Bush Fellowship Winner Applying Lessons Learned from Union

When Jason Grueneich first started working at the North Dakota Department of Transportation in 2020, he discovered a renewed passion for public service. “Learning how to navigate difficult times and still provide services instilled in me that, just because the world may be crazy, people still need to be taken care of,” he said. Seeing public service in that lens first compelled him to join North Dakota United as a member and activist for public workers in our state, that same year. And now, that perspective has also delivered to him a new calling — founding Shine Bright and Live, North Dakota’s first nonprofit dedicated solely to supporting people living with HIV.

This year, Grueneich was awarded a prestigious Bush Foundation Fellowship to strengthen his leadership and expand the reach of Shine Bright and Live. The fellowship, he explained, is not just a grant for a project but “an investment in me, in the hope that I will continue reinvesting in my community and help raise up other leaders.”

For Grueneich, this work is deeply personal. He has lived with HIV for years and faced the heavy stigma that still surrounds the disease in his home state. “When I moved back, I was scared what any employers of mine would think,” he said. “There’s a lot of outdated information on HIV that is still very prevalent, even within our medical communities in rural areas, as well as among our elected officials.” 

That stigma became even more real after the death of his partner, Johnnie, in 2023 following a relapse into addiction. “Instead of processing the grief, I jumped into the nonprofit,” Grueneich said. “That was something he and I had been talking about. He was really supportive of me.”

By January of this year, Shine Bright and Live officially launched, focused on education, advocacy and what Grueneich calls a “whole health” approach. The nonprofit has already stepped in where gaps exist, helping to secure federal HIV funds that would have otherwise been lost to North Dakota. “HIV isn’t an immoral disease; it has nothing to do with morality,” he said. “It’s a medical disease. It affects people across all walks of life.”

Education is central to Shine Bright’s mission. Grueneich often encounters people — even lawmakers — who still believe myths about HIV transmission. “For someone to ask, ‘What if somebody went out and spit at someone and gave them AIDS?’ I thought they were messing with me,” he said. “It didn’t connect that they were serious. Right there, I realized this is a lot bigger than I thought.”

Modern science tells a different story. With proper treatment, people living with HIV can achieve an undetectable viral load, which means the virus cannot be transmitted. “HIV is no longer a death sentence. It hasn’t been for 20-plus years,” Grueneich emphasized. “Most of the struggles people face come from stigma, not the disease itself.”

Grueneich’s work in HIV advocacy is intertwined with his union roots. A former state employee and member of North Dakota United, he credits the union with giving him the courage to raise his voice. “It was Lobby Day at the Capitol with North Dakota United (during the 2023 legislative session) that first got me interested that maybe I have a way to talk to legislators,” he said. “The union really gave me the courage of who I am—that I can stand on my feet as a citizen of this state with a voice.”

With Shine Bright and Live, he continues to build community support. In its first two months, the nonprofit raised $2,500 from local donors — proof, Grueneich says, that North Dakotans want to help. “The reality I took on was that no matter if funding falls through or not, this has to keep going,” he said.

For Grueneich, the Bush Fellowship represents not just personal growth but a commitment to making Shine Bright and Live a lasting resource. He left his position at ND DOT and, subsequently, active membership in NDU, to make Shine Bright and Live his new focus for at least the next two years. “If I want a community organization to be sustainable, I have to learn how to be sustainable,” he reflected. “It’s a shift in how I approach the world and myself. I’m excited and a little scared at the same time.”

He hopes others will join him in that mission. “Reach out and invite Shine Bright and Live to come talk to you — at your schools, your churches, your union meetings,” he urged. “Donate your time, your money, your skills. HIV is not something to be scared of. It’s something we can face together, with compassion and community.”