Chelsea Gulden is a longtime HIV advocate, service providerand inspiring national speaker.
She joined the RAIN staff in 2010
after creatingand implementing the first comprehensive program serving HIV-positive youth in North Carolina,
Empowering Positive Youth (EPY). EPY regularly receives national attention for its peer leadership model. The program has
served over 1,000 positive youth through individual case management and support groups.Gulden began working in the HIV service sector shortly after her own diagnosis.
Sheis an expert in HIV service delivery, programming and prevention.
She brings 15 years of experience in coordinating programs for
optimal health. Recently,Guldenspoke at the national virtual Ryan White conference and was a
co-presenter onIntersectional Stigma and HIV for the National Institute of
Health.She is currently Co-Chair of the Ryan
White HIV Planning Body for Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union, and YorkCounties. She is a presenter at national conferences, college campuses
and a frequent guest on radio/television
broadcasts. In 2006, she was a panelist on the Oprah Winfrey Show.Gulden has conducted prevention work in Ghana Africa and participated in the U.S. Executive Summary Report advocating for Comprehensive Sexual Education in schools. Gulden has received numerous
honors including features in POZ Magazine and HIV
Plus.She holds a Masters of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her
research focused on the intersection of intimate partner violence and HIV. She has additional training in
trauma-informed care.
