Luis Alberto Mares, at Latino Commission on AIDS

October 2023 - Thera Community Champion

Luis is the Director of Community Mobilization at the Latino Commission on AIDS, working in the planning, developing, and implementing of the National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day and the National Hispanic Hepatitis Awareness Day, with which the Commission coordinates efforts nationwide with partners in every state and US territory to provide education, outreach, training and create HIV and Hepatitis awareness in the Latino community. Luis is also a NYU Field Supervisor for 2nd year MSW Interns. Luis was part of the ETE New immigrants, Non-English Speaking and Farmworkers advisory subcommittee for the New York State Department of Health's AIDS Institute, he is part of the AIDS United Community Mobilization Subcommittee, the NYC AIDS World Day Event Planning Committee, and currently is part of the HepFree NYC Committee and the NYC Hepatitis Awareness Event Planning Committee. At the commission Luis also plays an important role in coordinating the annual visits during the NYS Hispanic Educational Days in Albany, bringing up to the table health disparities that affect the Latinx community in the State of New York, focusing on HIV. Luis began his professional career as an MD in his native Peru, where he graduated from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in 1993. He moved to New York City in 1997. Almost immediately started to work with the homeless community infected with HIV, from 1998 to 2012, initially as the Health Care Coordinator and then as the Program Director at the Jamaica YMCA Transitional Housing Program located in Queens, acting as the Director of the Residence Department for the YMCA as well. Luis received his master’s in social work in 2017 from New York University and immediately joined the Latino Commission on AIDS. In 2022 Luis published an article on the “HIV Specialist” Magazine, in which he described NLAAD and the importance of creating awareness on HIV as a fundamental part of ending the epidemic plan for 2030. Also, during 2022 Luis was included in the POZ 100 of the year by “POZ Magazine”, honored for his work as a Latino advocate, and the “City and State New York” Magazine included within the “100 Most Responsible New Yorkers List” for 2022. His alma mater NYU highlighted his work on World AIDS Day. Recently Luis was included in the Marquis who is who in America list for the period 2023-2024 for his job in the HIV/Public health field.