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Jennifer Jako

Jennifer Jako

AIDS Activist, Filmmaker, Photographer, Lecturer and Designer. She is the co-director of the documentary film, Blood Lines, a portrait of HIV-positive youth

Jennifer Jako contracted HIV in 1991 at age 18. Through one intimate moment with a boy who didn't know he was infected, her future was forever changed. Jako's coping mechanism was to take action to raise awareness and prevent others from becoming infected. Today she is a twenty-three year survivor of HIV/AIDS and is proof you can face adversity and win. She is currently raising awareness through the Greater Than AIDS Empowered Campaign with Alicia Keys. Jako is a powerful advocate for AIDS education and prevention. Her documentary film about HIV+ youth, Blood Lines/It Could Be You, broadcast for five years on MTV. This award winning f...

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Jennifer Jako contracted HIV in 1991 at age 18. Through one intimate moment with a boy who didn’t know he was infected, her future was forever changed. Jako’s coping mechanism was to take action to raise awareness and prevent others from becoming infected. Today she is a twenty-three year survivor of HIV/AIDS and is proof you can face adversity and win. She is currently raising awareness through the Greater Than AIDS Empowered Campaign with Alicia Keys.

Jako is a powerful advocate for AIDS education and prevention. Her documentary film about HIV+ youth, Blood Lines/It Could Be You, broadcast for five years on MTV. This award winning film is now used around the world to educate youth about HIV/AIDS. The New York Times called it, “a pointed, moving documentary… an eloquent plea for understanding.” She has spoken directly with over 350,000 people and her media outreach has communicated with tens of millions.

Her interviews have appeared in print: cover of Newsweek, Glamour, The New York Times, USA Today; and television: Lifetime, Discovery Channel, MTV, CNN. She is included in the books Girlfriends and Women of Courage. In May of 2006, she appeared pregnant on the cover of Newsweek Magazine’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of AIDS in America. Through her media consultations, episodes of “Without a Trace” and “Gray’s Anatomy” have incorporated her story into their scripts.

She is engaged with her family, including her ten-year-old daughter born free of HIV, and community and continues to empower and inform the public about HIV disease.

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Testimonials

It was great. Jennifer did an amazing job. We had a pretty nice turn out, and everyone enjoyed Jennifer’s speech and interaction. Thank you so much for all of your help.

Western Michigan University

Topics

Topics

The Media & Generation AIDS

MTV, HIV & Generation (se) X

Blood Lines: A View Into the Souls of HIV+ Youth

AIDS: It’s Not Over

Living Empowered

Safer Sex Jeopardy

Your Greatest Resource: Your Health

United States Report Card on Reproductive Health: Let’s Get an A+!

Pop Sex: Sex Ed for the Digital Age

Videos

Videos

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TESTIMONIALS

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

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