Who We Are

Your Hive of Whole Health was created by Merck alongside an advisory council of community organizations and advocates to support people living with HIV as they care for their whole selves—mind, body, and spirit. For more than 40 years, Merck has been committed to helping create a future where people are not defined by their HIV status by working hand in hand with the community.

Inspired by the strength of Hives and the collaboration needed to keep them healthy, we believe that whole health thrives through connection—with care teams, chosen family, friends, and community allies. Here, you’ll find tools, resources, and support to help you build your own Hive of whole person health.

Your Hive of Whole Health Advisory Council

Meet our Advisory Council

Dominique Fisher, MSW, MA, CSW
Case Management Team Lead

Dominique Fisher, MSW, MA, CSW has served as a Case Management Team Lead in New Orleans. She is also a founding member of an Equity Advisory Committee. Before this, she was a medical case manager. She has dedicated over 15 years to the healthcare field, particularly in HIV care and supportive services, and specializes in health equity, trauma-informed service, and advocacy for marginalized communities. She has a Master of Social Work from Southern University at New Orleans.

Leisha McKinley-Beach, MPH 
Public Health Consultant

Leisha McKinley-Beach, MPH is a self-employed public health consultant who focuses on HIV/AIDS. Her career began in 1991 as a student at the University of Florida. She is the CEO and Founder of a training institute committed to strengthening the leadership capacity of Black public health professionals seeking advancement in state and local health departments. Throughout her career, she has collaborated on research initiatives with Emory University examining COVID-19 and its impact on people of color living with HIV. Leisha has led state, regional, and national efforts for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Minority Health and Equity, as well as several NAACP branches across Florida. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of West Florida and delivers dynamic trainings and presentations on public health concepts and issues, centering communities of color and advancing health equity across the country.

Lisa K. Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA 
Founder and CEO of Grapevine Health

Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA is a medical epidemiologist and public health expert with a career spanning over two decades, focused on improving health communication and engagement. She began her public health career in 1998 as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service, where she served as a foreign diplomat in the Caribbean while representing the U.S. government’s CDC Global AIDS Program under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. She has also served as an academic researcher and former chief medical officer for the DC Medicaid program. Dr. Fitzpatrick is the founder and CEO of Grapevine Health, a digital health media company established to build trust and improve patient engagement through delivering culturally appropriate and relatable health information. Her work at Grapevine Health is dedicated to inspiring greater and more effective disease prevention and health promotion efforts, with a strong focus on health literacy and empowering individuals to make informed health decisions. Dr. Fitzpatrick is also a board-certified infectious diseases physician.

Tori Cooper 
Director of Strategic Outreach and Training

Tori Cooper is the Director of Strategic Outreach and Training at the nation’s largest civil rights organization and was recognized by OUT Georgia as one of the most influential LGBTQ Georgians. With over 30 years of experience in HIV services, she is also the founder of Advocates for Better Care Atlanta, LLC, a consulting agency. In 2021, Tori was the first Black trans person to be appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, providing recommendations to the Biden-Harris Administration.

Allies in Hope

Formerly AIDS Foundation Houston, Allies in Hope has been a community leader for over 40 years, with a mission to end the HIV epidemic in the greater Houston, Texas area. Allies in Hope envisions a community where HIV is stigma-free and rare, and people have equitable access to care. They offer free HIV and STI testing, PrEP, nPEP, Rapid Start ART, STI treatment, and access to community programs, including housing support, a food pantry, case management, and Camp Hope, a summer camp for children and youth impacted by HIV.

Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC), founded in 1987, is a globally recognized professional nursing association and the preeminent source of nursing expertise in all dimensions of HIV prevention, care and treatment, research and policy. ANAC fosters the professional development of nurses and others involved in the delivery of healthcare for people at risk for, living with, and/or affected by HIV and its co-occurring conditions. ANAC promotes the health, welfare, and rights of people living with HIV around the world. Their work includes continuing education and certification support for nursing professionals, annual conferences, research dissemination, policy engagement, and professional networking opportunities that strengthen the HIV care workforce.

The HIV+ Aging Research Project (HARP-PS)

Founded in 2015 and based in Palm Springs, California, the HIV+ Aging Research Project (HARP-PS) is dedicated to researching the medical and emotional factors that enable long-term HIV survivors to thrive — and to improving the quality of life for people getting older with HIV. With more than 50% of Americans living with HIV now over the age of 50, HARP-PS addresses a growing and underserved population that faces an earlier onset of health challenges and significant psychosocial barriers as a result of living for decades with HIV. In collaboration with major universities and federal health agencies, HARP-PS conducts research and delivers education for both community members and healthcare providers. Their programming includes the Positive Life Series (monthly educational events for the local HIV+ community); Provider Rounds, which provides clinical education for healthcare professionals; the annual Positively Aging Project conference; the annual SHE Is conference specifically for women living with HIV; an annual Self-Advocacy in Healthcare conference to help people with chronic health conditions navigate the healthcare system; and the Timothy Ray Brown Community Care Symposium, which focuses on HIV cure research.

NMAC

Launched in 1987 during the early years of the HIV/AIDS crisis, NMAC (formerly known as the National Minority AIDS Council) is a national HIV organization dedicated to advancing health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic among the most impacted communities in the United States. NMAC offers capacity building, leadership development, policy education, and public engagement, including its Center for HIV Treatment, Leadership, and Community Engagement. This Center specifically designs programs to increase health literacy among people living with HIV and AIDS, empowering them to fully participate in their treatment, and includes biomedical HIV prevention education. It also focuses on individuals over the age of 50 living with HIV, emphasizing co-occurring mental health concerns (like PTSD and substance use) and comorbidities (such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes), engaging in HIV research, treatment, and public education through webinars, newsletter articles, social media, and advocacy groups. NMAC further convenes the Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit, the nation’s largest gathering of the HIV/STI workforce focused on enhancing access to HIV prevention, including Treatment as Prevention, and the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS, the nation’s largest gathering for community mobilization and public health education for a whole-person health approach.

The Well Project

Founded in 2002, The Well Project has become a recognized leader in the fight against HIV by revolutionizing the availability and accessibility of much-needed resources designed specifically for women living with and vulnerable to HIV. The Well Project’s mission is to change the course of the HIV/AIDS pandemic through a unique and comprehensive focus on women and girls across the gender spectrum. They envision a world in which women living with, or vulnerable to, HIV have the information, support, and tools they need to advocate for their health and well-being, and live free from stigma. The Well Project is an enduring resource with a global reach, leveraging virtual and in-person platforms to improve the health outcomes and well-being of women living with and affected by HIV. The Well Project’s programming is supported by the following five strategic pillars: