Dr. Holloway is a tenured Associate Professor of Social Welfare in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. His applied behavioral health research examines the contextual factors that contribute to health and well-being among gay and bisexual men. Dr. Holloway’s recent research seeks to understand how social media and new technologies can be harnessed for health promotion with gay men. He has published over 75 peer reviewed papers and his research has been funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the California HIV/AIDS Research Program. Dr. Holloway is a licensed clinical social worker. His practice experience has centered on gay men’s identity development, substance use harm reduction and sexual empowerment. He holds master’s degrees in social work and public health from Columbia University and a doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California.
Alex Garner currently works as the Senior Health Innovation Strategist at Hornet, a gay social networking app with over 25 million users worldwide. In this role, Mr. Garner crafts sexual health messaging, develops social marketing campaigns, and creates digital content for a global gay audience. Mr. Garner began working as an HIV-positive youth advocate, concentrating on issues of particular concern to young gay men of color with HIV. As a writer and an artist, he has utilized media and cultural arts to mobilize communities around issues of healthcare, equality, and social change. Mr. Garner founded and managed a national HIV magazine where he crafted topical stories and developed marketing and social media strategies. He has worked as a freelance writer for over two decades, capturing the experiences and perspectives of gay men and crafting compelling and thoughtful narratives about gay men’s complex lives.