95 - Courage Is Contagious: Become an Advocate for Change in Challenging Times

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

7:45 AM - 9:00 AM US ET

Location: B216-B217

CME Credits: Maximum of 1.5 hours of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
MOC Credits: Maximum of 1.5 hours of MOC Credit
CNE Credits: Maximum of 1.5 hours of ANCC Credit
ACPE Credits: ACPE 1.5 knowledge-based contact hours of pharmacy CE
ACPE Number: JA0007082-9999-24-002-L01-P
PACE Credits: Maximum of 1.5 of PACE contact hours
CE Broker: Maximum of 1.5 CE broker credit hours

Moderator(s)

JR

Jose Rodriguez (he/him/his)

Associate Director of Public Policy & Advocacy
HIVMA
Arlington, VA, United States

Slides

Interactive Moderator(s)

Kinna Thakarar, DO, MPH (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor of Medicine
MaineHealth Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine
South Portland, ME, United States

Faculty(s)

Amanda Jezek (she/her/hers)

Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Government Relations
IDSA
Arlington, VA, United States
Andrea Weddle, MSW (she/her/hers)

Executive Director, HIVMA
IDSA
Arlington, VA, United States
Melanie Thompson, MD (she/her/hers)

Past Principal Investigator
AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta
Atlanta, GA, United States
JN

Jason Newland, MD, MEd (he/him/his)

Professor of Pediatrics
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Columbus, OH, United States
Jerrica Werner, MD

Infectious Disease Fellow
University of Washington, WA, United States
Kinna Thakarar, DO, MPH (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor of Medicine
MaineHealth Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine
South Portland, ME, United States
Priya Nori, MD, FSHEA, FIDSA (she/her/hers)

Priya Nori, MD
Montefiore Health System
Bronx, NY, United States
RA

Rabita Aziz, MPH (she/her/hers)

Associate Director of Advocacy
IDSA
Arlington, VA, United States

Disclosure(s):

Jose Rodriguez: No financial relationships to disclose.

Kinna Thakarar, DO, MPH: Maine Medical Center: Volunteer Board member

Amanda Jezek: No financial relationships to disclose.

Andrea Weddle, MSW: No financial relationships to disclose.

Melanie A. Thompson, MD: Excision Biotherapeutics: Chair, Independent Data Monitoring Committee

Jason G. Newland, MD, MEd: Pfizer: Grant/Research Support

Jerrica L. Werner, MD: No financial relationships to disclose.

Priya Nori, MD, FSHEA, FIDSA: No financial relationships to disclose.

Rabita Aziz, MPH: No financial relationships to disclose.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:

identify opportunities for educating members of Congress and other key policymakers and advocating for infectious diseases and HIV policy priorities;
discuss strategies to effectively communicate with and develop relationships with policymakers and their staff to advance policy priorities, including story telling techniques;
describe and utilize the various IDSA-facilitated advocacy opportunities and tools necessary to influence policy development at the federal level.

Presentations:

7:45 AM - 8:00 AM US ET

Washington Watch: The Latest ID & HIV Policy News
Speaker: Amanda Jezek (she/her/hers) – IDSA
Speaker: Andrea Weddle, MSW (she/her/hers) – IDSA
8:00 AM - 8:25 AM US ET

Advocacy in Action
Speaker: Kinna Thakarar, DO, MPH (she/her/hers) – MaineHealth Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine
Speaker: Melanie A. Thompson, MD (she/her/hers) – AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta
Speaker: Jerrica L. Werner, MD – University of Washington
Speaker: Priya Nori, MD, FSHEA, FIDSA (she/her/hers) – Montefiore Health System
8:25 AM - 8:40 AM US ET

Story Telling for Advocacy
Speaker: Jason G. Newland, MD, MEd (he/him/his) – Nationwide Children's Hospital
8:40 AM - 8:50 AM US ET

Interactive Story Telling Training
Speaker: Rabita Aziz, MPH (she/her/hers) – IDSA
Speaker: Jose Rodriguez (he/him/his) – HIVMA
8:50 AM - 9:00 AM US ET

Member Advocacy Program/Online Training Modules
Speaker: Rabita Aziz, MPH (she/her/hers) – IDSA
Speaker: Jose Rodriguez (he/him/his) – HIVMA