I am Eugenia Rogers, and I was born in Durham, North Carolina where I reside. I have two amazing adult children, a son and a daughter. I attended North Carolina Central University for both undergraduate and graduate studies. I earned a BA in Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Relations in 2009 and an MLS in Special Libraries in 2013.
I love working and volunteering in my community with homeless shelters, educational programs, and anything about HIV/AIDS education. I worked as a librarian in a Charter School for 5 years, fostering my love for education. I have a passion for literacy and educating people. I am currently employed at a non-profit literacy center. Education is a way out of poverty and when those who know teach those that do not, we give hope.
I like to use my educational skills to work towards eliminating the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in my community. I have served as the Chair of the Community Collaborative Council(D3C) of the Duke CFAR for the past two years. That role has allowed me to expand my knowledge base of HIV/AIDS. I had the opportunity to be a co-director on a research grant to combat stigma in African American Faith-Based Organizations the National Institutes sponsored the grant.
I am a person living with HIV, and a Long-Term Survivor. In the beginning, my diagnosis was delivered to me as a death sentence, and I am happy to say that is no longer the case, thanks to medication and a tribe of people who love and support me. I now live my life, undetectable and full of faith, life, love, joy, and happiness. One of my purposes in life is to fight against stigma by educating people everywhere I go about HIV/AIDS. I believe if we eliminate the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS those who are living afraid and in silence will no longer have to live that way.