VICE CHAIRPERSON
YOLANDA SIMON
Ms Yolanda Simon was born in Trinidad and Tobago and has been involved in HIV and AIDS education in the Caribbean from as early as 1989. Over the years she has supported the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre in numerous counselling and education initiatives and as a member of its advocacy team, was involved in promoting HIV awareness and prevention to the Heads of Government and National AIDS Programmes in the region. She has also been a consultant with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and has contributed to several publications. Additionally, she has presented at numerous fora focussing on the planning and implementation of National AIDS Programmes and the empowerment and capacity-building of PLHIV.
Ms Simon continues to be an advocate and champion of people living with HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. She is a founding member of the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) and a former board member of the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+). She is also the co-founder of the Caribbean Regional Network of People Living with HIV (CRN+). As the Executive Director of CRN+, she was one of the original six signatories in the formation of the Pan-Caribbean partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) and, under Ms. Simon’s stewardship; CRN+ was the first civil society organisation in the world to secure a grant from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).
Ms Yolanda Simon was the Chairperson for the 10th International Conference for People Living with HIV held in Trinidad and Tobago, and was also the International Co-Chair for the Community Programme Committee for AIDS 2014 held in Australia. Ms Yolanda Simon is the Vice Chairperson of the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC), as well as the Vice Chairperson of The International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) Ms Simon is currently the Assistant Manager at the HIV Workplace Advocacy Unit within the Ministry of Labour.
Ms. Yolanda Simon holds a BSc in Sociology and an MSc in Gender and Development Studies from the University of the West Indies. She has also pursued studies in, Social Policy and Planning, HIV and the Law and Community Development Leadership.