, is the HIV Medical Advisor for Georgia Department of Public Health’s HIV Program and Chief fellow in the Division of Infectious Disease at Emory University School of Medicine. His work is centered around Hispanic and Latino communities with or at risk of acquiring HIV. Dr. Saldana leads the Metropolitan Atlanta Cluster Detection and Response Team and focuses primarily on HIV molecular cluster detection, collaborating with the Fulton County Board of Health and the Georgia Department of Public Health.