Jax Kelly, JD, MPH, MBA is a tireless advocate for people aging with HIV like himself. Diagnosed in 2006, Jax is President of Let’s Kick ASS Palm Springs, a 501(c)3non-profit focused on witnesses to the AIDS plague years, HIV long-term survivors, and people aging with HIV. Besides serving on the board of the Mizell Center in Palm Springs, Jax works on the state level with the California Equity Advisory Committee on Aging and Disability and the California Planning Group, an advisory board for the CA Department of Public Health’s Office of AIDS. Nationally, he serves on the steering committee of The Reunion Project, the nationwide alliance of long-term survivors of HIV. As a member of the third cohort of the HIV and Aging Scholars Program of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Jax will be presenting “Barbershop: A Black Men’s Space for Honest Talk about Sexual Health” which is funded by a grant from BEAM. He is grateful for numerous awards and recognition, especially the 2022 Spirit of Stonewall Volunteer of the Year award from Greater Palm Springs Pride.
