Brandon M. Macsata is a 20-year long-term survivor living with HIV, who is unapologetically pro-patient. Brandon serves as the Managing Partner of the Purple Strategy Group, and in that capacity is the contracted executive director of PlusInc. He is widely recognized for his ability to connect stakeholders interested in influencing public opinion and public policy at the national, state & local levels. As with any good Taurus, Brandon is as loyal as he is stubborn but he invests both of those personality traits into defending transgender rights, empowering people with differing abilities, mentoring rising public health advocates, and elevating the national conversation about aging in place. He loves to cook, travel to new places, analyze electoral politics, watch baseball games, and spend time with family...especially his son, Sebastian. Brandon earned his Bachelor's in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Marcus J. Hopkins is a 17-year long-term survivor living with HIV/AIDS whose work in infectious disease research aims to demystify the often complex world of health communication and research. A West Virginia native of Appalachia, he serves as the Founder and Executive Director of the Appalachian Learning Initiative whose focus is on improving adult literacy, numeracy, health literacy, and access to public services in the 13-state, 423-county Appalachian Region. He is a dedicated “cat lady” who shares his apartment with his seven cats—Erdrick, Baumren, Squeaker, Pearl, Angelo, Marcello, and Pyewacket. He is also a video game enthusiast, with 34 gaming consoles hooked up to his three televisions who spends his days binge-watching Dark Shadows while he works and listening to audiobooks while he sleeps. Marcus studied Health Communication at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Sergio Gomez is curious, brave, optimistic, and hungry for knowledge. Sergio is a multidisciplinary designer and art director with extensive experience in the entertainment and advertising industries creating wonderful pieces for digital and print, including work for Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Labcorp, Citi, Lavazza, Carnival Cruiselines and NBC Universal. In 2018, Sergio launched Cerebration - which positioned him to produce creatives for several national advocacy campaigns on public health-related issues. He is always searching for the good in people and trying to put himself in the shoes of others. Sergio loves traveling and discovering new cultures, new restaurants and new desserts. He can talk for hours about pretty dogs, films and good music. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín, Colombia. He also earned an Associate Degree in Computer Graphic Design from Miami Ad School.