February 28, 2006

Rebecca Haag Named to Lead Both AIDS Action in DC and AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts

Dual posts signal new approach in 25-year fight against HIV/AIDS

WASHINGTON and BOSTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – Enhancing a decades-long working relationship, the Boards of AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC) and Washington, D.C.-based AIDS Action announced their agreement to appoint Rebecca Haag Executive Director of both organizations. Haag, both AAC’s Executive Director and AIDS Action DC Board member since 2003, will begin her dual posts on March 1.

The approach, said board leadership of both organizations, signals a shared view that 25 years into the epidemic calls for bold thinking by organizations dedicated to stopping the spread of new infections and ensuring access to care for everyone living with HIV/AIDS. New infections occur throughout the country every day while access to care is not available to all who need it.

"The AIDS Action Council is dedicated to establishing sound public policies in response to this epidemic," said Craig Thompson, Board Chair of the Council and Executive Director AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). "Our work in Washington is most effective when it is informed by the expertise and experience of our members who work on behalf of those living with HIV. We believe that in Rebecca we have a win-win: she brings policy vision and creative management skills while keeping her feet firmly on the ground in fighting this epidemic. HIV/AIDS is not simply a policy issue to Rebecca; it's about real people who need real solutions now – the people our organizations serve around the nation every day."

Haag has been Executive Director of AAC for three years, accepting that position after five years on its Board of Directors. During this time, she also served on the board of AIDS Action Council. She is credited with revitalizing AAC, recruiting a strong management team and developing uniquely collaborative relationships with others, bridging the HIV/AIDS and non-AIDS service communities during a period of progressive budget-tightening.

"Rebecca is an innovative manager who has strengthened the services and prevention programs at our agency while putting us on firm financial ground," said Michael Wong, M.D., Board Chair of AAC. We recognize that so much of what we do locally is dependent upon, and influenced by, national policy. HIV is unique among other diseases in that it is infectious, it is a public health issue, and at the same time, it affects individual people. Massachusetts has led the way on many key policy issues and created an integrated care system for people living with HIV. But that system has been weakened by a federal government that is backing away from its commitment at home. With Rebecca at the helm of the Council and AAC, we believe we can make a greater difference for our clients and for those across the country who live with this disease every day."

In her role at AIDS Action in DC, Haag will also oversee the work of the AIDS Action Foundation. Kenneth Malone, the Foundation Board Chair and Chairperson of Legacy Community Health Services in Houston, Texas, said that Haag brings the right mix of skills to the task of identifying the next steps in preventing and fighting HIV/AIDS.

"Twenty-five years ago this June, this disease was first identified," he said. "The Foundation must define the path for the next 25 years, and Rebecca is a visionary leader. We must make HIV a domestic priority again and renew and strengthen our prevention efforts. Rebecca is both inventive and results-oriented, just the combination we need right now."

"In today's world of HIV/AIDS, we still struggle to open minds, address the lingering stigma and increase government budgets dedicated to this epidemic," said Haag. "Both the Council and AIDS Action Committee boards believe, as I do, that we must think outside the box to be successful. This is a bold experiment, and I welcome the challenge to blend on-the-ground experience with national policy, advocacy and lobbying work."

Haag has more than 30 years of professional experience in both business and government. She has an MBA with a concentration in non-profit management from Boston University and graduated magna cum laude from Wells College with a major in economics. She has extensive experience in organization development and strategic planning, and has a track record of successfully growing the organizations that she has managed. She has served on many non-profit and business boards during her career.

AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc., New England's first and largest AIDS organization, is dedicated to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS by preventing new infections and optimizing the health of those already infected. AAC provides free confidential services to men and women already living with HIV/AIDS, as well as extensive education and prevention outreach to those at risk of infection. AAC also advocates for effective science-based prevention programs. For more information, visit www.aac.org.

AIDS Action Council is a national membership organization dedicated to the development, analysis, cultivation and encouragement of sound policies and programs in response to the HIV epidemic. AIDS Action DC members represent nearly 100 ASOs, health departments and other organizations in 30 states plus the District of Columbia serving more than 100,000 people every day. The Council ensures broad access to information as well as lobbying and advocacy work in the nation's capital on behalf of those living with HIV. The Urban Coalition for HIV/AIDS Prevention Services (UCHAPS) is a Council member in the seven metropolitan areas that represent more than a third of the nation’s cumulative AIDS cases and are the epicenters of the nation’s urban HIV epidemic. Council member AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs) train more than 100,000 service providers annually. For more information, visit www.aidsaction.org.

AIDS Action Foundation develops and disseminates educational materials on the latest public policies and programs, the demographic impact of HIV and medical research.

AIDS Action strives to end the HIV epidemic by advancing public policies that prevent new infections, provide care for people living with HIV, and support the search for a cure. AIDS Action serves as the national voice for AIDS service organizations, health departments, and a diverse network of community-based organizations across the country that provide services for people living with or affected by HIV infection.