20/20
LEADING
WOMEN’S
SOCIETY
The Leading Women's Society (LWS) is a group of over 200 extraordinary women and female-identifying persons who have lived with HIV for 20 years or more.
Leading with Lived Experience
The LWS is made of advocates, change agents, and community leaders who use their own lived experience to raise awareness and champion the cause of expanding access to HIV testing, providing HIV prevention education, and confronting HIV stigma head on.
20/20 Leading Women's Society Awards Gala
Every year, SisterLove honors 20 women who have lived with HIV for 20 years or more at an annual event called the 20/20 Leading Women's Society Awards Gala.
This diverse group of women and female-identifying persons come from different backgrounds, professions, and age groups, but all share a common goal - to put an end to impacts of HIV.
The LWS also inducts new members who have lived with HIV for less than 20 years, but still have made a substantial impact in their community through HIV prevention work, art, entrepreneurship, faith-based outreach, medicine, science, legal advocacy, and more.
MEET OUR 2023 HONOREES
THE PANDORA SINGLETON ALLY AWARD
Leisha McKinley-Beach author, thought leader, inspirational strategist, trainer, and community organizer.
Mrs. McKinley-Beach is the founder and CEO of The Black Public Health Academy and Leisha.org. Leisha also serves as a consultant who provides training and community engagement on Black health issues including HIV, medical mistrust, racism in public health, and cultural humility. She has been fortunate to participate in nationally recognized projects such as PrEP in Black America, Risk to Reasons-national movement to retire the word “risk” associated with sexual health for women, the Florida Department of Health Sistas Organizing to Survive (SOS), a first-ever statewide campaign to address HIV among Black women, and initiatives to engage faith-based communities in the HIV response across the South. In addition to health-related work, Leisha finds time to invest in her other passions that include music and inspiration.
Leisha serves as COO of her husband’s music company, Platinum Level Production, and as an inspirational speaker through her podcast, Thought 4 The Day. McKinley-Beach received her undergraduate bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and her master’s degree in health science (community health) from the University of West Florida. Leisha is a 2023 inductee into the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance hall of fame.
ABSOLUTE LOVE COMMUNITY AWARD
"Over the past 30 years, the Center for Black Women’s Wellness (CBWW) has created a legacy in the Atlanta community.
This legacy is one which ensures that women and families will always have access to quality healthcare. We know physical, mental, emotional, and financial health is the foundation for full and productive lives, where individuals can thrive and not merely survive. Our programs, incredible staff and volunteers, and host of partners and service providers address those areas with excellence. We believe in the promise of the individuals we serve, knowing that as their health and overall wellness improves, families and communities become stronger. Established in 1988 as a program under the National Black Women’s Health Project (now the Black Women’s Health Imperative), our initial purpose was to conduct self-help group development in public housing, to develop resiliency among low-income women. Services were initially focused in the Mechanicsville neighborhood, immediately southwest of downtown Atlanta. In 1996, CBWW incorporated as an independent, nonprofit organization.
Over time, CBWW expanded its reach and scope, serving women, men, and children throughout Metropolitan Atlanta through a host of programs and services aimed at optimizing health, strengthening families and communities, and advancing health equity."
-Center for Black Women's Wellness
