Gabriel Maldonado, Keynote Speaker

Gabriel Maldonado is an activist, long-time community organizer, founder and Chief Executive Officer of TruEvolution. Founded in 2007, TruEvolution is a health and justice organization serving LGBTQ+, youth, seniors, and people living with HIV in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. In 2023, TruEvolution expanded their services by welcoming the opening of Project Legacy. Project Legacy provides a multitude of resources for the community, and offers long term transitional housing for those who need it most. Project Legacy is also home to the IE LGBTQ+ Center, which serves as a safe space for members of the community, and organizations throughout the region. Formerly a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS under President Barack Obama, Gabriel has worked in public, private, and industry spaces having served on the national advisory boards and committees in public health and biosciences. Gabriel was the Co-Chair of the National Health Disparities Prevention Conference in 2019 and has served previously on the board of directors for regional and global organizations. Currently, Gabriel serves on the Board of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, the 2nd largest Planned Parenthood affiliated in the U.S, and in 2023 was appointed as an inaugural Commissioner by CA Governor Gavin Newsom to the Racial Equity Commission. Maldonado earned his Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Global Affairs from the University of California Riverside and his MBA in Global Business from the University of Redlands. Most recently, Gabriel was admitted as a doctoral candidate for a PhD in Executive Management at the Drucker School of Management at the Claremont McKenna Colleges where he will study ethical and effective leadership styles in corporate giving and philanthropy. Inspired by the Civil Rights and community organizing movements in Compton, where he was raised, Gabriel has made a near twenty year career in public health, housing development and social