By Staff, January 2019 Issue

As we say goodbye to 2018, the team at Echo Magazine reflects on these past 12 months, taking time to remember all of the incredible people that have strived to create brighter paths for the future. To a handful of these treasures of our community, Echo honors them with its Leaders of the Year recognition.

It is with excitement and privilege that we announce Eion Cashman, Jason Jones, and JayyVon Monroe as the leaders we recognize with this honor for 2018.

Cashman is a prevention and project coordinator at the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, Jones is the board chair at RipplePHX, and Monroe is a longtime member of the music and drag-performance communities.

While each leader holds different positions regarding their daily work – each of these outstanding Valley residents have a shared experience they discuss in these upcoming pages – Cashman, Jones, and Monroe detail their personal journeys with HIV, and their current status as Undetectable and Untransmittable (U=U).

The U=U health initiative was created by Prevention Access to end the dual epidemics of HIV and HIV-related stigma by empowering people with, and vulnerable to, HIV with accurate and meaningful related information. Thanks to brave individuals like these Leaders of the Year, who are willing to open up about their experiences, this crucial information becomes even more widespread.

Before you venture into these personal looks at each 2018 Leader of the Year, let’s take a look at the previous honorees who paved the way!