Nobody was out of reach from comedian Paula Poundstone’s sarcastic jabs at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Spring Dinner, as she poked fun of Dean Richards, MC for the April 18 event; Chicago’s weather; and even the foundation’s corporate sponsors.

“I thought we were safe,” quipped Bill Gerardi, chief medical officer at Aetna Better Health, after the event concluded. He was speaking to Paula and approached her with warmth and a contagious smile. “I never expected be called out like that. I’m a huge fan of yours.”

Everybody was a great sport and enjoyed Paula’s levity, but the night carried a serious tone as well.

David Ernesto Munar, president/CEO of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), recalled statistics of the devastating impact HIV/AIDS has had on the U.S., but he also expressed hope.

“In order to thrive [with this disease],” Munar said to a crowd of nearly 500, “a dose of tenacity helps—particularly the inner strength to reject the stigmatizing attitudes that make living with HIV an emotional rollercoaster. But mostly, people with HIV need loving and accepting family and friends, people just like you. We need to lean on a community that will never give up until the HIV crisis is over—and over for everyone.”

The Spring Dinner’s honorees have epitomized these virtues for years.

AFC presented the Civic Leadership Award to renowned choreographer Randy Duncan, who has explored themes of love and human connection in the age of AIDS through Dance for Life, an annual performance that benefits the Dancers’ Fund.

“It’s a real honor to receive this award,” Duncan said. “It really is. It’s amazing to have so many friends and supporters that wish you well and say, ‘Thank you for all your work,’ when really I haven’t worked at all. This is just what I do, and it’s a passion, and it is really lovely to be recognized.”

Also honored was Robert Neubert, a long-time member of AFC’s board and co-chair of Dance for Life, with the Lori Kaufman Volunteer Award.

After accepting the award, Neubert later noted that “it’s an incredible moment with heartfelt love and memories of so many friends that I lost in the fight, and gratefully we’re in a far, far better place, but the work’s not done.”

“I think Robert’s just a really special guy,” said Gary Metzner, senior vice president at Sotheby’s and a decades-long member of the board. “He just gives of himself and asks nothing in return—I think that’s a lot of what AFC embodies as well.”

Metzner received the Lori Kaufman Volunteer Award last year.

The Spring Dinner was a much-needed event after a week of difficult news that left people emotionally exhausted.

Given AFC’s strong connection to endurance sports through TEAM TO END AIDS (T2), Richards opened the evening with a moment of silence for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and despite torrential downpours and an hours-long flight delay, Paula made it to Chicago unphased.

Still, there was a lot to celebrate throughout the evening, and a lot to make us laugh, but perhaps the most fitting comment came from the funny woman herself, Paula Poundstone, who set the jokes aside for a moment and reflected on the gravity of the event: “The truth is, everybody is connected to the cause. Everybody knows somebody who has been affected.”

Evany Turk believes in change. As a warm, respected ambassador in many of Chicago’s underserved neighborhoods, she doesn’t just talk about making a difference; she lives it.

The Illinois House of Representatives recently passed a comprehensive, sexual health education bill, and Evany, an advocate for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), stood behind the measure and continues to support it.

That’s because for her, it’s personal.

“I connected with the bill,” said Evany, who was a mother by her mid-teens and contracted HIV in her early 20s. “When I was in high school, we received abstinence-only education.  There was no talk about contraception. And I believe that comprehensive sex ed could have decreased my chances of getting pregnant at a young age—and decreased my chances of getting the virus.”

When she learned of her diagnosis, she was crushed. Yes, HIV would have a negative impact on her physical health, but the shame and stigma associated with the disease drove her to dark places.

For five years she wrestled with her past, contemplating suicide, but she always stopped short of tragedy.

With the help of a therapist, Evany began to reclaim her life and eventually transformed herself into the powerful woman she is today. As she emerged from her depression, she participated more fully in her kids’ lives, taking an interest in what they were learning—and in what they weren’t.

“My kids—they were between 17 and 18 at the time—they came home from school one day and said that they don’t talk about sex in the classroom,” Evany recalled. “They didn’t even have a health class. This had to change, and I knew I had to do something. The earlier youth start learning about sex, diseases, and pregnancy, the better informed their decisions will be.”

Evany backed her words with action.

It was 2010, and she took her message of comprehensive sexual health education into schools. Representing herself, she shared her story and empowered young people with life-giving resources.

She also teamed up with AFC’s advocacy group called Illinois Alliance for Sound AIDS Policy and supported a comprehensive sex education bill in the state’s capital.

Evany was gaining steam. Schools requested her to engage students in difficult conversations about sex, and community health organizations connected her with teachers and classrooms.

The University of Chicago’s Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department soon hired her to work fulltime, speaking to schools with large African-American and Latino populations on the city’s South and West Sides. Her audience ranged from fifth grade to 12th. For years, she worked as an ambassador for change, and so did her state legislators.

A comprehensive sex education bill passed the Senate in 2011 but was never called for a vote in the House. That defeat only encouraged people like Evany and other AFC advocates to breathe new life into the initiative and continue fighting.

In early 2013, a nearly identical comprehensive sexual health education bill was re-introduced in the state House.

During this time, Evany advocated—to lawmakers, to parents, to teens. She used her voice like never before.

“The biggest pushback came from groups, claiming that this bill would give young people permission to have sex,” Evany said. “That simply is not true. Talk to kids. They’ll tell you that learning about condoms and sexually transmitted infections, like HIV, doesn’t encourage sex. And for those kids who want to have sex whether they’re taught abstinence or not, they’re grateful to have information about contraception.”

Her tireless campaign paid off.

On April 17, the bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law by the Governor, the bill will create a standard for existing sexual health education courses in grades six through 12; provide medically accurate, age-appropriate, complete information on ways to reduce sexually transmitted diseases and infections, as well as unintended pregnancies; ensure that school districts can decide what curricula meet their community standards; and empower parents to remove their children from sexual health education courses for any reason, without penalty to students.

Though the bill isn’t law yet, it echoes the work Evany has been doing for years and will hopefully create more sexual health education advocates.

For Evany, her mission is no longer personal. It’s public, and she wants to share it with youth throughout Illinois.

Cynthia Tucker is a woman of excellence.

For decades, she has been a relentless champion of the HIV/AIDS movement, serving currently as director of prevention and community partnerships at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC).

On April 25, she will receive an honor that’s as fitting as the virtues she embodies: The Chicago Defender will present her with the 2013 Women of Excellence Award.

Nominated by a colleague, the news humbled Cynthia. “When I read what my nominator wrote, I couldn’t believe all the things I had done,” she quipped. “I wasn’t sure if his letter to the Defender was even describing me.”

Cynthia’s 20-year career in HIV/AIDS prevention began at Planned Parenthood of Illinois. She was a counselor, sitting across from a young girl who was raped and had a diagnosis of six sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The girl did not have HIV, but she opened Cynthia’s eyes to the possibilities of a young woman of color contracting the disease.

“It was the early 90s, and HIV was stereotyped as something only gay, white men contracted,” Cynthia said. “I told Planned Parenthood that we need to focus on HIV, but they said that it didn’t fit their mission. They were focused on teenage pregnancies, but I knew their outlook had to be broader.”