28th Annual Empowerment Conference

THROUGH THE AGES

Day

Hour

Minute

Second

Friday, September 19, 2025

Xavier University of Louisiana • 4955 Drexel Drive, NOLA 70125
University Center, William McCaffrey Ballroom

Empowerment 2025

CrescentCare’s annual Empowerment Conference is a space for the HIV community across Louisiana and neighboring states to come together to connect, learn, and grow.

Last year, Empowerment Conference featured Sex Positivity, and assembled more than 100 community members to learn about stigma, advancements in HIV science, advocacy opportunities, and more. This year, our conference theme is Through the Ages as we highlight all aspects of age and HIV across the lifespan. This year’s topics will include youth and HIV, HIV and aging, long-term and life-term survivors, and more!

Empowerment 2025 proposal submission has ended.

Request Exhibitor Space

Become an Empowerment 2025 Sponsor!

2025 Conference Schedule

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Registration & Breakfast (McCaffrey Ballroom, 3rd Floor)

10:00 am – 10:15 am

Opening Remarks

10:15 am – 10:45 am

Partner Plenary 1

Presenter: Avita Pharmacy
Location: McCaffrey Ballroom Mainstage

Breakfast provided

10:50 am – 11:50 am

Partner Plenary 2: HIV in the South

Presenter: ViiV Healthcare
Location: McCaffrey Ballroom Mainstage

11:50 am – 12:15 am

Lunch

Classic Sandwich Lunch Boxes

Includes choice of sandwich or wrap, apple, chips, cookie and beverage.

Classic Turkey: Classic turkey with Swiss cheese on Kaiser roll (75)
Grilled Chicken on Kaiser roll (75)
Roast beef and cheddar cheese on Kaiser roll (75)
Vegan/Vegetarian Wrap (75)
Chocolate Chip Cookie: Just baked chewy cookies with chocolate chips galore
Coke
Sprite
Diet Coke
Bottled Water

12:15 pm – 1:30 pm

Partner Plenary 3: Keep Being You Program

Presenter: Gilead
Location: McCaffrey Ballroom Mainstage

Lunch provided

1:45 pm – 2:45 pm
Breakout Session 1
Track A

Project Disrupt – Makers of the Movement

Presenter: Brandon Dykes, ViiV Healthcare
Location: Ballroom Mainstage

Project Disrupt is an immersive experience that seeks to challenge, inspire, and re-ignite the movement maker in us all.

1:45 pm – 2:45 pm
Breakout Session 1
Track B

Living & Thriving Through the Ages: Breaking Stigma, Building Understanding

Presenter: Grace Johnson, Odyssey House
Location: Ballroom Breakout

This workshop explores the intersections of HIV and age, with a focus on dismantling stigma, promoting prevention, and reinforcing person-first language.

1:45 pm – 2:45 pm
Breakout Session 1
Track C

Find Yourself in the Data: How NORAPC AI Helps You Ask Better Questions

Location: Room 205

This will be an interactive, problem-focused workshop exploring the use of AI tools to deepen understanding of Planning Council resources. After a brief introduction and demonstration, attendees will be invited to use prepared prompts—or their own questions—to “test” the NORAPC AI tool live. Participants will explore how the tool responds to different queries and see how the answers can help inform care decisions, advocacy, and Planning Council engagement.

(SOCIAL WORK CEU AVAILABLE)

1:45 pm – 2:45 pm
Breakout Session 1
Track D

Youth-Centered Intergenerational Roundtable

Location: Room 205C

This youth-led session features a roundtable discussion centering teens and young adults and oriented around gender and sexual identity, healthy communication, and how to take charge of our health.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Breakout Session 2
Track A

HIV Treatment Evolution

Presenter: Kieta Mutepfa, Community Liaison, Gilead
Location: Ballroom Mainstage

Hear from our key partners at Gilead about the evolution of HIV treatment advancements, including recent updates.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Breakout Session 2
Track B

Implementation and Utilization trends of the EHE Health Models PLUS Program at a Single Agency

Presenters: Dr. Natasha Dyer Eberly, Southeast Louisiana Area Health Education Center (SELAHEC); Dr. Daniel Murdock, Ryan White Services and Resources
Location: Ballroom Breakout

Using data visualizations, client engagement with the EHE Health Models PLUS Program will be examined, with specific attention to demographic categories including age, race, gender, and site of HIV-related care. Utilization patterns will be analyzed in the context of both the agency’s client base and that of the broader New Orleans Eligible Metropolitan Area (EMA).

(SOCIAL WORK CEU AVAILABLE)

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Breakout Session 2
Track C

Peer Educators: A Role of Resistance

Presenter: Bernadette St. Amand, CrescentCare
Location: Room 205

Being a “peer educator” is a well-known and valued role in HIV healthcare communities. For people who are living with HIV and who may also have other intersecting marginalized identities, current United States politics signal the reduction of physical safety, right to self-determination, and access to basic resources like healthcare, food, education, and the right to vote. Please join us for a conversation about how peer educating may be used in our everyday lives as an act of resistance to these political repressions, including discussion of how to assess who may be a good candidate for an educational exchange, what environments are most conducive to this learning, and review of evidence-based adult learning tools.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Breakout Session 2
Track D

From Access to Advocacy: Advancing Telehealth Across the HIV & Disability Lifespan

Presenter: Jakeel D. Abdullah, NOAGE & United States International Council on Disabilities
Location: Room 205C

This session explores how telehealth and telemedicine can transform general HIV care for those with disabilities across all stages of life, from youth to older adulthood. We will highlight both the opportunities and challenges of virtual care, offering insights from medical, academic, and legislative perspectives.

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Closing Plenary: Aging Positively: A Panel Discussion with Long-Term Survivors

Presenter: Gilead
Moderator: Jim Meadows, NOAGE
Location: McCaffrey Ballroom Mainstage

Thank you to our Empowerment 2025 Presenting Sponsors: