Rick Bejlovec, Executive Director

Rick, a native of Chicago, has been HIV positive since 1991, and has worked in the HIV services community for over seventeen years. In 1990, Rick worked at Howard Brown Health Center as the coordinator of the HIV Testing and counseling programs, as well as the coordinator of the outpatient health care and primary care clinic.

Rick has been at TPA Network since June of 1995 when he started as the Resources and Referrals Coordinator, and served as Editor of the 1995 through 1999 editions of the Chicago Area HIV/AIDS Services Directory. In 1997, Rick was promoted to Information Services Coordinator and began maintaining and upgrading the TPAN computer systems and network. In March of 1999, Rick was promoted to Business Director and moved from out of direct client services and into agency administration.  Rick was named Deputy Executive Director in June 2004 and appointed Interim Executive Director in August of 2004, after the untimely death of Executive Director Charles Clifton.  Rick was promoted to Executive Director in March of 2005.

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Jeff Berry, Director of Publications

Jeff has been a member of TPAN since 1990, and began working as a volunteer in July of 1992. He joined the staff in November of that year as production assistant for Positively Aware magazine. He went on to oversee advertising and distribution of Positively Aware, and served as webmaster for the agency’s website for five years. He was appointed Interim Editor of Positively Aware in September 2004, and promoted to Director of Publications and Editor of Positively Aware and Positively Aware en Español in April of 2005. He was the first recipient of the TPAN Award of Excellence in 2003.

Jeff moved to Chicago in 1981 from his hometown of Ada, Michigan, outside of Grand Rapids. Working many years in Chicago as a club DJ, he was awarded Gay Chicago’s DJ of the Year in 1990. He attended Michigan State University, and received a B.A. in 1991 from Columbia College, Chicago. Jeff is an active member of the AIDS Treatment Activist’s Drug Development Committee, and a speaker and presenter for various community educational forums, panels and presentations. He has contributed to several other HIV-related publications and websites, including The Body. Jeff tested positive in 1989, and credits his continued good health to his family, friends, his partner in life Stephen, working at TPAN, and a sense of humor.

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Barbara Marcotte, Director of Programs

Barbara joined TPAN in December of 2003 as a Treatment Education Coordinator. She is a licensed social worker specializing in working with women, families and children. Barbara oversees case management, the Buddy Program, volunteer services, outreach prevention services and support groups at TPAN.

Barbara relocated to Chicago from Ohio in December of 2003, fulfilling a dream of working and living in a larger city. She has spent the past 14 years as a social worker and manager in the field of child welfare working with families affected by multiple life struggles. She has also been an educator and an advocate for families and individuals affected by HIV.

Barbara tested positive for HIV in 1990. In 1992 she began presenting her story to individuals, groups and organizations. Her hope has always been that she can bring a face to HIV for those who do not believe they are affected or can be infected by this virus. She brings her own personal sensitivity and professional experience to TPAN with the desire to develop needed services for families, women and children in the Chicago area.

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Keith Romell Green, Associate Editor

Keith Romell Green graduated summa cum laude from NEIU in December 2007 with a B.A. in Social Work. His research as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar focuses on the relationship between thoughts that college-age African Americans have about their future, or their “possible selves”, and their sexual risk behavior. Keith is a founding and active member of the Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, and currently serves on the HIV Prevention Planning Group for the Chicago Department of Public Health. He is also an associate editor for Positively Aware, a nationally distributed HIV/AIDS treatment education journal. In addition, Keith is an award-winning poet/spoken word artist, and was recently crowned “King Poet” by the Chicago-based arts organization POW-WOW. Recently, he made his acting debut in the feature film Kevin’s Room: Together.

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Matt Sharp, Director of Treatment Education

Matt Sharp joined TPAN in June 2003. He is a long term survivor of AIDS, diagnosed with HIV in 1988. Over the years he has been a nationally known and respected AIDS treatment activist and advocate. Born and raised in Texas, he spent his early adult years on the stage as a dancer, in several professional companies from Los Angeles to Zurich, Switzerland. After he was diagnosed, he retired from ballet in 1991 and moved to San Francisco to receive top HIV medical care and treatment.

He became involved in AIDS activism with ACT UP Golden Gate and served on five local community advisory boards for AIDS clinical research. He worked at Healing Alternatives Foundation (San Francisco’s AIDS Buyers Club) first as a volunteer then finally becoming director. Later he worked in clinical trial outreach for San Francisco General Hospital, reaching out to women and minorities for inclusion into research. He then helped to coordinate one of the first peer-based HIV treatment training programs for case managers, funded with Ryan White CARE Act dollars at the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center. In 2001 he moved to Chicago.

He has a ten year history of writing about AIDS for publications such as the Bay Area Reporter, American Foundation for AIDS Research Global Link, AIDS Community Research Initiative of America, and several articles including the Drug Guide for TPAN's Positively Aware and his own column, “Get Sharp”. Recently Matt served as the community representative on the FDA Antiviral and Blood Products Advisory Committees continuing his long history of advocating for ethical and speedy drug development of AIDS drugs and ethical consumer protection policies. He is a Community Liaison to the Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), and has presented skills building workshops at the Bangkok and Toronto International AIDS conferences.

Sharp coordinates all treatment and prevention education programs at TPAN, including the peer led Treatment Education Advocacy Management (TEAM). He also wrote the curriculum for TEAM and other trainings. His additional activities include prevention with positives programs and ASO collaborative projects, community forums, and the TEAM Action program, a peer train-the-trainer workshop. His latest projects at TPAN involve crystal meth prevention and treatment campaigns, and he was a presenter at the First National Conference on Methamphetamines, HIV and Hepatitis in 2004.

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Enid Vázquez, Associate Editor

Enid Vázquez is associate editor of Positively Aware. She is HIV-negative and a single mom to a beautiful German shepherd mix she found in her yard, Nico, and a cuddly orange purr ball who walked in off the street, Marmalade. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Derek Worley, Treatment Education Coordinator

Derek came to Chicago from New York City in 1997, where he made his living in the theatre and toured with several national productions. In NYC, he and his partner were actively involved with GMHC and various other political community organizations. Upon arriving in Chicago and wanting to leave the theatrical industry, he began volunteering for TPAN in his spare time. What initially attracted Derek to TPAN was its publication, Positively Aware. He was also impressed by the organization's ability to serve diverse populations of the community and still retain the feeling of a true "grass-roots" organization. He was soon offered a staff position to help create a "back-to-work" program, the Positive Vocational Network (PVN). PVN’s purpose was to place HIV positive people in jobs with HIV-sensitive companies. He has since worked as a hotline counselor and testing coordinator. Derek is currently the Treatment Education Coordinator and coordinates all prevention efforts. 

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Sue Saltmarsh, Executive Assistant

Sue Saltmarsh began a new chapter in her job life, coming to TPAN in 2004 after 13 years of experience working in the HIV/AIDS community as an Alternative/Complementary Therapies practitioner.

Born in Ohio, a Midwestern girl all her life, she grew up with an avid interest in the arts and graduated from the De Paul/Goodman School of Drama in Costuming in 1983. For the next 9 years, she toured the globe as the first Wardrobe Supervisor for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. For those who believe that “life on tour” is a glamorous adventure, she rolls her eyes, while admitting that without her years at HSDC, she never would’ve seen even a fraction of the places she visited on tour.

In the midst of a spiritual awakening and after several unsatisfactory experiences with allopathic medicine, she combined her spiritual quest with a growing interest in herbal and natural healing and, in 1991, migrated to New Mexico to attend the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine. Upon her certification as a clinical herbalist, she returned to her beloved Chicago home and began her experiential education in intuitive chakra balancing. She worked for 3 years as an herbalist at the AIDS Alternative Health Project and from 1993 - 2005 as herbalist, energy worker and ear candler at Project Vida. She has also taught classes in herbal medicine, conducted seminars and presentations about alternative/integrative healing and maintains a small but cherished private practice.

In addition to her work as a healer, Sue also writes short stories, receiving an honorable mention in the 2004 WBEZ “Stories On Stage” contest. She hopes to use her writing ability to create entertaining and informative memos at TPAN and to contribute to Positively Aware Magazine.

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Ron Schnorbus, Director of Development

Ron previously served as the Deputy Executive Director for AIDS Delaware, Delaware's largest, state wide HIV services organization and was Executive Director for Rebuilding Together Wilmington Delaware, a housing rehabilitation not-for-profit. He also taught elementary and high school, and was employed with Rosenbluth International as a contractor for DuPont Business Travel Services for eight years. Ron is a graduate of the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. At TPAN, Ron is responsible for programmatic and pharmaceutical grants; database management; individual donor and special events development.

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Rhett Lindsay, Development Associate/Special Events Coordinator

Rhett Lindsay came to Chicago in 2000 after graduating with a degree in Public Relations from West Virginia University.  Since his arrival in the Windy City, he has served as trade show coordinator for a large trade show management company, account executive for a public relations agency, and coordinator of orientation programs at a local college.  Rhett joined TPAN in August 2006, just four weeks before the Aware Affair Gala.  Not only does he plan major events for TPAN, but he also dedicates his volunteer time as the director of Chicago’s award-winning Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps, a campy, all-male, rifle precision drill troupe that performs for Chicago’s LGBT events (www.rotcchicago.org).

You might recognize his unique name from the book/movie “Gone With The Wind” starring Clarke Gable as the character Rhett Butler.  Additionally, his first name, Ashley, is also derived from another male character in film, Ashley Wilkes.  His family, friends and co-workers call him Rhett, Ashley, Ashley Rhett, or Scarlett.

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Jennifer Grimes, Peer Buddy Coordinator/Information and Referral Specialist

Originally from Colorado, Jennie has worked in Chicago’s HIV services for over four years and joined TPAN in the summer of 2006. Jennie has been involved in HIV activities since 1995 and has worked in a variety of medical, policy and volunteer settings across the country, including Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C. and Denver.  She received her undergraduate degree in sociology and race & ethnic studies from the University of Redlands in southern California in 2002. Jennie received her Master’s in Sociology from DePaul University with an emphasis in health care discrepancies in 2003.  In her free time, Jennie enjoys walking her miniature dachshund named Weiner, participating in civil disobedience and HIV advocacy, watching sports and running.

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Louis Spraggins, Treatment Education Coordinator

Louis, born and raised most of his life in Chicago, has been working diligently in the HIV/AIDS struggle since 1993 when he was first recruited as a Youth Case Manager for African American pregnant &/or parenting teens of Chicago’s south side community.  In this role and many others since, Louis has shared information in workshops at grammar & high schools, churches, street corners & any other places where he could reach people at risk for HIV infection or already infected and trying to navigate through unfamiliar and often uncomfortable territory.    

Louis sero-converted and learned of his HIV+ status in 2001, but didn’t allow it to stop or slow his efforts.  If anything, this new awareness pushed him to work harder. 

In May of 2003 Louis moved into more direct care as a Preventive Health Consultant, as which, he provided intensive client-centered counseling, case management & education for HIV infected & affected Young African American men who have sex with other men (YAAMSM) throughout the south & west side communities of Chicago.  From 2003 to 2005 Louis attended the African American HIV University at the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles, where he feels he gained “extensive knowledge in the science of HIV & how to better share this knowledge with others, especially Black Folks.”  As a welcome addition to TPAN’s staff & the TEAM & M-TEAM Programs, Louis is now the facilitator for Brothers United In Support (B.U.S.) & the coordinator of the Syringe Exchange Program. 

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Bill Farrand, Prevention Coordinator

Bill joined TPAN in January of 2007, coming most recently from an executive postiion with a large regional financial institution. He has worked as a contact center and customer support manager for many years in both the financial services and telecommunications industry.

A native of Springfield, Il., he lived in New York City and San Francisco before settling in Chicago in 1998. Here he has been active with the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus, where he served as a board member and treasurer in 2002-2003, as well as with Windy City Performing Arts and the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association.

He holds a Bachelors Degree from Illinois Wesleyan in Drama and is currently working on a Masters in Community Counseling at Northeastern Illinois University. Having lived with HIV for over two decades, he is very excited to be working with TPAN and to have the opportunity to make a difference in the HIV community.

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Abraham House-EL, CADC, POWER Coordinator

Abraham House-EL is a licensed certified addiction specialist.  His life has been impacted by the HIV virus since 1985.  He originally joined TPAN in October 2003 as a volunteer and was placed on staff in May 2005 as Support Groups/Volunteer Services Coordinator.  He is a graduate of TEAM, and a Buddy mentor.  Abraham left TPAN in July 2007 to gain clinical experience working with Chicago’s homeless Mental Health Substance Abuse (MISA) population. 

Once he learned about TPAN’s Holistic Health Recovery Program “P.O.W.E.R.” (Positive Outcomes for Wellness, Education, and Recovery) he returned in November 2007 to become the P.O.W.E.R. Coordinator.

Abraham brings to TPAN the skills to work with post-released inmates, diverse populations, community and church leaders, elected officials, and the next door neighbor who may have fallen into the grips of alcoholism and chemical dependency.

He remains dedicated to pursuing his Masters Degree in Social Work/Public Health.

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Andre Crowder, POWER Outreach/Program Assistant

Andre Crowder recently relocated to the Chicago area from the city of Detroit.  He has been in the HIV profession since January 2004.  He began working for The Horizon's Project, a community-based program affiliated with Wayne State University and Children's Hospital of Michigan offering a comprehensive continuum of medical care, ancillary, prevention and outreach services to at-risk and HIV+ youth ages 13-24.  While working with the Horizon’s Project as a Research assistant he had the ability to have an impact on the lives of the youth he serviced. He later was hired as a Patient Advocate doing intakes, counseling and testing, and building trusting relationships with his clients. He worked on many projects and has certifications in many areas such as motivational interviewing, and group facilitation.

Andre is currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Community Development and he wants to continue to work hard to help make a difference in someone's life that's infected or affected with HIV.

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James Spiven, CADC, POWER Group Facilitator

James Spiven is an IAODAPCA Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor.  James was born and raised in the small Ohio Town of Warren.  He graduated from Warren G. Harding High School, and went on to attend Kent State University, Kent Ohio, and Central State University in Wilberforce Ohio, where he starred in baseball. James had further aspirations as a ball player until his addictive lifestyle took control of his life.  After being in slavery the better part of his adult life, James turned his world over to the will of God. James has been working in the field of Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (MISA) for ten years. First he began working for Ohio Mental Health and Retardation Board, as Project Coordinator of Outreach Program.  Later James relocated to Chicago, were he began working at Haymarket Center. There he received his IAODAPCA CADC.  James is currently in his last year’s work toward achieving a BA degree. 

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Cynthia Irizarry, CADC, POWER Group Facilitator

Cynthia Irizarry is an IOADAPCA Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor.  Cynthia joined Test Positive Aware Network’s POWER Program (Positive Outcomes for Wellness, Education & Recovery) on 01-02-08.  She is proud to be part of this team aimed to decrease substance abuse and HIV transmission among men by providing education, brief intervention, individual and group counseling, HIV testing, and substance abuse treatment.

Cynthia is a native of Puerto Rico.  She is a family orientated woman, mother of two, and HIV negative.  She has been working as a substance abuse counselor for over 7 years. Through out her career, Cynthia has prided her self with providing prevention education and awareness to high risk populations. Cynthia has worked in organizations where a wide variety of services was provided, from court systems, methadone maintenance, DUI counseling, and HIV/AIDS prevention education. Cynthia’s ultimate goal in life is to continue working with the community by providing counseling and helping to improve the quality of life for people during their recovery process.   

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Alex J. Rhodes, Psychosocial Coordinator

Upon encountering a variety of HIV/AIDS related failing health conditions, I was referred to TPAN in 2001 by my primary care health physician.  At that time, the agency became a place of support, which inevitably, drew me out of a place of isolation and seclusion.  Due to many of my friends living in isolation, they lost the fight against AIDS.  Having witnessed the consequences isolation can have on people who are living with HIV/AIDS, I did not want to give in to the fight.  Seven years later, I am now employed as the Psychosocial Coordinator.  The work that I am employed to do, is not only rewarding; but it is fulfilling as well.  More importantly, I now have been blessed with the opportunity of contributing back to an organization that was there for me when I was knocking on death’s doors.  “My life’s purpose has been revealed.”

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Richard Wallace, Prevention Outreach

Richard Wallace is an integral member of TPAN’s Prevention team, where he works on both the north and west sides of Chicago providing testing and counseling services in high risk communities. He is also the Program Director of Universal House of Refuge, which provides workshops and services to the corrections population.

He received his formal education at Northern Illinois University, but credits his diverse life experience for his success in his field. At the age of 25, he has a history of activism in the prevention and community organizing arenas and he looks forward to continuing to gain experience and expertise in such work.

Richard is also a poet and was recently given the opportunity to travel with Magic Johnson’s Campaign to End AIDS, using his poetry to spread the messages of prevention. He truly believes that change can happen if you just to the next right thing, one day at a time.

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Kevin Bernal, Prevention Outreach

Kevin joined TPAN in February 2007 as a Prevention Outreach worker. Kevin relocated to Chicago from California in 1989 after being transferred by a large telecommunications company. After working in the finance department there for about ten years he decided to start playing music for a living and became a DJ here in chicago playing at a few of the popular nighclubs.
Kevin tested positive in February of 2007 while in the hospital with pnuemocystis pnuemonia. While recovering and in care, he learned of TPAN and the TEAM program and went through that program to better educate himself on the disease and how to manage it. He hopes that his story and his support will encourage others in his community to get tested regularly, to know their HIV status, and to give those that do test positive hope for a healthy future.

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Tobias Perrino, Administrative Coordinator

Tobias relocated to Chicago on New Years 2008 from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Originally from Florida, he has been involved in healthcare for over eight years and in HIV/AIDS for four years; most recently as office manager of the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at the University of North Carolina. While there he also volunteered as an HIV prevention counselor and tester, and coordinated outreach events for three years. He started as a volunteer in February and became a fulltime employee in March 2008.

In addition, Tobias has training as a nursing assistant, medical assistant and emergency medical technician, EMT-b. He has attended three colleges while avoiding getting an actual degree.

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David C. Battistoli, IT Guy

David came to TPAN in March of 2008 from a variety of different technical and consulting jobs. When he's not solving computer crises or pummeling friends with useless trivia, he likes to do stand-up comedy.

In his mind.

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