At noon ET on Monday, April 15, the Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a webcast (archived video below) to introduce EMPOWERED, a new campaign from Grammy Award-winning artist and HIV activist Alicia Keys and the Kaiser Family Foundation to reach women about HIV/AIDS. Ms. Keys was joined by White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Rep. Barbara Lee, co-chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, and experts from Kaiser and AIDS United to discuss the impact of HIV on women and women’s role in affecting change.

Of the more than 1.1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. today, one in four is a woman. Women of color have been especially hard hit, accounting for the majority of new infections occurring among women in this country.

Ms. Keys has dedicated her work in philanthropy to the urgency of HIV/AIDS. Now with the launch of the EMPOWERED campaign, she is again highlighting the power of women – as mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, partners AND people living with HIV – to change the course of this epidemic. EMPOWERED is presented as part of Greater Than AIDS, a leading national initiative to address the U.S. domestic epidemic.

Speakers:

• Drew Altman Ph.D., President & CEO, the Kaiser Family Foundation
• Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama & Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls
• The Honorable Barbara Lee, U.S. House of Representatives (D-CA13) & Co-Chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus
• Alicia Keys, Grammy Award-winning artist and HIV activist
• Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President, Health Communication & Media Partnerships, Kaiser Family Foundation
• Vignetta Charles, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Strategic Grant Making, AIDS United

Podcast (mp3)