Tori Cooper is the Director of Community Engagement TG Justice Initiative at the Human Rights Campaign. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services and is matriculating towards her Master of Arts in Public Health. She has over 25 years of experience in the HIV field, first serving as a volunteer near the beginning of the epidemic.

Tori is a national trainer for the CDC’s new TWIST intervention, the first of its kind, specifically for transgender women living with HIV. She is a national, regional and local trainer for NMAC’s BLOC program. She is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and the first transgender woman certified by the CDC as Lead Facilitator of the WILLOW intervention. She adapted the curriculum for this intervention in 2015 making it trans specific and culturally appropriate. She serves on a number of boards and community groups, including Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottom’s LGBTQ Advisory Board, the boards of SisterLove, Inc., Project Affirm, THAP (Trans Housing Atlanta Project), AAOI, the Clayton County HIV Consortium and a host of others. She travels extensively, educating on the transgender community, HIV, and cultural diversity.

Ms. Cooper has received numerous awards for her work and is a published author, most recently appearing in print and video for NBC News, Huffington Post, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Advocate, and other periodicals. Her work is featured in a new documentary titled “Silent Epidemic,” talking about the trans community and HIV in the South. She is a staunch believer in health and financial equity for trans people and people living with HIV.

Tori believes that empowerment, education, and opportunity are three important factors in success. She is driven to empower the transgender and the PWHA communities by being a role model and an advocate.