© 2021 QIO: Solutions LLC. All rights reserved.

WHO & WHAT IS QIO: SOLUTIONS? 

 

Joseph Varisco is a program director, advocacy, and public policy professional focused on social justice within underrepresented and underserved populations. Varisco is the creator of QIO: HIV Impact Education (QIO), an arts, advocacy, and education series, which explores the contemporary experience of living with HIV/AIDS. Varisco served as Public Program Director at Alphawood Gallery (Art AIDS America, Then They Came for Me). He began his career at the intersection of arts, healthcare education, and advocacy following his own diagnosis with HIV, finding it vital to offer a visible and public presence within his community. Varisco is the recipient of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, and Visual AIDS grants and was included in TimeOut magazine's 'Pride of Chicago' issue. Most recently he served as Director of the National HIV & Aging Coalition bringing together 25 leaders from organizations focused on national aging policy advocacy at the state and federal level. 

 

QIO shifted work in 2020 as a direct advocate through programming, workshops/training, curricular series, performance/arts/creative events for LGBTQIA+ as well as providing support to underrepresented, underserved, and under resourced groups, organizations, businesses, collectives, etc. via to doing larger strategic planning, agenda setting, value and equity assessments with business and nonprofits as a specialized consultant with 17-years experience of field and remote work building sustainable, critically intentional, and integrity fostered relationships to inform future initiatives, missions, goals, and projects (including raising 1.5 million over five years for education on those who live with HIV today, forging over 500 partnerships from local to global, creating engagement with 85k per year, and 420 different public programs) 

 

WHAT DOES QIO DO?

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Using QIO as a model to engage and structure collaborative equity-centered or more active DEI relationships with anything from an individual artist, to a progressive rights activist coalition, to a youth environmental group, to a pharmacy franchise to improve the accessibility of their app for aging populations and startups aiding those with housing challenge , etc. specifically with the intention of deepening their connectivity and understanding of how their business and/or practice as a space that wants to leans toward progressive, effective, and efficient decision making embracing the best attributes of cultural competence as they grow, recover, pivot, begin, or reset intentions whether that's amongst creative, educational, healthcare, youth, commerce, philanthropic industries and many others.