Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Time: 5:30 – 7:30pm
Location: Rayburn Cafeteria, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC
RSVP: Zach Miller, Policy Manager ZMiller@nmac.org
Sponsorships & Contributions: Jennifer Bledsoe, Chief Development Officer, JBledsoe@nmac.org
NMAC’s 6th Hill Champions Reception, held annually to commemorate World AIDS Day, continues the tradition of celebrating the unwavering commitment of congressional leaders who are working to end the HIV epidemic and uplift the lives of those living with HIV amidst challenging political times.
Aligned with NMAC’s goal of creating spaces for policymakers, community leaders, the public health workforce, and industry to convene, this year’s awardees are emerging leaders whose commitment to public health equity and advances in the HIV movement are deserving of the recognition. We also take this opportunity at Hill Champions each year to acknowledge the entire Congressional HIV Caucus for their collective leadership in advocating to protect HIV/AIDS programming and funding.
Crisis creates opportunity for collective action. As we educate and mobilize policymakers and communities to protect funding for domestic HIV programs, World AIDS Day and the HIV/AIDS Caucus stand as powerful reminders of what bipartisan leadership can achieve. Federal HIV programs like the Ryan White Care Act, the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative, and PEPFAR, each born from cross-party collaboration, have strengthened our domestic public health infrastructure, built a skilled workforce, and brought valuable lessons home to tackle our nation’s health challenges.
2025 Hill Champions: Congressional Honorees
For more than 40 years, the HIV movement has been powered by science, driven by data, uplifted by community voices and strengthened by bipartisan political leadership. Even as the government shutdown casts uncertainty, it is more important than ever to recognize the elected officials who continue to stand up for our communities most-impacted by HIV. Meet our 2025 Hill Champions who are all women, emerging leaders, and our allies in challenging times.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett started her career as a public defender and civil rights attorney before taking office in the Texas House of Representatives from 2021-2023. In 2023, she was elected to office as a member of the US House of Representatives from Texas’s 30th district. Eager to show support for the HIV movement quickly into her term, she signed a letter in July of 2023 affirming her support for the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Her HIV advocacy was also honored by the End With Red Gala (presented by the Afiya Center), an event “honor[ing] the lives and efforts of Black womxn living with HIV in Texas.
Beyond HIV, she has been a staunch supporter of mental health access for minorities, maternal healthcare and equitable abortion access. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Black Maternal Health Caucus, among others.
Congresswoman Crockett stands firm on her beliefs, and makes it plain when she sees her colleagues take political positions that do not align with America’s values. Throughout her tenure, the Congresswoman has been unafraid to make her voice heard and speak truth to power, making her an ideal recipient for the John Lewis Good Trouble award.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs
After serving as a political advisor for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs was elected in 2020 to the US House of Representatives in California’s 53rd district. She currently serves in California’s 51st district.
Congresswoman Jacobs is a staunch supporter of the HIV movement. In addition to being a member of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, in August 2022, she signed on to a letter to the Biden administration advocating for people living with well-managed HIV to be permitted to serve in the military. In December of 2023, she addressed an event commemorating World AIDS Day, where she emphasized the importance of Congress reauthorizing PEPFAR. She also signed onto a letter to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services encouraging them to preserve HIV funding as they finalized the FY 2025 Labor HHS appropriations bill. As of February 2025, she has introduced legislation to protect USAID after its defunding by DOGE. The Congresswoman condemned, amongst many criticisms, the resulting closure of HIV/AIDS clinics throughout Africa.
Her leadership in advancing the effort to end HIV is consistent, and we are privileged to award her the Barbara Lee Courage in HIV Advocacy Award.
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez
Following her service in the Illinois House of Representatives (in Illinois’s 4th district), Congresswoman Delia Ramirez was elected to the US House of Representatives in Illinois’s third district in 2022. Minority public health is a central component of Congresswoman Ramirez’s platform. She is a co-sponsor of legislation such as the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act, and the Health Equity and Access under the Law for Immigrant Families Act.
She has also established herself as a leader in the fight to end the HIV epidemic. In September of 2025, she signed onto legislation H.R. 5126, or the HIV Prevention Now Act, which sought to “provide funding for programs and activities of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and for other purposes.” The Congresswoman is a committed advocate for minority health and well-being, and we are honored to recognize her efforts with the Elijah Cummings Award for Minority Health Equity.
Join us to honor the champions who make progress possible. Their leadership reminds us that unity, compassion, and bold action are still alive on Capitol Hill.
The Evolution of Hill Champions and Awards
Since its founding, NMAC’s Hill Champions Reception has stood as a tribute to the enduring partnership between leaders in the HIV community, and policymakers bipartisanly committed to ending the HIV epidemic.
Over the years, this NMAC flagship policy convening has evolved to honor those advancing equitable HIV policies on Capitol Hill as well as the lasting legacies of leaders whose courage and vision continue to inspire this work. With each passing year, attendance has grown, amplifying the work being done by our champions and highlighting the continued need of our collective action.
Following the passing of champions Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Elijah Cummings, NMAC collaborated with their families to establish the John Lewis Good Trouble Award and the Elijah Cummings Award for Minority Health Equity. These awards are presented to distinguished members of Congress for their efforts to advance health equity and social justice. Past recipients of these prestigious awards include Secretary Marcia Fudge, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón, among others.
In 2024, at our fifth Hill Champions Reception, we also established the Barbara Lee Courage in HIV Advocacy award. We confer this award annually upon members of Congress who exemplify Congresswoman Lee’s fearless commitment to HIV/AIDS policy and leadership.
