Join us for our annual year-end program and celebration of “The Michelle Meow Show” at The Commonwealth Club. First, we’ll have a fascinating discussion with health experts drawing on the latest surprising research, and then we’ll have a social hour with food, drink, and entertainment.

In what we hope is the late phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll take a look at other long-running issues relating to health care, healthy living, and access to care for the LGBTQ+ community. Our expert panelists for this discussion are leaders in the efforts to reach LGBTQ+ people, informing them and connecting them to appropriate health care services.

Stick around after the program for a special rooftop reception, featuring DJ NICO and local drag trans superstars Persia, King MeatFlap and Kypper Snacks—plus fabulous local drinks and appetizers; suggested for ages 18 and up.

About the Speakers

Dr. Monica Ghandi, M.D., M.P.H., was a recipient of The Commonwealth Club’s Distinguished Citizens Award in 2021. She is an infectious diseases doctor, professor of medicine and associate chief in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is also the director of the UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the medical director of the HIV Clinic (“Ward 86”) at San Francisco General Hospital.

Craig Rouskey is the co-founder and CEO of Renegade.bio. Rouskey was also a co-founder and CSO at Pando Nutrition, an animal nutrition company. At Avant Immunotherapeutics, he worked on vaccine projects against avian influenza (H5N1) and anthrax. He co-founded the Gonorrhea Eradication Team (GET) and served as principal scientist for the Immunity Project, creating an open source vaccine against HIV. Rouskey has also served as a scientist in the Antibody Therapy Group at Novartis and in product development with the Next Generation Sequencing group at Thermofisher.

Antwan Matthews, BS, serves as director of youth programs at Code Tenderloin and is a consultant. A leader in the community, he previously served as a LINCS Navigator with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. He has been an advocate on many issues connected to the National AIDS Memorial, having served on its board of directors and being a recipient of the Pedro Zamora Youth Scholarship. His work includes being a sexual and reproductive health advocate who cares deeply about the physical, emotional, and psychological health of individuals globally, especially the Black community. His career includes working at Glide and Peer HEALTH Educators. His work today continues around supporting, educating, advising, teaching, and healing people receiving health care impacted by the history of medical abuse inflicted on communities of color. Antwan uses his voice to raise issues about health and social justice. You can read some of his work here.

Dr. Alexis Petra, M.D. is the founder and CEO of TransClinique. Petra was a practicing emergency medicine physician for more than 10 years prior to founding TransClinique. In 2019, she was named one of Phoenix magazine’s Top Doctors in the Valley. Dr. Petra is board-certified in emergency medicine and licensed in more than 30 states. She is a member in good standing with WPATH. Petra has been personally and professionally involved in the transgender and non-binary community for more than 20 years. She founded TransClinique in April 2020 to give back to and create a safe space for members of the community to receive care. She provides hormone replacement therapy (HRT), letters of referral, and trans life coaching across the country through telemedicine. As a trans woman herself, Alexis understands the unique needs that members of this community have and knows firsthand both the hardships and rewards of the journey. Learn more at her website.

The Commonwealth Club thanks Gilead Sciences, Inc. for its generous support of The Michelle Meow Show.

Thanks to Renegade.Bio for additional support for this program.

See more “Michelle Meow Show”s at The Commonwealth Club.

Photos courtesy the speakers.

December 15, 2022

Michelle Meow
Producer and Host, “The Michelle Meow Show,” KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Co-host

John Zipperer
Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club of California—Co-host

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