We’re thrilled to welcome Liza Fickel (she/they) to the LGBT Life Center team as our new Medical Case Manager! A Virginia Beach native returning home with a fresh passion for community care, Liza brings a unique blend of experience from the service industry to addiction treatment, with academic studies spanning religion, psychology, and peer recovery. Liza is here to empower people living with HIV to navigate the health system with dignity, support, and the resources they deserve.
Name/Nickname: Liza Fickel
Pronouns: She/they
Job title: Medical Case Manager
Where’d you come from and what’d you do there? I worked at an addiction treatment center before coming to LGBT Life Center. Most of my background and expertise are in the restaurant/bar/service industry, but moving back to my hometown (Virginia Beach) led me to change my career. LGBT Life Center marks a very important beginning in my career change, transitioning into a field that aligns more with my interests! I have a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in Religious Studies, my concentrations being Buddhism and Hinduism. I also took classes in psychology, sociology, anthropology, and Spanish, and I am completing a class in Computer Science from Harvard and a class in Peer Recovery Support for people with substance use and mental health challenges. I have a really diverse background, as I have always been interested in a wide array of subjects and fields, which is probably why I love how many different services LGBT Life Center provides!
I’m here to help you with… navigating the health system as a person with HIV in a way that helps you feel supported, affirmed, educated, and respected. I’m here to answer your questions, inform you about your diagnoses and how to get treatment, and help you with what you need in a holistic sense. I can refer you to all our different resources here at the Center, as well as our relationships with other organizations and resources that can help with your specific needs. I stay in contact with you over time as you get treatment, until you feel like you don’t need me anymore!
How did you become interested in working at LGBT Life Center? I had heard about our organization only recently upon moving back to Hampton Roads. It piqued my interest because I grew up here at the same time as the organization, but I had no clue that it existed. I had been wanting to change my field of work, and working for an organization that serves the LGBTQ population seemed like a great place to start so I could give back to my community.
What’s an interesting thing about you that most people don’t know? Most people don’t know that I have some musical and artistic talents! In my free time, I love to sing, dance, write, and draw.
What excites you most about being at LGBT Life Center? I am most excited to learn about all of the resources that we have in Hampton Roads that can help people who need it. Every day I come to work, I look forward to learning something new about what we do here, or about an organization we have a connection to that helps people with something different from us. The emerging web of resources and connections is really exciting to me!
Rapid Fire…what is your favorite…
Animal – Tiger
Color – Pink
Song/Music – Rap & RNB
TV Show/Movie – Orange is the New Black
Hobby – Dancing
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