Consumer Committee Minutes March 17th, 2026

Meeting of the

CONSUMERS COMMITTEE

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

MINUTES

Committee Members Present: John Schoepp (Co-chair), Marcelo Maia (Co-chair), Charmaine Graham (Consumer-at-Large), David Klotz (Governmental Co-chair), Lisa Best, Gus Angelopoulos, Asia Betancourt, Paul Carr, Billy Fields (Finance Officer), Lawrence Francis, Newton Francis, Yves Gebhardt, John Goldenbridge, Adanna Joels, Javier Sanchez, Annette Tomlin, Rob Walker

Staff Present: Michael Navejas, Abraham Omeyoma, Doienne Saab

Guests Present: Ivy Kwan Arce

Agenda Item 1: Welcome/ Moment of Silence/Minutes

John opened the meeting and welcomed attendees. Billy led a moment of silence, reflecting on current challenges.

The minutes of February18, 2026 were approved with minor edits.

Agenda Item 2: Presentation, HEALTHGATE (A campaign released on

                        World AIDS Day 2025 by ACT UP)

Ivy Kwan Arce opened her presentation by sharing a brief overview of her background. She spoke about growing up as an Asian child in Bolivia and what it meant to be a minority there. She then reflected on her long history as a member of ACT UP, describing her involvement in community‑led clinical trials during the height of the AIDS epidemic and her participation in the Rise and Resist campaign. Ivy noted that she had previously been recognized by the Planning Council for her dedication and commitment to people living with HIV. She also shared the experience of losing her job in 1990 because she was HIV‑positive.

Ivy then briefly discussed several ACT UP campaigns:

• AIDSGate – a campaign highlighting government failures, funding cuts, and political negligence that endangered people living with HIV, echoing ACT UP’s long history of confronting institutional inaction.
• COVIDGate – a campaign drawing attention to inadequate public‑health responses, inequities, and the dismantling of prevention infrastructure during COVID‑19 era, continuing ACT UP’s tradition of exposing harmful policy gaps.
• HealthGate – a 2025 ACT UP campaign condemning proposed federal cuts to HIV/AIDS funding, Medicaid, Medicare, and CDC programs

Ivy also announced that ACT UP would be celebrating its 39th anniversary on Saturday, March 21, 2026, with the theme: “Money for AIDS and healthcare, not for ICE and warfare.” She welcomed people to attend.

Following her presentation, committee members expressed their gratitude for Ivy’s decades of activism and acknowledged the profound impact of her work on behalf of people living with HIV.

Agenda Item 3:  Immigrant HIV Health Subcommittee

David and Michael provided background on the development of the Immigrant HIV Health Subcommittee. David briefly explained the purpose of creating the subcommittee and noted that this meeting would help clarify its goals and intended direction.

Michael reported that the client survey had been distributed to subrecipients on January 8 and again on February 3, with instructions to share it with their clients. He stated that analysis would begin on all surveys completed to date. At the time of the meeting, 71 English‑language surveys and 62 Spanish‑language surveys had been completed, along with 25 provider surveys.

Members then discussed ideas for how the subcommittee should proceed. Suggestions included expanding the resource list previously submitted by the Needs Assessment Committee and developing a palm card with a QR code linking individuals to resources on the Planning Council website.

Michael reviewed the list of individuals who had already expressed interest in joining the subcommittee and invited others to contact him if they wished to participate. It was agreed that an email invitation would be sent to all interested members announcing the first meeting of the subcommittee.

Agenda Item 4: Changes to Medicaid and SNAP

Michael informed the subcommittee that, as requested, he had reached out to Adrian Guzman to check his availability to present on upcoming changes to Medicaid and SNAP. He reported that Adrian was unavailable but had referred him to his staff member, Tracy Leong‑Pelrine, Senior Policy Advisor. Tracy subsequently contacted Michael to confirm that she and Rachel Schwartz, Senior Policy Manager from Equitable Health Systems, would be able to present at the next Consumers Committee meeting.

Members emphasized the importance of having a presentation on Medicaid and SNAP changes, noting that this information is critical for consumers.

Agenda Item 5: Public Comment

Abraham announced that this year’s AIDS Walk would take place on Sunday, May 17, 2026, and invited Consumers Committee members to join him. He also shared that the Bronx Mix and Mingle event would be held on Wednesday, April 8, and noted that Billy would be joining him for that event.

Agenda Item 6: Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

The next meeting of the Consumers Committee will be virtual, on Tuesday, April 21^st, 2026 2-4pm via Zoom.