Ciara Zachary, Chair
Ciara Zachary is an assistant professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Prior to coming to NC Child, Ciara worked as a policy analyst on the Health Advocacy Project at the NC Justice Center and as health program director at NC Child. In addition to research and analysis, she worked with statewide partners and coalitions to protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Through this work, Ciara began working with NC AIDS Action Network to fully implement the ACA by expanding Medicaid. She also has experience as a public health researcher focusing on injury prevention. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Ciara relocated to the Triangle in 2015. Ciara received her doctorate from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, her Master’s from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeffery Edwards-Knight
Jeffery Edwards-Knight is the supervisor of the HIV/ STD Community Testing and Outreach program at Mecklenburg County Public Health. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Jeffery was selected to attend and graduated from the African American HIV University in Los Angeles, sponsored by the Black AIDS Institute in collaboration with UCLA. Jeffery was featured in the POZ 100 Celebration of 100 long-term survivors. He started his work in the HIV field with the Metrolina AIDS Project as the MSM Health Educator in 2006.
In the past, Jeffery has served on the boards of the Charlotte Lesbian and Gay Community Center, Metrolina AIDS Project and the North Carolina AIDS Action Network, where he served as President. He has served on the State Community Planning Group with the North Carolina Communicable Disease Unit and the Mecklenburg County HIV Council. Jeffery now serves on the Mecklenburg County Getting to Zero Committee and the North Carolina Ending the Epidemic Committee. He heads the Mecklenburg County PrEP Initiative and has presented at numerous conferences and organized workshops around HIV. Jeffery currently is a member of the Charlotte BTAN (Black Treatment Advocates Network) chapter where he served on the Executive Committee.
Chelsea Gulden
Chelsea Gulden is a longtime HIV advocate, service provider and inspiring national speaker. She joined the RAIN staff in 2010 after creating and implementing the first comprehensive program serving HIV positive youth in North Carolina, Empowering Positive Youth (EPY). EPY regularly receives national attention for its peer leadership model. The program has served over 1,000 positive youth through individual case management and support groups. Gulden began working in the HIV service sector shortly after her own diagnosis. She is an expert in HIV service delivery, programming and prevention. She brings 15 years of experience in coordinating programs for optimal health. Gulden spoke at the national virtual Ryan White conference and was a co-presenter on Intersectional Stigma and HIV for the National Institute of Health. She is currently Co-Chair of the Ryan White HIV Planning Body for Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union, and York Counties. She is a presenter at national conferences, college campuses and a frequent guest on radio/television broadcasts. In 2006, she was a panelist on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Gulden has conducted prevention work in Ghana Africa and participated in the U.S. Executive Summary Report advocating for Comprehensive Sexual Education in schools. Gulden has received numerous honors including features in POZ Magazine and HIV Plus. She holds a Masters of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focused on the intersection of intimate partner violence and HIV. She has additional training in trauma informed care. She is currently the President and CEO at RAIN, Inc. in Charlotte NC.
Jared Carter-Davis
Jared Carter-Davis is an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (AGNP-C), specializing in the treatment of Infectious Diseases including HIV/AIDS. He currently serves as Principal Investigator, Medical Director and Ryan White Program Director at East Carolina University (ECU) Adult Specialty Care. Prior to this position, he served as Director of Infectious Diseases and Mobile Health Services at Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC) in Ahoskie, NC.
He previously worked with underserved communities in Philadelphia at two FQHCs, where he led an Infectious Disease program for the treatment and prevention of viral Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS. He obtained his clinical training and education at The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, where he completed his Bachelors and Masters of Science. He received post- Masters certifications in HIV/AID primary care and as a hepatitis C treatment provider through The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
While completing his education, Jared led a team in the creation of a comprehensive HIV pre- exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program at an addiction treatment center in East Baltimore, MD. He published multiple research articles on his findings, most recently in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, entitled A model for increasing access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services in the substance use population. Before his work in healthcare, Jared worked in Equity Research and Corporate Finance at multiple large corporations in New York City. He obtained his first Bachelor’s degree from Brown University, concentrating in Public and Private Sector Organizations and is a proud native New Yorker, born and raised.
Mike Weir
Mike Weir is a senior manager on the Policy and Legislative Affairs team at NASTAD (National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors). He assists in the implementation of NASTAD’s legislative and policy priorities on HIV and hepatitis-related federal appropriations and legislative priorities. Mike currently serves as an elected member and Co-Chair of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP) and HIV Prevention Action Coalition. Prior to NASTAD, he interned at the White House in the Employee Benefits Division and the Office of National AIDS Policy, as well as at the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (RAIN) in Charlotte, NC. Originally from New Bern, NC, Mike now resides in Washington, DC. Mike received his Master of Public Health from the George Washington University and B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Grace Wilkins
Grace Wilkins has delivered care to people living with HIV/AIDS since the early 1980s. She provides care to the HIV & AIDS population of eastern North Carolina at ECU Adult Specialty Care, where she is also the Director of Clinical Operations. She is a board-certified nurse practitioner through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She has over 20 years of clinical research experience involving clinical trials for the development of new medications to treat HIV. She maintains the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry at ECU Adult Specialty Care for women who receive HIV treatment during pregnancy. She lectures locally, statewide, and nationally at HIV-related conferences and to community, student and provider groups. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1982. She completed a Master’s in Public Administration from East Carolina University in 1998. She received her Master’s in Nursing from the Duke University School of Nursing in 1998. She is most passionate about delivering direct patient care. She is devoted to community service and is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams graduated from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University with a BS in Mathematics and BFA in Professional Theatre. He went on to earn his Masters in Mathematical Physics from Indiana University. Chester has worked in education for over 10 years in Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina respectively. Chester is passionate about uplifting youth and communities throughout rural North Carolina, creating opportunities for them to shape a healthier world in their own communities and beyond. He is the CEO and founder of A Better Chance A Better Community (ABC2), an organization which connects rural communities with resources and opportunities to activate youth power and advocate for realistic solutions and healthier lifestyles. Chester also has Nonprofit Management Certification from Duke University.
J. Maurice McCants-Pearsall
J. Maurice McCants-Pearsall is the Director of Government Relations at ViiV Healthcare. McCants-Pearsall previously served as the Director of HIV and Health Equity at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). While at HRC, he secured $3.2 million dollars in funding to launch the nation’s first community-based in-home HIV testing program, developed the nation’s first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Health Center Directory, established a leadership council for minority-led and serving community-based organizations (CBO), designed a youth advocacy program that utilized storytelling to mobilize communities disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, and launched an expansive multimedia campaign to dismantle HIV- related stigma in Black and Latinx communities. With additional funding from ViiV Healthcare, he developed CommUNITY Voices. A series of national forums for Black gay and bisexual men in partnership with Native Son.
During the 115 th United States Congress (2019), McCants-Pearsall was listed in the congressional record as a subject matter expert in the introduction of then Senator Kamala Harris’ PrEP Access and Coverage Act. The legislation would require all public and private health insurance plans to cover the drug—as well as all required tests and follow-up visits—without a copay, just as the Affordable Care Act requires insurance to cover contraception and other preventive services.
Prior to joining HRC, McCants-Pearsall lead HIV prevention for communities of color at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health-AIDS Activities Coordinating Office. While at PHPD, he was an active member of the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine-Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), Ryan White Planning Council, American Public Health Association (APHA), and the Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services (UCHAPS). He is a former board member of the Public Health Young Leaders Association, New York Urban League Young Professionals and 100 Black Men of Greater Washington DC.
McCants-Pearsall earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from Audrey Cohen College, a Master of Business Administration from Metropolitan College-University of London, a post- baccalaureate from Howard University School of Law, and a certification in Community Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
McCants-Pearsall lives in Washington, D.C., with his husband Kenneth and two sons.
Marlene L. Sanders
Marlene L. Sanders is a director for Merck State Government Affairs and Policy where she has been a government affairs executive since 2007. Marlene’s passion for public policy, patient access and health education has guided her career. One of her career highlights was being named a Merck Richard T. Clark Global Health Fellow serving in Johannesburg, South Africa for Project Hope. Marlene supported community health literacy, clinic staff development and led fundraising strategies for the organization. Her leadership experience includes serving as the PhRMA State Legislative Task Force Chair in Tennessee for several years.
Prior to joining Merck, Marlene worked at Eli Lilly and Company in patient advocacy and alliance development. There she supported the formation of patient coalitions and advanced mental health and diabetes care access for patients in the southeast region. She began her work in government affairs, public policy and lobbying at Smith Johnson and Carr, in Nashville, Tennessee after graduating with a B.S. in Political Science from Middle Tennessee State University.
Marlene has served on several boards and committees in the Nashville community, such as, Susan G. Komen, Nashville Cares, and Better Decisions prior to moving to North Carolina in 2020. She serves on the NC Life Science Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, the Public Policy committee, as well as the Board.
She holds master’s degrees in Public Administration and English. Marlene is married and lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Elijah King
Elijah King graduated from high school in Durham, North Carolina, where he co-founded the Durham Neighbor’s Free Lunch Initiative and the Durham Youth Environmental Initiative. King is the current Third Vice Chair of the North Carolina Democratic party and has held key leadership positions within the North Carolinas Democratic Party, including the executive committees of the state party, the 4th Congressional District, and the Durham Democratic Party. He is currently working as a communications professional with a particular focus on government relations and digital organizing.
