Improving HIV Prevention and Care for Ventura County Latinos

Adina Nack, an assistant professor of sociology at CLU, is a medical sociologist who earned her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has won national awards for her research on the stigma of sexually transmitted diseases and has published academic articles on areas exploring how sex, gender, ethnicity, and social class impact infected individuals' experiences of STD diagnosis and treatment.

Nack has been a member of Ventura County's HIV/AIDS Coalition since 2003 and has been involved with HIV/AIDS education for the past 12 years as an outreach worker, health educator, researcher and professor of sexuality studies.

Her presentation will draw on a community-based, in-depth interview study of Latino men living with HIV/AIDS in Ventura County.

Jose Marichal, an assistant professor of political science at CLU, received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 2003. His areas of teaching and research interest include public deliberation and policymaking, social networking and community development, civic engagement and race/ethnic politics. His current research examines the relationship between university efforts to promote racial and ethnic diversity and university efforts to promote civic engagement.

His work has appeared in Policy Studies Review and Urban Affairs Review among others. Currently he is a board member of El Concilio del Condado de Ventura and chairs the Social Mapping Committee of Ventura County’s Latino HIV/AIDS Task Force.

His presentation shows how the findings of Dr. Nack’s study inspired the creation of Ventura County's first HIV/AIDS Latino Taskforce.

The Alma and Clifford Pearson Distinguished Speakers Series is presented by the Center for Leadershp and Values in the School of Business.