AHSID started from very humble beginnings as My Gold Lining, Inc. in 2019 after our founder, Jasmine IVANNA Espy, graduated from the University of Southern California.

At the time, Espy concluded a two-city tour, stopping in Culver City at the Sony Pictures Entertainment lot and at a renowned sound and screening stage in Metro Detroit, Michigan, to bring the hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) community and its supporters together to watch a film bolstering the experiences of Black women living with HS. 

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In 2020, AHSID, formerly known as MGL, Inc., felt the effects of the pandemic and searched for a new way to impact the community at large, mainly online.

What we noticed is there were symposiums and conferences geared towards presenting research to and educating the medical community about HS, but the same thing didn’t exist for people living with HS, caregivers, and supporters. So, we pooled together our limited yet abundant resources and produced the first HS Awareness Week Virtual Summit to help educate the community and dispel the misinformation circulating the internet.

In the first year, we saw…

1200+

Summit Registrations

$2500

In Donations

120%

Growth on Social

5

Summit Sponsors

We realized the need for education would only grow.

That is when we challenged ourselves to commit to hosting the virtual summit every year. Four years later, we’ve honored our commitment while simultaneously strategizing on strengthening our impact.

Since then, AHSID has not only continued educating the HS community through our annual summit...

…but we’ve also strengthened our advocacy and lobbying efforts by joining several national and international dermatological organizations, including the Coalition for Skin Diseases, Global Skin, the HS PAC (Patient Advocacy Council), and The HS Coalition (of which our founder is co-chair). We’ve grown our social media presence, added funders to our corporate sponsorship circle, partnered with more stakeholders, and collaborated with HS influencers and advocates while developing new community engagement strategies and programming.

As we continue to evolve, our goal is to continue to keep developing new ways to increase education, advocacy, and awareness to close gaps, ensure adequate care, and empower people in the communities we serve to feel supported emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally.

Our Mission

We empower people living with Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) and associated comorbidities to better understand their disease state and take courageous action toward receiving treatment, engaging with the community, and improving their overall quality of life.

Our Vision

We envision a changed healthcare system where people with Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) and associated comorbidities have ample resources, health equity, and access to the care they need without complication or degradation.

The AHSID Board of Directors

  • Jasmine IVANNA Espy

    CEO, Executive Director, Founder

  • Muriel Espy

    Secretary & Instructional Design Consult

  • Jerome Espy

    Treasurer & Public Relations Consult

  • Martin DeBendetto

    Patient Engagement Advisor

  • Lynn Petukhova

    Scientific Advisor

Advisors

Dr. Erin Martinez, Sex Therapist

Dr. Iltefat Hamzavi, HS Specialist & Dermatologist

Dr. Allison Egeland, HS Specialist & Naturopathic Physician

Illustrations by @zeebeearting

Meet the Founder

From blazing trails in multimedia journalism for marginalized communities to emerging as a documentary filmmaker + storyteller to becoming the Founder + CEO of The Association of Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Inflammatory Diseases (AHSID), Jasmine IVANNA Espy is a living testimony that owning your story is your power.

When Espy was diagnosed with (HS), loneliness, shame, and isolation began to settle in. Amid this uncertainty, she knew one thing to be true — she didn’t want anyone else to feel like she did. The more she learned about healing her body, the more tools she gathered to help others do the same. For Jasmine, advocacy means more than being able to speak up for yourself. It means owning your story. It means embracing shame. It means lobbying to ensure people without access to proper care in the medical community have a voice and are extended equity.

bio written by Imani Mixon

Our Sponsors

Our Sponsors

Our Sponsors

Our Sponsors

We at AHSID would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to our exceptional sponsors.

Without their unwavering support and commitment, our journey towards achieving excellence. With their generous contribution and dedicated partnership, we have been able to enhance the user experience, expand our reach, and provide valuable resources to the HS community. Visit their websites to learn more.

In the Press