In Memoriam
The HIV research and advocacy communities have lost some extraordinary women in 2024. Here we pay tribute to three in particular, who will be remembered with abiding affectionand admiration:
Ada (Adaora) Adimora, MD, MPH
A groundbreaking epidemiologist, clinician, mentor, and Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Medicine at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Adimora was a widely admired researcher and advocate for HIV and women’s health. She called for the voices of women and their firsthand experiences to be included in national and global conversations about HIV prevention, care, and research. Her efforts to highlight racial and gender inequalities in HIV-related healthcare included researching the epidemiology of heterosexual transmission of HIV among African-Americans, and advocating for more data on PrEP for HIV prevention among women, particularly Black women, who are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Dr. Adimora died on New Year’s Day, 2024.
Hydeia Broadbent
Hydeia was born with HIV in 1984. She began her career as a speaker and AIDS activist at age six, appearing on national television including The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1996 she made an appearance at the Republican National Convention. Based in Las Vegas, Hydeia spent her time traveling around the U.S. educating people about HIV/AIDS, raising awareness, and fighting HIV-related stigma and discrimination. In 2017, she was profiled in amfAR’s Epic Voices interview series, with her video garnering 50,000 views. She died at her home in Las Vegas on February 20, 2024, at the age of 39.
Cecilia Gentili
An immigrant from Argentina, Cecilia Gentili sought refuge in the U.S. as a transgender woman. Undocumented for 10 years, during which time she survived as a sex worker and had multiple run-ins with police for her substance use, she was finally granted asylum. She was a fearless and forceful advocate for people living with HIV, people of transgender experience, sex workers, and immigrants, among others. In New York City, she became managing director of policy at GMHC and helped pass GENDA, a 2019 New York law banning discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression. She founded Decrim NY, a coalition working towards the decriminalization, decarceration, and destigmatization of people in the sex trade, and Transgender Equity Consulting, which advises companies on equity issues and advocates for trans women of color, sex workers, immigrants, and incarcerated people. She was also a playwright and actress.