25 faces: Leaders fighting HIV/AIDS in Colorado

3 Rob Sterrett

As a public speaker and teacher of awareness for Native American’s and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Robert Sterrett has found that a life of service and public discussion to be his niche.

Sterrett got involved in HIV/AIDS work in April of 2007 when he began assisting First Nations in getting the Native tribe’s to allow access in teaching HIV 101 courses to high school age students. He has also been an implemental speaker as a member of the Colorado AIDS Project Speaker’s Bureau that has allowed him to speak to communities throughout New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Oklahoma. He believes that these experiences have given him the opportunity to grow.

“There seems to be a lot more willingness on most people’s parts to actually listen to what we have to say,” Sterrett said. “It is getting easier to gain access to many parts of the public than it used to be.”

Sterrett continues to vow his support to outreach and prevention programs through his work, and remains hopeful about the future. “This is a totally preventable disease,” he said. “We know how it is contracted and we know how to protect ourselves from getting infected. Unlike other things in our lives, we have or little control over, the spread of HIV/AIDS is totally preventable and we need to double our efforts in educating the public that seems to think that this is not a problem any more.”