Who We Are

Our Mission

Ribbon is a national nonprofit organization that provides innovative and culturally-responsive education, programs, and services to health and human service providers and individuals to help facilitate and normalize positive experiences and healthy outcomes within public health systems.

Our Vision

To end the racial, social, and environmental disparities that rob vulnerable communities of health and wealth.

Our Commitment

We are committed to ensuring access to quality, affordable, life-saving health, and essential support services to all individuals, regardless of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, culture, or health conditions utilizing an intersectional racial, social, and economic justice lens.

Ribbon Staff

Vanessa Johnson

Linda H. Scruggs

Co-Executive Director

Vanessa is a 36-year long-term HIV survivor. Her expertise and experience in organizational development for social impact, trauma-informed healing-centered care, HIV harm reduction, entrepreneurship including social enterprising, and disclosure interventions for people living with HIV led her to co-found Ribbon.

Linda H. Scruggs

Co-Executive Director

Over three decades as an advocate, leader, and educator in HIV. A commitment to working with people impacted by HIV and other health disparities. A love for training and capacity-building, but my passion is working to denounce stigma and discrimination against all people living with HIV/AIDS.

Shauna R. Cooper

Linda H. Scruggs

Shauna R. Cooper

Director of Programs

Shauna comes to Ribbon with 25+ years of experience in public health, predominantly in chronic diseases. Her interests lie in evaluation and training, reflecting her commitment to advancing public health methodologies and outcomes.

Denise Drayton

Phronie Jackson

Shauna R. Cooper

ROC Sr. Program Associate

Denise has been working in the field of HIV/AIDS for over 25 years: She began working at Exponents Inc. NY.

She finds HIV Prevention Education and Advocacy very rewarding and feels blessed to have the ability as a HIV+ Older Adult to work in a field that is very important to her and be able to provide representation to her community.

Emma Furguson

Phronie Jackson

Faith Associate

Emma C.V. Ferguson is an educator with a daily passion for working with our youngest learners! She brings to us 30+ years as a public-school leader, experience as a teacher for the union president in the USA, and Anguilla, BWI. Ms. Ferguson is an ally to the HIV community and incorporates HIV education in school systems, as well as an ordained minister in various churches

Phronie Jackson

BWISE Sr. Program Associate

Phronie Jackson, Ph.D., MPH,

Phronie ed public health practitioner, scholar, servant leader, and social change agent. Her 28-year tenure encompasses initiatives spanning local and national HIV/AIDS, Chronic Disease, Mental Health, and Self-Care awareness, prevention, and education programs, prioritizing equity in evidence-based dissemination and implementation strategies.

Margot Kirklnd

E. Faye Marshall

Sr. Program Manager

For more than 2 decades, Margot has worked in communities of color providing direct care and support services to women and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, incarceration, substance abuse and mental illness.

E. Faye Marshall

EPIC Program Manager

E. Faye Marshall is the EPIC Program Manager. She has over thirty years of lived and work experience in the field of HIV.

Faye brings a vast amount of knowledge and expertise in her role having previously worked with women and families impacted by HIV.

Kim Moon

E. Faye Marshall

LYNETTE TRAWICK

EPIC Network Associate

A Woman thriving with an HIV diagnosis. She overcame a decade of depression & turned her trauma into triumph by sharing her story globally as a National & International Speaker, advocating for HIV awareness, prevention, & empowerment. She aims to inspire other women living with HIV to find strength in their experiences & turn their pain into power.

LYNETTE TRAWICK

EPIC Program Associate

Lynette is an advocate and leader for change. Her work in HIV started in Philadelphia, and in recent years, she has expanded to impact communities in Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland.

Lynette is committed to working to support communities to fight HIV stigma and discrimination

Giving Back

Ribbons for Love

Our Ribbons for Hope (R4L) project allows Ribbon to offer free of charge services to People Living with HIV to support their leadership development. We do this by creating and offering educational resources, skill-training, web-learning, peer mentoring, coaching, and scholarship support to trainings and conferences.

Our Commitment

WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN GETTING IT DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!

RIBBON's team embodies the top-rated subject matter experts in the field. Our team is dedicated to providing your organization with the most beneficial and up-to-date information, consultation, training and technical assistance. Our staff and consultants will always exceed your expectations by providing top quality professionalism that meets your customized goals and organizational needs.

RIBBON is committed to developing and delivering the most effective solutions that assist organizations in realizing their strategic goals.

RIBBON is committed to education and training that focus on research and implementing evidence-based, evidence- informed, and evidence-influenced program, interventions and services.

RIBBON is committed to assist you in planning, organizing, and facilitating meetings and training activities to support the continued growth and development of your organization.

RIBBON is committed to creating a variety of tailored programs that promote awareness and understanding of a broad range of public health and chronic disease challenges.

National Advisory Board

Tori Cooper

Emma C. V. Ferguson

Yolanda Diaz

Tori Cooper is a health and equity advocate, community organizer, educator, published author, and leader in the transgender and HIV communities. Tori is the Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative.

Yolanda Diaz

Emma C. V. Ferguson

Yolanda Diaz

Yolanda Diaz presently works at Iris House, Inc.- an organization for women, children and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Yolanda has been employed at Iris House for the last 10.5 years. In the past, Yolanda has facilitated interventions, provided HIV/STI testing, and worked as a counselor before joining Iris House, Inc.

Emma C. V. Ferguson

Daniel Driffin

Nathaniel Scruggs

Emma C. V. Ferguson

Daniel works at the intersection of advocacy and assisting communities impacted by HIV for the past decade in Atlanta, GA. Daniel is the Creator and Senior Advisor of D3 Consulting, LLC.

Cynthia Rodgers

Nathaniel Scruggs

Cynthia is a masterful storyteller, a skilled trainer of trainers and a published author. Since September 2000, Cynthia has served women, infants, children, and youth living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. She’s currently serving as a rehabilitative instructor with AIDS Alabama.

She is known nationally as an advocate for change.

Nathaniel Scruggs

Nathaniel is an advocate and leader for change. For nearly thirty years, he has worked in the HIV community; for twenty of those years, he served as a Case Manager at Total Health Care Inc. in Baltimore City, Maryland (retired).

Nathaniel is committed to working to support communities to fight HIV, provide help to people who use drugs, support insufficient education systems, as well as support those who face unemployment and low life expectancy.

Ribbon operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), a 501(c)3