Karin Smith

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HIV Intervention Specialist, Nia Alliance                                                                                                      2007 - Present
As a member of the Nia Alliance and original member of the Core Leadership Team, my primary responsibilities include HIV testing, facilitating HIV and train the trainer workshops, event planning for various HIV/STD/SA awareness campaigns, website maintenance and organizational communications.

The Nia Alliance is a community mobilization initiative dedicated to equip people of African descent to respond effectively and emphatically to the AIDS epidemic in communities of color through education, advocacy, direct services and community collaboration. Grounded in faith, we recognize the importance of being inclusive and non-judgmental as we empower our participants to make informed decisions.

Health Educator: Odyssey Project                                                                                                        Oct 2011 - June 2015
Co-facilitate 5 week HIV Intervention workshops with male and female university students at local university, with focus on gender specific topics including ethnic and gender pride, HIV 101, condom demonstration and negotiation. This initiative is grant funded.

Education

Trainings & Workshops attended:

• Nia Alliance, HIV Prevention Training Program – Certificate of Completion 2007 

• National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), Women of Color Leadership Institute – Certificate of Completion 2009 

• Mount Aery Baptist Church, Safe Church Training – Certificate of Attendance 2009

• CT Department of Public Health, AIDS & Chronic Diseases Section – Certificate of Completion 2010

• OraSure Technologies, OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV Antibody Test Training 2010

• Inverness Medical, ClearView Rapid HIV Test Training 2010

• CT Women’s Consortium, Human Trafficking – Certificate of Attendance (3 contact hours) 2010

• Trauma and How it Intersects with HIV, facilitated by Dr. Gretchen Chase-Vaughn, Ph.D. 2011

• CT Women's Consortium, Biology of Addiction I - Certificate of Attendance (6 contact hours) 2012 

• CT Women's Consortium, Biology of Addiction II - Certificate of Attendance (6 contact hours) 2012

• CT Women's Consortium, Substance Abuse Treatment for Women in Multicultural, Gender-Specific Settings - Certificate of Attendance (6 contact hours) 2012

• National Community Health Partners, Motivational Interviewing - Certificate of Attendance 2013

• CT Department of Public Health, HIV Prevention Gender Toolkit Training - Certificate of Attendance (6 contact hours) 2013

• Effective Interventions, SISTA Project training - Certificate of Attendance 2014 

• National Community Health Partners, Stigma - Certificate of Attendance 2014

• CT Department of Public Health, Phlebotomy Training - Certificate of Attendance (6 contact hours) 2014

• Trauma Informed Care Training Institute (Train the trainer) - Certificate of Attendance 2018

• Human Trafficking in Connecticut: What to know and how to work with clients - 2018

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Other Career Highlights:
Attended the 2010 Congressional Hearing, sponsored by U.S. Representative, Barbara Lee.  Held on December 1, World AIDS Day in Washington DC (was guest of my mentor and manager, Nancy Kingwood, who spoke on the topic of HIV and health disparities for women of color). Nancy and I also had the opportunity to meet with our U.S. Representative, Jim Himes, to convey our concerns regarding funding and the rate of infection as it relates to the City of Bridgeport and surrounding towns.

 

2009 attended the National USCA Conference on AIDS, held in Ft Lauderdale, FL.