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She Looks Like Me was established in 2020 through Saint Paul AME Church as a component of the Ending HIV Epidemic in partnership with the CDC and the Alabama Department of Public Health. Employing innovative measures towards community engagement to address HIV stigma and promote HIV knowledge and management has been the essential goal of our initiative.
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The southern region of the United States has historically presented challenges with addressing health disparities among African American communities and the prevalence of those living with HIV continues to rise. Advancements through research and medication have contributed to the decrease of HIV mortality rates over the years but there is more work needing to be done to ensure those living with HIV receive the care needed to achieve viral suppression. More people are being diagnosed with HIV but the rates of HIV suppression are significantly lower, implying that retention in care and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) continues to present concerns for African American communities.
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The central purpose of She Looks Like Me is to facilitate and foster a reduction in new HIV infections in the state of Alabama. We educate the community on measures to prevent HIV exposure, raise awareness of vulnerable populations, promote testing and address HIV stigma. Because faith institutions have been the cornerstone in African American communities for spiritual guidance, as well as, leaders in championing social justice initiatives, we feel it is imperative that we provide positive initiatives that promote desired health outcomes for those living with HIV.
MEET THE TEAM
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DR. AGNES M. LOVER
PASTOR AND FINANCIAL OFFICER
The Reverend Doctor Agnes M. Lover is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. She enthusiastically serves as Lead Pastor at Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Montgomery, AL, Rosa Parks Home Church. She is committed to passionate worship, community-focused ministry, and the anointed preaching of God's Holy Word. Committed to life-long learning, Dr. Lover received the Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary. Her doctoral project, "From Preying to Praying: Exposing the Effects of Spiritual Abuse in the Church," establishes a psycho-ecclesial model to equip church leadership with the necessary knowledge concerning spiritual abuse and utilizes a biblical behavioral model to illustrate how church leadership should implement spiritual authority.She received a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, a Master of Business Administration from St. Peters College, a Master of Science in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Computer Science from Xavier University.
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​While at Saint Paul, Dr. Lover has developed meaningful partnerships to address food insecurities, health and wellness projects, tutoring, youth summer lunch programs, and other outreach ministries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she facilitated mobile food pantries and partnered with the Alabama Department of Public Health to provide testing, Flu vaccines, and monthly wellness seminars. Since 2021, Saint Paul has been awarded the Ending HIV Epidemic grant to provide Medical Advocacy, Outreach Education, and HIV testing.​
Beyond the local pulpit, Dr. Lover also compassionately serves in several capacities. She serves as Alabama River Region Conference Chair of the Ministry Study and Finance Committee, Conference Trustee, and past annual conference secretary. In five years, she awarded over $60,000 scholarships as the Episcopal District Christian Debutante Master Commissioner. Dr. Lover secured funding and established Haven at Ward Chapel AME Church - Prattville, a ministry that provided advocacy and professional counseling to victims of sexual assault. She also founded ST. PAUL AME CHURCH - LEGACY FOUNDATION, INC, a non-profit to continue the legacy of Rosa Parks, Johnny, and Arlam Carr and espouse acts of Civil and Human Rights locally and globally; since its inception, over $20,000 in youth scholarships have been awarded.​
In addition, she made significant plant improvements in all four pastoral assignments, eliminated debt, and burned the mortgage of one. Before pastoring full-time, she served at Turner Chapel Marietta, GA as a worship pastor, discipleship, and fellowship purpose leader. Before serving in ministry full-time, she pursued a corporate career that evolved around 24 years of telecommunication experience combined with systems engineering, project management, sales, and marketing. She managed customer relationships, increased market share, and grew network revenue sales by over $20M.​
Spirit-led and Spirit-driven, Dr. Lover is a proponent of strength being found within the family—a bond that is strengthened every day. She is the extremely proud mother of two children, son Kevion (Jillian) Rogers and daughter Rev. Dr. Gimel Rogers, and grandmother of Kimberly, Kyle, and Katherine Rogers. She is the daughter of Rosa Smith Lover-Patterson and the late William Bernard Lover, II.
CRYSTAL WELLS NELSON
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Crystal Wells Nelson is the Ending HIV Epidemic Project Coordinator for the She Looks Like Me initiative with Saint Paul AME Church. She is a native of Montgomery, AL, and was reared in the Montgomery Public School System. She completed her B.S. in Health Science at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Florida. Much of her life has been devoted to protecting and improving the lives of the most vulnerable populations through serving and education. Her initial career path began in education in the same school system she matriculated through.
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Her passion for serving continued to blossom, leading her to merge her love for education with healthcare. Soon after, she embarked on a new journey, deciding to shift her career path to nursing. She is a nurse navigator with Baptist Health in Montgomery, AL, empowering patients with knowledge to navigate the healthcare system, ensuring a quality continuum of care while promoting positive health outcomes beyond discharge.
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Over the last seven years, she has been a faithful member of Saint Paul AME Church and was an essential part of the development of the health ministry. Under her leadership, the church initiated a partnership with the Alabama Department of Public Health and developed the She Looks Like Me Initiative is responsible for providing HIV prevention education, free HIV screenings, and linkage to health resources to the local community, with special attention to women of color.
Knowing the power of community partnerships, she extended her reach by consulting with The Wellness Coalition, serving as the health ministry consultant, and assisting other churches in building strong and sustainable health ministries. Being a bridge between the community and the healthcare system has been essential in evoking positive changes in the community.
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One of her greatest joys is being a devoted wife to Albert Nelson Sr. and mother to Albert Nelson Jr. Her ultimate desire is to serve as a resource for those within her community, aiding in removing barriers that prevent those from adequately managing their health while ensuring increased access to health care is a reality for all.
Crystalyn Winfield, a resident of Montgomery, Alabama, is a registered nurse currently employed by Baptist Medical Center South as a community case manager. In her role, Crystalyn provides crucial education to her patients on various disease processes to help them improve their health and well-being. Her education efforts extend into the community as she functions in her role as Outreach Coordinator with She Looks Like Me at St. Paul AME Church. "She Looks Like Me" provides HIV education, testing, and linkage to community resources. Crystalyn also serves as the Self Care consultant for the non-profit organization Forever Living Grief Support Group. Forever Living provides support to mothers who have experienced the grief of child loss. Crystalyn is a member of Destiny City Church of Montgomery, where she serves as Health Ministry Leader. She is the wife of Billy Winfield and mother to two sons, Orlandric and Billy Jr.
CRYSTALYN WINFIELD
OUTREACH COORDINATOR
MARY ANNETTE JOHNSON
REGISTERED NURSE
Mary Annette Johnson was born in Mobile, Alabama, and was raised in Greensboro, Alabama, where she graduated high school. She was a nursing assistant at Hale County Hospital for one year before attending Shelton State Community College for Practical Nursing. After graduating, she married her husband, Johnny Johnson, and moved to Montgomery, AL. She was employed at St. Margaret's Hospital in several areas, mainly in critical care. While working, she attended Troy State University Montgomery, received an associate degree, and became a registered nurse. She moved on to dialysis nursing and worked at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in various positions for the last 17 years of her career before retiring.
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Mary is a member of Saint Paul AME church, where she serves as the coordinator of the Health Ministry. She has been married for 51 years and has two children, Tomeka and Johnny Jr., and two darling grandchildren. She enjoys fishing and doing word games on her computer. She has been with She Looks Like Me since its inception and enjoys doing this valuable work.
KAREN TURNER
RESOURCE NAVIGATOR
Karen Turner holds an Associate Degree in Office Management with a concentration in Medical Office Management, a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Business Management, and an M.S. in Post-Secondary Education with a concentration in Psychology. She has over eight years of experience working in HIV, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Sexual Health Education, HIV & STD Screening, pre and post-test counseling, and community engagement. She has facilitated multiple trainings and workshops with community and government organizations. During Karen's tenure at the Alabama Department of Public Health, she worked as a Disease Intervention Specialist in the Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, where she was responsible for facilitating secondary harm reduction services, conducting field investigations, and facilitating treatment linkages for individuals who were identified as being positive or having an exposure to an STD.
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Over the last 15 years, Karen has coordinated projects for the Alabama Department of Mental Health – Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, Alabama Department of Public Health – WHI-FI Program (Women's Health Information – For the Incarcerated), and Macon County Board of Education. Karen also served as the Reentry Coordinator for Aid to Inmate Mothers, coordinating comprehensive reentry services for incarcerated and newly released offenders from three state women's prisons in multiple counties. In this role, Karen provided peer-to-peer support services, completed intake screenings and assessments, coordinated life skills and enrichment classes, taught social and health education programs, and facilitated linkages to substance abuse treatment programs, health care, and social service providers.
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Karen has administrative experience in program planning, project development, implementation, and program monitoring. In her different professional roles, she has participated in performance measurement tasks, including data collection, data analysis, and program reporting for state and federally-funded grant initiatives. Karen has also been a grant reviewer for the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the University of Alabama Institutional Review Board (IRB) Committee.
Karen has over 15 years of experience in working with marginalized populations including incarcerated individuals, persons with substance use disorders and/or mental health diagnosis and homeless individuals. She has extensive experience providing prerelease planning and transition services to justice-involved persons. She continues to work with the aforementioned populations to provide education and resources to help individuals make informed and healthy decisions.
TOMEKA "DEE"
JOHNSON-THOMAS
CASE MANAGER
Tomeka "Dee" Johnson-Thomas was born on September 8 to Johnny and Mary Johnson in Montgomery, AL. She developed a love for learning at Alabama State University while attending Zelia Stephens Early Childhood Center. After graduating from Sidney Lanier High School, she began her college career at Alabama State and completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice at Faulkner University. She has worked in several capacities in the "helping profession" for over 20 years. She began as a victim advocate at the Montgomery County District Attorney's office, worked in Birmingham as a social service caseworker for the Department of Human Resources, and worked as a caseworker at the Central Alabama Veteran's Healthcare System's Homeless Program. Her passion is helping others, advocating for the voiceless, and empowering them to live happy, healthy lives.
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Dee accepted Christ at an early age at St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church and, after moving back to Montgomery, joined St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church. As a layperson, he serves as President of LIFT (Ladies in Faith Together) and proudly serves in the Health Ministry.
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Dee is married to her loving husband of almost one year, Antonio Thomas, and is the proud stepmother to three beautiful children, Antonia, Alexandria, and AJ. She will embark on her next journey to become a Licensed professional counselor in the fall and plans, with God's help, to provide individual and group counseling to black girls and women to alleviate the stigma attached to mental health, to demand fair and respectful physical healthcare and most importantly, be the queens that our Father in Heaven created us to be.