The NextGen: Emerging Leaders Fellowship is a bilingual, hybrid,10-month fellowship that provides individuals ages 18-25 with the necessary tools to become established public health leaders within the HIV community. Through professional development, educational training, and program planning aid, NextGen fellows obtain vital experiences that position them as emerging changemakers in the public health landscape.
The NextGen Fellowship is an initiative that belongs to the NMAC Center for HIV Treatment, Leadership, and Community Engagement. The Fellowship has been funded by ViiV Healthcare since 2019, and is currently training its 8th cohort of fellows.
Young adults between the age of 18-25 living in the United States (including territories) are eligible to apply. This fellowship is a status neutral program open to people of all races, ethnicities, and genders. Each year NMAC selects up to 25 Fellows and 5 Champions/Coaches who are interested in building their capacity to become culturally responsive leaders in the HIV workforce.
Why NextGen Matters
According to AIDSVu’s National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Toolkit (2024), young people aged 13–24 account for approximately 19 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States, with Black and Latine youth and those living in the South experiencing the highest rates. The National Institutes of Health notes that adolescents and young adults have the lowest rates of HIV testing, care engagement, and viral suppression across all age groups, with only 56 percent of youth living with HIV aware of their status (National Institutes of Health, 2024). These disparities reflect developmental, social, and structural barriers including stigma, lack of confidential and culturally responsive care, and limited access to comprehensive sexual health education. These factors delay diagnosis and sustained engagement in care. Collectively, they reveal a persistent gap in the national HIV prevention-to-care continuum for youth.
The NextGen Fellowship directly responds to this public health need by cultivating a diverse network of young leaders equipped to strengthen HIV prevention, treatment literacy, and engagement at the community and systems levels. Through education, mentorship, and mini-grants that support youth-designed outreach initiatives, NextGen develops a more culturally competent and resilient HIV workforce. This investment empowers young adults to translate public health data into equitable action, expand access to prevention and care, and ensure that strategies evolve with and for the next generation.
Mission
The NextGen: Emerging Leaders Fellowship equips young leaders from communities most impacted by HIV with culturally responsive public health education, mentorship, and leadership development. Through continued training, field experience, and mini-grants that fund youth-led HIV projects, NextGen strengthens a diverse and resilient public health next generation workforce and community prepared to advance HIV prevention, treatment, and advocacy with equity at the center.
Vision
A future led by a new generation of public health young adult leaders who are informed, empowered, and resourced to promote health equity and end the HIV epidemic in their communities and across the United States.
NextGen Fellowship Value Add
NextGen provides more than the standard HIV training. It offers a healthy community for young adults with access to national conferences, professional development, and mentorship opportunities that prepare fellows for sustainable careers in public health. Through participation in events like the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA), the Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit, and other national platforms, fellows expand their professional networks and learn from leading experts on topics such as workplace wellness, leadership balance, and preventing burnout in the HIV workforce. These experiences strengthen both personal growth and professional readiness, ensuring that youth leaders are equipped to contribute meaningfully to the future of HIV prevention, research, and care.
NextGen Fellowship Core Competencies:
- Describe the HIV epidemic in the United States
- Assess community needs, assets, and capacities
- Apply cultural awareness in public health program design
- Design and implement local interventions
- Communicate public health messages effectively
NextGen Fellowship Components:
- Training Education
- Community Engagement Mini-grants
- Professional Development
Training and Education Curriculum:
Fellows attend four HIV-focused public health training sessions that cover prevention, treatment, data, and the societal influences that shape HIV outcomes. The sessions also examine the history of HIV care, while emphasizing the need for ongoing innovation. Our curriculum prepares fellows to take on community engagement projects aimed to address HIV and its correlates.
First-Year Fellows: 4 sessions, completed virtually
- Public Health Program Planning & Leadership
Design community events, apply equity-centered leadership. - Biomedical HIV Prevention & Treatment
Learn the latest about PrEP, PEP, U=U, long-acting injectables - HIV Epidemiology & Ending the Epidemic
Focus on youth trends and federal strategies. - Social Determinants of Health
Explore links between HIV, housing, education & healthcare access
Advanced Fellows: 4 sessions, completed at USCHA
- Campaign Design & Planning
Focus area: Build HIV campaigns with budgets, goals, and messaging - Community Public Health Engagement
Focus area: Improve outreach and access to HIV prevention & care - HIV Policy & Health Justice
Focus area: Understand the role of policy in health disparities - HIV Criminalization & the Law
Focus area: Know your rights and the impact of HIV criminalization
Mini-Grants for Community Engagement:
All fellows receive a mini-grant to design their own public health project. First-year fellows design their own HIV community health project in person and advanced fellows work in small groups to create an HIV public health campaign. All fellows are paired with Champions (coaches/mentors) to guide fellows through the program planning, design, implementation, and evaluation phases. Upon completion, fellows present their project outcomes and impact during NMAC conferences (USCHA and Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit).
Professional Development Series
(Sessions held at Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit)
All fellows obtain professional development from established guest speakers focused on health equity, cultural responsiveness, and career-readiness. This year’s sessions will cover:
- Understanding the History of Medical Mistrust & Dismantling HIV Stigma
Focus area: Trauma-informed care and historical context. - LGBTQIA+ Health Equity in Public Health Practice
Focus area: Inclusive communication and intersectional equity. - Sexual Health for Youth: Beyond STI’s
Focus area: Youth empowerment, reproductive justice, and sex positivity. - Burnout in the HIV Workforce
Focus area: Wellness for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ public health leaders.
Impact
(Sessions held at Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit)
NextGen participants receive many opportunities for growth and development throughout the fellowship, including:
Networking and Enhanced Visibility: For many, becoming a Fellow is a first-time opportunity for working in HIV prevention, care and advocacy. Therefore, to encourage them to expand their network, the Fellowship provides multiple opportunities for fellows to interface with the HIV workforce. Fellows are uplifted and given space to speak at training sessions and conference plenaries. They also get to collaborate with fellows in other NMAC programs. The goal is to help them become fully immersed in the culture of the public health workforce.
Empowerment and Continued Support: Participants state the NextGen Fellowship motivates individuals to expand skills and capitalize on opportunities to advance career-readiness.
Fellows graduate from NextGen not only with a newfound appreciation and acknowledgement of the importance of their generation in the HIV workforce, but leave feeling empowered from new insights, eye-opening ideas, newfound relationships, and a driving force to continue adding valuable contributions to their community health needs.
Quotes From Previous Participants:
What To Expect When You Apply: 2026-2027 Cohort
First-year fellows (15 fellows):
Who: Young adults (18–25) new to HIV advocacy
When: August 2026 – June 2027 (virtual + in-person)
Description and Key Responsibilities:
- $500 mini-grant to lead an individual Community Health Project (due June 2027)
- Monthly HIV training and education
- Professional development training (during Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit, April 2027)
- Monthly 1:1 mentorship with a Champion/Coach
- Scholarship to attend the April 2027 Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit: Registration, flight, hotel 3 nights, ground transport, and meal stipend included.
- Tailored in-person curriculum at theSummit designed for first-time fellows.
- Upon completion, you become to return as an Advanced Fellow for the next cohort.
Note: First-Year Fellows do not attend USCHA 2026.
Advanced Fellows (10 Fellows):
Who: 2025–2026 First-Year Fellows who completed all program requirements
When: August 2026 – June 2027 (virtual + in-person)
Description and Key Responsibilities:
- Lead a Public Health Social Media Campaign Project (due April 2027)
- Monthly group mentorship with a Champion/Coach
- Scholarship for 2026 USCHA: Registration, flight, hotel (4 nights), meal & transport stipend
- Present your 1st Year fellow project at 2026 USCHA
- Tailored in person curriculum at Conference focused on HIV public health leadership for your campaign.
- Scholarship to attend the April 2027 Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit: Registration, flight, hotel 3 nights, ground transport, and meal stipend included
- Present your group Public Health Campaign as Advanced Fellows
- Tailored in-person curriculum at Summit focused on HIV public health leadership.
Champions/Coaches (5):
Who: Advanced Alumni Fellows or HIV community voices with capacity building, facilitation, and professional coaching experience.
When: August 2026 – June 2027 (virtual + in-person)
Description and Key Responsibilities:
- Monthly mentorship responsibilities for 4–6 Fellows (First-Year & Advanced)
- Lead 2–3 virtual training sessions.
- Facilitate workshops at 2026 USCHA and the 2027 Summit Tailored conference curriculum on mentorship, facilitation, and strategy
- Full travel packages to both conferences (flight, hotel, meal & transport stipend)
- Up to $4,000 stipend for monthly coaching and facilitation
Important dates and upcoming ’26-’27 cohort applications:
Applications for the 2026-2027 NextGen Fellowship and Champion applications will open in June of 2026. Please check back later for application updates.
NextGen through the years: Program Evolution and Improvement
Since its start in 2019, NextGen continuously improves its efforts to revamp our program initiatives and components to better support our fellows. Based on feedback obtained through our evaluation measures, NextGen has since implemented:
NextGen Fellowship Program Evolution
2023-2024
- Established Advanced Cohort to encourage fellows to return and continue in their work for young adult HIV/AIDS visibility. Alumni from this cohort are all encouraged to apply for Champions roles.
2024-2025 Bilingual Initiative
- Hiring bilingual (English/ Spanish) staff, and creating bilingual website and applications to increase fellows’ Latine representation
- New curriculum designs such as the addition of the Self-Care and Mental Health training that shows participants how to avoid burnout.
- Since 2025 USCHA, the NextGen Fellowship is now fully bilingual, allowing participants and coaches to present training sessions, coaching sessions and implement projects fully in Spanish. NextGen also prioritizes recruitment and project implementation in monolingual Spanish speaking areas such as rural Puerto Rico.
2025-2026 HIV Policy for the Future of NextGen
Expanding HIV policy education beyond training sessions is essential to building a youth-led public health workforce informed by equity. The NextGen Fellowship strengthens this learning by engaging fellows directly in national policy spaces such as AIDSWatch, the largest annual HIV advocacy event in the United States.
Participation will allow young leaders to learn how policy decisions shape access to care, prevention, and funding, while connecting them to legislators, community advocates, and national partners advancing HIV justice. According to the AIDSWatch 2025 Policy Brief (AIDS United, 2025), key policy priorities for youth include improving access to comprehensive sexual-health education, expanding prevention tools such as PrEP, maintaining critical programs like the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, addressing systemic disparities through intersectional approaches, and ensuring meaningful youth participation in decision-making.
Through this lens, NextGen integrates HIV policy and community education into its leadership model offering fellows workshops and discussions led by NMAC’s Policy Team and other national experts. Fellows are also supported to apply for policy-related conferences, initiatives, and events to deepen their understanding of how HIV policy directly impacts their communities. These opportunities empower participants to transform policy knowledge into action, advancing equitable health outcomes for youth living with or affected by HIV.
In addition, other collaborations include new and improved focused training sessions on Social Media Public Health Campaigning in collaboration with NMAC’s Communications team.
We also Increased fellows’ visibility by including them in plenaries and workshop presentations during USCHA and theSummit in collaboration with NMAC’s Conferences team.
NextGen Media and Community Outreach
Contact
For more information about NextGen: Emerging Leaders Fellowship, please contact: