December 1, 2024, marks the 37th World AIDS Day, with the theme "Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress."

Before joining the Office of the Surgeon General, Sylvia Trent-Adams, 2020 WOC technologist of the year award winner, served as the deputy associate administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

At HRSA, she collaborated with multiple agencies to provide healthcare to individuals who are geographically isolated and economically or medically vulnerable, including those living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Under the Ryan White program, Trent-Adams worked with community-based organizations to provide HIV care, treatment, and services to over half of the people diagnosed with HIV in the United States.

She also ensured 57,000 health care professionals treating people with HIV received education and training.

"We have longstanding health conditions in this country that we have not been able to address," Trent-Adams told WOC Magazine.

As a high school senior, she received a scholarship from the U.S. Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), which offers financial aid to students who commit to serving as officers in the uniformed services after graduation.

Trent-Adams credited Elnora D. Daniel, the dean of the Hampton University School of Nursing in 1980, as one of her role models.

Dr. Daniel served as the administrator of the Interdisciplinary Nursing Center for Health and Wellness at Hampton in 1985 and achieved the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Nurse Corps in 1991.

Another influential figure during her time at Hampton was Dr. Pamela V. Hammond, who also served as dean of the School of Nursing.

After graduating from Hampton, Trent-Adams earned a master's degree in nursing and health policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and later received a Ph.D. in public policy from the same institution.

Before joining the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, she was a nurse officer in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, working in the oncology unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Additionally, she served as a research nurse at the University of Maryland and completed two internships in the U.S. Senate.

Trent-Adams began her career in the Commissioned Corps in 1992 and held several leadership positions within the Department of Health and Human Services, concluding her tenure as the principal deputy assistant secretary for health.

In 2014, Trent-Adams was elected a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

In 2015, she was appointed as the deputy surgeon general of the United States, addressing various critical issues, including the opioid crisis.

Trent-Adams also served as the acting surgeon general from April to September 2017.

She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2018 and to the National Academies of Practice, and received the International Red Cross Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international honor bestowed upon a nurse.