The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

MICHAEL EMANUEL RAJNER, B.S.W., has resided in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area since 2000 and earned a bachelor degree in social work at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. While working towards his degree, Michael interned with the Broward State Attorney’s Office as a victim advocate intern working with victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes.

Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, Michael first engaged in advocacy as a teen when his mother, grandmother and cousin were all diagnosed with Cancer and lost their battles to the disease within 1 ½ months of another. At the age of 14, Michael was appointed as a legislative aide to New Jersey State Senator S. Gerald Cardinale and assisted in drafting legislation which Senator Cardinale introduced to support funding for the early detection and prevention of Cancer. Although the legislation, sponsored by Senator Cardinale was unanimously approved by the New Jersey Senate, it was ultimately defeated without a committee hearing in the New Jersey General Assembly.

In March of 1996 Michael was diagnosed HIV+ after recovering from a Hepatitis infection while working as a property/casualty insurance broker in New York City. His HIV-condition advanced to AIDS in early 1998 and since has overcome several opportunistic infections. Michael first began promoting AIDS awareness by bicycling over 3,000 miles while participating in rides journeying from Boston to New York, the Hampton’s, Catskills, New Jersey and the SMART Ride (Miami to Key West) while raising thousands of dollars for community based organizations providing AIDS-related services.

Over the years he has continued to be part of efforts to advance HIV/AIDS-related public policy and has volunteered his passion through advocacy and activism. He served as National Secretary of Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) and most recently served as National Community Organizer for the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) and coordinated the AIDS IN AMERICA series of regional meetings and town halls around the nation for people living with HIV/AIDS. Empowered by the Denver Principles, Michael remains active with the CAEAR Coalition’s PLWHA Caucus to ensure the representation and voice of independent people living with HIV/AIDS are at the policy-making table. He works closely with local, state and national lawmakers to educate and engage them on HIV/AIDS and LGBT-related legislative issues.

Michael maintains a strong commitment to community involvement and public service and holds seats on the Broward County Sheriff’s Council for Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Broward County School Board’s Diversity Committee and a leadership role in the Broward County HIV Health Services Planning Council. He also serves on the Florida Department of Health’s Florida AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Formulary Advisory Workgroup and served on the National Quality Center’s - Consumer Advisory Committee. In 2009, Michael was elected to his second term on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Regional Gay Men’s Health Summit.

In May 2007, Michael, along with several community leaders, co-founded the coalition Transgender Equality Rights Initiatives (TERI). TERI is credited for the community mobilization effort that successfully provided public support to amend Broward County’s Human Rights Ordinance in February 2008 to include “gender identity”, “gender expression” and “pregnancy” as protected classes.

Michael also serves as the legislative director for the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Caucus, an official caucus of the Florida Democratic Party.

The Oct/Nov 2009 cover of POZ magazine featured Michael and he has been recognized by several organizations for his contributions to the HIV/AIDS and LGBT communities. He was the recipient of the 2008 Gay & Lesbian Community Center of South Florida Stars of the Rainbow – Activist of the Year, the 2007 Keith D. Cylar - United States AIDS Activist Award by Housing Works, Inc. (Brooklyn, New York) and Activist of the Year at The Independent’s 2006 People of the Year Awards. In 2007, the State of New Jersey passed a Joint Legislative Resolution commending him for his contribution to the AIDS movement.