Administrator, Illinois Perinatal 24/7 HIV Hotline and Syphilis Warmline
Northwestern Medicine
Laurie Ayala, MPH is the statewide Administrator for Illinois’s 24/7 Perinatal HIV Hotline and Perinatal Syphilis Warmline. She is responsible for the operation of both statewide clinical consultation services and spearheaded the development of the new Perinatal Syphilis Warmline. Laurie manages a team of clinical experts responding to medical and social service providers’ questions about the management of HIV and syphilis in pregnancy. In her role, Laurie advocates to strengthen the perinatal care system in IL for pregnant people living with HIV and syphilis. She has presented her work at numerous conferences including the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, the International AIDS Conference, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National HIV Prevention Conference and National STI Prevention Conference. Additionally, she has co-authored peer-reviewed articles describing the successes of Illinois’s perinatal HIV safety net of care. Laurie received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and her Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has over 25 years of experience in public health focused on chronic and infectious disease prevention and care in underserved communities.
