In the late 1980s, Gay Monteverde volunteered for the Portland, Oregon-based Cascade AIDS Project for six months before being hired as an employee in 1989. As an employee, she ran the organization's Speakers Bureau. She also used her experience as a writer and writing teacher to help produce brochures, newsletters, and forms for the organization. In 1993, she left Cascade AIDS Project to work as a community HIV educator for Multnomah County, a position she held until 1999.

Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is a non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that provides services and advocacy for people with HIV and AIDS living in Oregon and southwest Washington, and educates the public about AIDS and AIDS prevention. The organization was founded in 1983, and legally incorporated in 1985. In 1986, it merged with another AIDS advocacy group, Community Health and Essential Support Services (CHESS). Among the services the organization provides are HIV testing, assistance in finding housing, social support, and a summer camp for children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Cascade AIDS Project also runs the Oregon AIDS Hotline jointly with the Oregon State Health Division.