Unity Arc Advocacy Group
Health Equity Strategy Rooted in Story, Policy, and Equitable Technology
Unity Arc Advocacy Group helps organizations turn lived experience, policy insight, and responsible technology into action that closes health gaps for marginalized communities.
Our Vision
A nation where technology serves the margins first—care is person-centered, stigma-free, and no one is blocked by bandwidth, devices, design, or data.
Mission Statement
Use story, policy writing, and equitable technology—including AI—to close health gaps, link people to care, and shrink the digital divide for marginalized communities.
Our Pillar Strategy
Our work is organized into six pillars—each one a practical lane of action, and together a full pathway from story to systems change:
Pen
We turn community truth into clear writing that moves decision-makers—policy briefs, position statements, toolkits, and messaging that centers dignity and equity.
Voice
We bring stories to the front—not as inspiration, but as evidence. Through speaking, facilitation, and training, we help leaders hear what communities have been saying all along, and we help communities speak with power in rooms that shape their lives.
Service
We stay grounded in people, not just policy. We support community-centered solutions that help folks navigate barriers, connect to care, and access the resources they deserve—especially when systems are confusing or stacked against them.
Bridge
We connect the dots between policy and people, healthcare and community, innovation and trust. We convene partners, translate complexity into action, and build alignment so progress isn’t fragmented or performative.
Infrastructure
Equity requires capacity. We help strengthen the behind-the-scenes foundations—processes, partnerships, digital readiness, and operational systems—so good ideas don’t collapse under weak support.
Training
We build knowledge that turns into action. From health equity and HIV advocacy to ethical technology use, we equip organizations and community leaders to lead with competence, humility, and accountability.
Meet the Team
Currently, we are a team of one with an eye on growth.
Malcolm Reid is the Founder and CEO of the Unity Arc Advocacy Group. He is formerly the Director of Policy and Advocacy at THRIVE SS In 2017 he created and co-authored what is now the Silver Lining Project, a program and intervention to support and enhance the lives of black gay men over the age of 50 living with HIV.
Malcolm is the current Co-Chair of the US PLHIV Caucus, A member of HAPAC (HIV and Aging Policy Action Coalition) and the Co-Chair of the Georgia HIV Justice Coalition.
In 2022 Malcolm was selected to participate in the “Leaders Lead On-Demand”. A program Combating HIV/AIDS in the Baltics. He delivered a presentation called “Stigma, Adherence and Community Involvement" to an audience of HIV Advocates, Caregivers, US State Dept and Latvian State Dept officials at the US Embassy in Riga, Latvia.
In 2023 Malcolm was one of three Policy Advocates Awarded the “Marco Castro-Bojorquez Positive Leadership Award. He was also named one of eight amazing Advocates by HIV Plus Magazine.
During the International AIDS Society Conference in Munich 2024, Malcolm was interviewed by the Founder and Executive Director of Sister Love, Dazon Dixon-Diallo on her public radio show “Sister’s Time, Women Speak”, The interview can be accessed here.
“I came to THRIVE SS with 20 years of leadership experience working for AT&T. My goal has always been to use my experience to support THRIVE’s Mission to achieve health equity for black gay men living with HIV.”
Malcolm has been in a 28-year relationship with Stewart Nelson-Reid. They were married in September 2015 when marriage equality became the law of the land. “I am passionate about our legal rights to equity as human beings and citizens of this country, and I did not want to get married until it was the law in the municipality where I lived.”
Malcolm and Stewart currently serve the Gilead Choose U HIV program as Ambassadors.