HIV/AIDS Activist Profiles & Personal Accounts

DO. SEE. HEAR. KNOW. Visit TheBody.com's 2008 World AIDS Day Center >>

HIV/AIDS Basics & Prevention

Just Diagnosed

HIV Treatment

Living With HIV

AIDS Policy & Activism

HIV Around the World

Conference Coverage

HIV/AIDS Activist Profiles & Personal Accounts

Activist Profiles/Personal Accounts | Activist Obituaries

Show Archived (Historical) Articles

Activist Profiles/Personal Accounts

The Birth of an HIV Activist (September 10, 2008)
From The Body
Meet Quintara Lane: HIV-Positive Activist and Leader of the Upcoming "Stand Against AIDS" (August 22, 2008)
East Gulf caravan leader Quintara Lane speaks out.
In Housing Works AIDS Issues Update, from Housing Works
The Lady With the Dildoes Has Plenty of Sister Love (August 7, 2008)
From Black AIDS Institute
Bill Clinton Dives Back Into HIV Activism (August 5, 2008)
In Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, from Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Give Us Our Daily Meds: Demanding HIV Treatment in Peru (Summer 2008)
In Thrive, from ACRIA and GMHC
You're Never Alone: HIV Psychologist Explains Why First-Person Stories Are So Important (April 9, 2008)
From The Body
Over the Hump (Spring 2008)
Whether he's speaking out on foster care or fostering AIDS awareness and activism, Sandy Lambert doesn't take "no" for an answer. Just ask B.C. Health.
To read PDF, click here
In The Positive Side, from Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange
HIV Frontlines -- U.S. Edition: An Interview With HIV Prevention Educator Brian Datcher (November 29, 2007)
From The Body
Activist Snapshots: Georgia Prevention Justice Alliance (November 2007)
To read PDF, click here
In Solidarity Project, from Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project
Activist Snapshots: New York State Black Gay Network (November 2007)
To read PDF, click here
In Solidarity Project, from Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project
Activist Snapshots: The AFIYA Center (November 2007)
To read PDF, click here
In Solidarity Project, from Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project
Activist Snapshots: Transforming Justice (November 2007)
To read PDF, click here
In Solidarity Project, from Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project
Blog: Terri Wilder
From Terri Wilder
Public Radio Show Features Interview With Black HIV/AIDS Advocates (May 4, 2007)
In Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, from Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
WORLD Celebrates 15-Year Anniversary, Honors Women HIV Activists (November 2006)
To read PDF, click here
In WORLD Newsletter, from Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases
The Battle Against AIDS in Africa: Behind the Pain, There's Hope (September 21, 2006)
In The Independent
Personal Perspective: Zapping for Drugs (Fall 2006)
To read PDF, click here
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
XVI International AIDS Conference: An Interview With Henry Luyombya (August 18, 2006)
In The XVI International AIDS Conference
A Wisconsin Couple With HIV Battles to Raise Awareness, Funding (October 1, 2005)
Diagnosed in 1991, Mike Johnson and his wife, Sherie, have worked tirelessly to spread HIV education and improve the lives of HIV-positive Wisconsinites.
In Wisconsin State Journal
We Must Not Let Protestors Derail Trials of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV (September 2005)
Joep Lange, former president of the International AIDS Society, says the protests reveal a major flaw in global AIDS activism.
In PLoS Medicine
AIDSWatch 2005: A Perspective From a First-Timer (July/August 2005)
An AIDS advocate reflects on her time at a weeklong activist event in Washington, D.C.
To read PDF, click here
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
Why Do Volunteers Volunteer? (May/June 2005)
One Atlanta-based AIDS organization asks its volunteers what drives them to freely give their time and energy.
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
Oregon Man Hailed as Health "Genius" for Efforts to Help HIVers (November 15, 2004)
Billy Russo managed Ruby House in Winston, Ore., from 1988 to 1998, where he helped provide a home and resource center to people with AIDS.
In The News-Review
Change and Rumors of Change (September/October 2004)
26 AIDS advocates from around the world explain how their communities have changed in the past year.
In GMHC Treatment Issues, from Gay Men's Health Crisis
Why I Will Continue to Fight (September/October 2004)
AIDS advocate Mark Milano says that fundamentalism -- regardless of the religion -- seriously hurts the global AIDS fight.
In GMHC Treatment Issues, from Gay Men's Health Crisis
"I Don't Want Others to Die Like My Wife" (July 13, 2004)
Dr. Leonard Okello heads the Ugandan branch of ActionAid, an AIDS advocacy group, and is an AIDS widower who has raised his three daughters alone since his wife's death.
From BBC News
The Past, the Present and the Future (July/August 2004)
A reflective essay written in 2001 by Charles Clifton, the Chicago AIDS advocate who passed away in August 2004.
In GMHC Treatment Issues, from Gay Men's Health Crisis
Women Speaking Up: Advocating for ADAP (May 2004)
A woman tells of how she became an activist for AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) funding.
To read PDF, click here
In WISE Words, from Project Inform
Did You Ever Know That You're My Hero? (March/April 2004)
For Laura Jones, working at an AIDS organization means being surrounded by her personal heroes.
To read PDF, click here
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
Pickett Fences: DHIVA (September/October 2003)
Activism can be overwhelming, but Jim Pickett knows he has to keep fighting.
To read PDF, click here
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
Can a Conference (and an Activist) Outlive Its Utility? A Moment of Unabashed Navel Gazing (May 2003)
In TAGline, from Treatment Action Group
Philadelphia: David Webber Has Made a Difference (March 27, 2003)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Texas Accountant Plans to Open AIDS Ministry in Zimbabwe (March 26, 2003)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
In the Life: Claire Touchie (January 2003)
To read PDF, click here
In IAPAC Monthly, from International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care
Life Lessons (December 2002)
Author Timothy Critzer shares tribal wisdom about living with HIV.
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
Soul Brothers (December 2002)
Kerry O. Burns' one-man play is about the life and death of his brother Timothy, who died of AIDS.
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
In Search of Solidarity: Alan Berkman, Physician and Firebrand (November 2002)
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Activist: "The Secret Was Killing Me Faster Than the Disease" (October 10, 2002)
A profile of Rae Lewis-Thornton, who has been speaking publicly about living with HIV since 1994.
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Disco Queen Née Policy Gadfly Recalls Decade of Seismic Shifts in Clinical Landscape (September 2002)
In TAGline, from Treatment Action Group
My Path to Peer Advocacy (September/October 2002)
How Kimberly Howard went from client to peer advocate at AIDS Project Los Angeles.
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
Dentist Comes Out of Retirement to Treat HIV-Positive Patients (August 5, 2002)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ohio: Taking on a Killer (August 2, 2002)
Though only 5'4" and 76 years old, Mary Powers Miller is a powerful presence in Ohio's fight against HIV.
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Putting TAG on the Map (April 2002)
An interview with Peter Staley, founder of Treatment Action Group.
In TAGline, from Treatment Action Group
Michael Duffy to Lead AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (March 21, 2002)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Grassrooters Get Results! (August/September 2001)
Judith Dillard and Lee Mentley are lobbying for your lives.
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
Peer Counseling Perspectives: Firearms and My Future (August 2001)
A brush with death births an AIDS activist.
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
Pickett Fences: Rising Above the Pain (May/June 2001)
To read PDF, click here
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
Volunteer Profile: Bridget Murphy Brogden (May 2001)
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
Interview With Bob Munk From New Mexico AIDS InfoNet (January 12, 2001)
In AIDS Treatment News, from AIDS Treatment News
Claudia French Named Executive Director of AIDS Action (January 5, 2001)
From AIDS Action Council
It's All About Empowerment -- A Visit With HIV/AIDS Activist Nancy Shearer (December 2000)
Interview with a Filipina mother and HIV advocate.
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
Reflections: Three Generations of AIDS (March 2000)
An activist reflects on three generations of people with HIV.
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
Activism Is the Best Medicine (February 2000)
Profile of Richard Eastman, dedicated activist and survivor.
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
Treatment Advocacy Program Trains 200: Interview with Matt Sharp (September 3, 1999)
From AIDS Treatment News
Powers of Example: Jackie Whitehead (May 1999)
An HIV-positive, African-American mother of three, Jackie talks about her journey to healing.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Getting and Giving Support (April 1999)
"My work with AIDS ... helped me to understand that I can live with this virus".
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
State Senator Tom Duane (March 1999)
About the first openly gay, openly HIV-positive U.S. state senator.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
The Sun Always Rises on Pride (June 1998)
Interviews with the organizers on New York City's annual Gay Pride events.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Scott Fried -- AIDS Educator (October 1997)
Interview with the author of If I Grow Up: Talking to Teenagers About AIDS.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Pieces of History (September 1997)
A look at the activist files housed at the National Museum and Archive of Lesbian and Gay History.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Powers of Example: Theresa Nieves (September 1997)
"I was one of the few Latinas out there doing advocacy work, and who was not afraid to say 'I have AIDS'".
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Emperor of Courage and Survival (July 1997)
Interview with Tom De Conza, Emperor in the Imperial Court of New York, a drag fundraising organization.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Powers of Example: Pearl Johnson -- a Grandmother With AIDS (July 1997)
A blind, HIV-positive woman has changed her life and welcomes her third grandchild to the world.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
I See Miracles All the Time (May 1997)
Excerpt from Sometimes My Heart Goes Numb: Love and Caregiving in a Time of AIDS, by Charles Garfield with Cindy Spring and Doris Ober.
In Sometimes My Heart Goes Numb: Love and Caregiving in a Time of AIDS, from Jossey-Bass Inc.
Boosting the Spirit of an HIV-Positive Woman (April 1997)
An African-American HIV-positive woman decides to give birth.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Thomas Weise: German Expatriate and Volunteer in Children's Care Programs (April 1997)
In Body Positive, from Body Positive

Activist Obituaries

Gene Copello, 1959-2008 (October 9, 2008)
AIDS community mourns passing of pioneering Washington, D.C., advocate.
In Housing Works AIDS Issues Update, from Housing Works
Joseph Arthur Greenwood, 1959-2008 (October 8, 2008)
From AIDS Survival Project
Michael Shernoff, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., A.C.S.W.: In Memoriam (June 23, 2008)
From The Body
Gerald Mitchell Hoyt II: In Memoriam (May 29, 2008)
From The Body
Gay Groups Marvel at Unprecedented $65 Million Bequest (February 29, 2008)
In The Washington Blade
Remembering a Great HIV Advocate (February 2008)
From Terri Wilder
Pioneering Journalist Dies After 20-Year Battle With HIV (December 24, 2007)
From Black AIDS Institute
Brett Lykins, 27; Gave a Public Face to HIV as a Youth in 1980s (August 4, 2007)
In The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well-Known HIV Activist, Ferd Eggan, Succumbs to Liver Cancer (July 12, 2007)
In Los Angeles Times
In Memoriam: Jeff Palmer, Pioneer in Rural AIDS Activism, Aug. 24, 1946 - Oct. 3, 2005 (October 12, 2005)
From The Body
LeRoy Whitfield, 36; African-American AIDS Journalist Who Decided Against Treatment (October 10, 2005)
From Black AIDS Institute
Remembering LeRoy Whitfield (October 9, 2005)
This page, created by activist and author Keith Boykin, includes links to a number of LeRoy's articles.
From keithboykin.com
TPAN Executive Director Charles E. Clifton Dies Unexpectedly (August 16, 2004)
From Test Positive Aware Network
NPR's "Morning Edition" Reports on Celebration in Memory of AIDS Advocate, Housing Works Co-Founder Keith Cylar (April 14, 2004)
In Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, from Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
David Pasquarelli Dies; Questioned Link Between HIV and AIDS (March 18, 2004)
David Pasquarelli refused HIV medications and then died of AIDS-related complications.
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Jason Robertson Dies at 23; Fought Efforts to Isolate Him in School Because of HIV Status (September 10, 2003)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nigerian AIDS Campaigner, "Hero of Public Health" and Brother of Afrobeat Legend, Dead at 75 (June 4, 2003)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A Celebration of Life (Spring 2003)
Memorial of Women Alive co-founding member Justina Thompson.
To read PDF, click here
In Women Alive Newsletter, from Women Alive
Obituary: Stephen Burrus -- Helped Raise Millions to Assist People Affected by HIV, AIDS (August 14, 2002)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Obituary: Steve Grissom, Battler on HIV Blood (August 6, 2002)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
In Memory of Linda Grinberg, AIDS Activist (July 2002)
A memorial to a long-term AIDS survivor and women's treatment advocate.
To read PDF, click here
In WISE Words, from Project Inform
Four Deaths (Summer 2002)
Remembering Linda Grinberg, head of the Foundation for AIDS and Immune Research.
In Women Alive Newsletter, from Women Alive
Barbara Garrison, AIDS Activist, Dead at 45 From AIDS Complications (May 28, 2002)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Fred Gormley 1951-2002 (May 2002)
In GMHC Treatment Issues, from Gay Men's Health Crisis
Obituaries: Frank Moore II, Painter; Started AIDS Ribbon (April 23, 2002)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Belynda Dunn, AIDS Activist, Dies After Second Liver Transplant (March 13, 2002)
In CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update, from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Another Lost Voice: Dr. Sam Howell, III, Committed AIDS Physician (January 2001)
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
In Memoriam: Stephen Gendin (September 2000)
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
A Hero Passes: Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943-2000) (July 2000)
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Editorial (October 1998)
Jonathan Mann and Mary Lou Clements-Mann: Healthcare as an international human rights issue.
In Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, from International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care
We Will Prevail Together (October 1998)
The enduring legacy of Jonathan M. Mann and Mary Lou Clements-Mann.
In HIV Newsline, from San Francisco General Hospital
Body and Soul: Remembering AIDS Pioneer Jonathan Mann (September 9, 1998)
Human Rights = Public Health.
In The Village Voice
Marilyn Howell -- My Thoughts (Fall 1998)
In Women Alive Newsletter, from Women Alive
A Memorial to a Lesbian Activist & Friend, Keri Duran (Winter 1996)
In Women Alive Newsletter, from Women Alive
Women at Risk Mourns the Loss of Ann Copeland (Spring 1996)
In Women Alive Newsletter, from Women Alive
Our Precious Lori: Gone but Never Forgotten (3 Letters) (Winter 1995)
In Women Alive Newsletter, from Women Alive

The Body is a service of Body Health Resources Corporation, 250 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10107. The Body and its logos are trademarks of Body Health Resources Corporation, which owns the copyright of The Body's homepage, topic pages, page designs and HTML code. General Disclaimer: The Body is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through The Body should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, consult your health care provider.