The AIDS Memorial Quilt as Radical Public History

Michaela Howells is an associate professor of biological anthropology and director of the Growth Adaptation Pregnancy Stress (GAPS) Lab. Her research focuses on how health risks rooted in inequalities within the social environment shape people’s happiness, health, and biology. Her interdisciplinary, international, and community work has been published in anthropology, human biology, sociology, behavior, physiology, and pedagogical spaces both scholarly and applied.

Jennifer Le Zotte, associate professor of history and director for UNCW’s Public History program, writes and teaches about material culture, sex, gender, race, and capitalism. She is the author of From Goodwill to Grunge: A History of Secondhand Styles and Alternative Economies (UNC Press, 2017) and multiple other essays and articles, both scholarly and popular.

LeShonda Wallace is an Advanced Practice Nurse at Novant Health, Infectious Disease Specialists, and the Executive Director for SEEDS of Healing, Inc., a community-based HIV/AIDS service organization. Her work focuses on achieving health equity and improving health for marginalized populations. Her strategies for success include creating interdisciplinary practice treatment protocols and advocacy across silos to eliminate health disparities caused by social inequities. She builds capacity for service through partnerships with community-based organizations and NC universities.

Edward Adams is a long-term HIV survivor and a dedicated advocate for those living with HIV. Most recently he served as the director for Silver Pride Circle (previously SAGE Wilmington) and is an active member in the NC AIDS Action Network and HIV Speaks on Jones Street. He is a strong community collaborator, organizer and advocate for the “power of the Quilt.”

Jeffrey Mills is a long-term HIV survivor and a dedicated advocate for those living with HIV. Most recently he served as the director for SAGE Wilmington through the LGBT Center of the Cape Fear Coast and is an active member in the NC AIDS Action Network and HIV Speaks on Jones Street. He is a strong community collaborator, organizer and advocate for the “power of the Quilt.”

Isabelle Nechvatal is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Global Health Program. Her local, regional, and international experience includes serving as a UNCW peer health educator, an AIDS Quilt Arts Equity Student Fellow, and a Public Health Intern West Africa AIDS Foundation.