Wherever we are, we all share the same need:

the need to be seen, the need to be heard, the need to be loved, and the need to belong.

POSITIVE EXPOSURE promotes a more equitable, compassionate world for individuals and communities at risk of stigma and exclusion through photography, film, storytelling, education, and advocacy.

Your support plays a critical role in helping us achieve our mission! Please join us at our annual fundraiser and celebration! Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served. This year we gather to celebrate two incredible honorees.

The POSITIVE EXPOSURE 2023 Spirit of Change Award

Honoree: The Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society

The Chromosome 18 Registry & Research Society (The Registry) is an advocacy organization created over 30 years ago to help people living with chromosome 18 abnormalities lead happy, healthy, and productive lives.

The Spirit of Change Award recognizes the force of Change, and the AMAZING force of the Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society. Former recipients include Judith Heumann, disability rights activist, and Stephen Perlman, founder of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Program, who share a fierce devotion to making radical change.

More than 20 years ago, the Registry reached out to fashion photographer Rick Guidotti with a vision that would eventually impact hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. They saw a universal message in LIFE Magazine’s cover story, “Redefining Beauty,” which featured Rick’s work celebrating individuals living with albinism.

The Registry invited Rick to a conference in San Antonio to capture the unique beauty of individuals living with Chromosome 18 anomalies. It was there that Rick saw firsthand the beauty and richness of human diversity: beyond albinism, beyond the parameters of the beauty standard, and beyond any ideas he ever had about authentic BEAUTY. Here was a beauty that would change the world!

That beauty created POSITIVE EXPOSURE, exploding with images of Elizabeth, Sean, Pauline, Shelby, John, Michele, Daniel, Amelia, Ellington, Ross, Kammie, Remy, Julia, Bob, Becky, Deak, Sammy, Torrie, Jake, David, Rebecca, and Talia, just to name a few!

The Registry is a powerful beacon for not only the individuals and families they are committed to serving, but for all advocates and advocacy organizations fighting to change social perceptions of individuals often at risk of stigma, discrimination, and exclusion.

The POSITIVE EXPOSURE 2023 Rising Leader Award

Honoree: Talia Grinage

The Rising Leader Award celebrates a new generation of emblazoned activists who are driven to support and celebrate individuals and communities at risk of stigma and exclusion.

Starring in one of our FRAME (Faces Redefining the Art of Medical Education) films, Representation in Dermatology Training, Talia Grinage speaks about living with a rare skin condition. She boldly and bravely shared her experiences, often physically and emotionally painful, to highlight the universal need for humanity and dignity to be visible at the forefront of medical education.

Talia, with her grace, style, passion, vision, sense of humor, and beauty, is making notable changes, not only in the medical environment, but more importantly, in the broader public arena.

www.positiveexposure.org

POSITIVE EXPOSURE: A Fundraiser to Celebrate the Beauty in All of Us

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023