Dafina Ward, J.D., is a South Carolina-based attorney and nonprofit strategist with over 20 years of experience in community-centered grantmaking, program design, and coalition building. Former Executive Director of the Southern AIDS Coalition, she now provides equity-focused consulting, facilitation, and strategic advising to nonprofits, foundations, and corporations, helping organizations strengthen culture, clarify vision, and design programs rooted in community wisdom.

A nationally recognized health justice leader, Dafina was appointed in 2023 to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, served as Chair of the 2024 U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS, and received honors including a GLAAD Media Award and the Treatment Action Group’s Research in Action Award. Her insights on health, race, and gender appear in national media and academic journals. Dafina is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and resides in South Carolina’s Lowcountry with her family.