Meet the newest members of the FCAA Board of Directors

Learn more about the six new HIV/AIDS grantmakers voted to the FCAA Board of Directors in November 2011. Introducing: David Munar, Scott Campbell, Shari Turitz, Shane Jenkins, Caitlin Chandler and Andrea Flynn.

 David Munar

1. Can you tell us about your current position/organization?
   I am the President/CEO of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)
2. How long have you been in the AIDS funding world? What brought you to this work?
   I have worked at AFC since 1991 in various capacities and was appointed President/CEO in 2011.  I was draw to AFC because of its social justice mission.  As a person living with HIV, I have a personal as well as professional connection to the cause.    
3. What are your current funding and programming priorities?
   AFC funds an array of prevention, care, housing and advocacy project to meet the needs of people affected by HIV/AIDS in metropolitan Chicago.
4. Why did you decide to join the FCAA Board of Directors?
   Private philanthropic support is essential to sustain and grow the fight against the epidemic.  As a local funder, we understand how critical foundation giving is to our delegate agencies and the clients they service.  Through FCAA, I hope to influence additional foundations to join this fight.
   
5. What was your “top story” of 2011?Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton speaking at a World AIDS Day forum on the beginning of the end of AIDS.  I had the privilege of joining Ambassador Eric Goosby, MD on the PBS Newshour for World AIDS Day to talk about current trends, scientific advances and remaining challenges.
6. What are you most looking forward to in 2012?
   I’m on the programme committee for the XIX International AIDS Conference occurring in July 2012 in Washington, DC.  I expect the conference will increase visibility and awareness about the global and domestic HIV/AIDS pandemic.
7. Why do you fund AIDS?
   AFC exists to end HIV/AIDS and serve all those affected.  While much progress has been made, AIDS remains an incurable, communicable and potentially deadly disease that destabilizes the lives of affected individuals and communities.

Scott Campbell

1. Can you tell us about your current position/organization?
   

   I am proud to serve as the Executive Director of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF).  EJAF was established as a nonprofit organization in the United States in 1992 and as a registered charity in the United Kingdom in 1993 by Sir Elton John. Together, both entities have raised more than $225 million for worthy programs in 55 countries around the globe since inception. Today, the Foundation is one of the world's leading nonprofit HIV/AIDS organizations supporting innovative HIV prevention programs, efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, and direct care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS

2. How long have you been in the AIDS funding world? What brought you to this work?
   

   I was living in New York back in the early 1980s when the AIDS epidemic first emerged.  I was devastated as a number of friends became sick and eventually died from this mysterious disease.  I volunteered for a variety of NY-based AIDS organizations, including Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and also helped fledgling syringe exchange organizations to hand out clean needles on the Lower East Side. 

3. What are your current funding and programming priorities?
   

   EJAF’s U.S. organization focuses its grant-making priorities on HIV prevention programs, stigma reduction, treatment, and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean.   Our programs particularly target HIV prevention and care services for highly marginalized, stigmatized, and vulnerable populations such as gay men, injection drug users, and incarcerated and newly released individuals, as well as historically under-served populations such as African Americans and young people.

   Beyond our grant-making programs, EJAF is also a significant voice for change.  During 2011, the Foundation spoke out forcefully for access to life-saving medicines for the poor, for gay men’s health, for accessible sexual health services for young people, for health and economic equality for African Americans, and against overly harsh drug-related incarceration and under-funded re-entry programs for ex-offenders.  EJAF is highly respected for its combined grant-making and communications by policy-makers and other grant-makers alike.  As one example, in an April 2011 interview with the White House, the director of the Office of National AIDS Policy spontaneously cited the February 2011 David Furnish Greater Than AIDS article and recent EJAF grants related to gay men’s health as extremely important in his own internal advocacy.

4. Why did you decide to join the FCAA Board of Directors?
   

   As one of the top 10 U.S. funders of HIV/AIDS programs, I feel very strongly that EJAF has an important role to play with Funders Concerned About AIDS.  It is my pleasure to represent the Foundation on FCAA’s Board of Directors and to bring EJAF’s experience, expertise, and perspective to FCAA’s important work.

5. What was your “top story” of 2011?
   

   One of EJAF’s top priorities during 2011 proved to be our tireless advocacy for access to life-saving HIV/AIDS medicines for the poor.  When we learned that the State of Florida, which has the largest AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list in the country, was actually contemplating policy changes that would not only shut down the waiting list but also remove over 1,600 people who were already participating in the program from the system, we took action immediately.  Other states were looking to follow Florida’s lead, so we published opinion editorials, undertook a petition drive, and wrote letters to Florida Governor Rick Scott informing him that such a policy change was not only inhumane and short-sighted, but that it would also ultimately cost the state MORE money in the long term.  We were assisted in this effort by U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), and we are continuing to advocate nationally for full funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, so that poor people living with HIV/AIDS will have access to medicines that will not only prolong and improve their quality of life, but also significantly reduce by up to 96% the likelihood that they will transmit the disease to others.

6. What are you most looking forward to in 2012?
   

   2012 marks the 20^th year since the establishment of the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, a significant milestone for our organization.  We look back over the past twenty years with tremendous pride at what we have been able to accomplish together with the help of our generous supporters.  From a modest beginning in 1992, EJAF has since raised over $225 million for front-line HIV/AIDS programs in 55 countries around the globe.  But more importantly, our expertise and experiences as a grant-maker have given the Foundation tremendous credibility to speak out strongly and forcefully on behalf of the poor, the marginalized, the stigmatized, and the ignored and to press for changes in HIV/AIDS policy that are desperately needed in order to turn this epidemic around. 

   2011 proved to be an important turning point in the history of the epidemic, presenting both key breakthroughs as well as new challenges.  It was a banner year scientifically with the release of an NIH study conclusively proving that people living with HIV who take effective antiretroviral medications are 96% less likely to transmit the disease to others.  With this study, both scientists and policy-makers actually began talking about the beginning of the end of AIDS!

   Unfortunately, it was also a year of major retrenchment in terms of policy development and funding commitments.  State and federal budget deficits and funding cutbacks threaten to worsen the epidemic by reducing or eliminating programs that provide HIV/AIDS medications to the poor.  Also, in December, Congress reinstated the ban on the use of federal funding for syringe exchange programs, just when studies were demonstrating how such programs have significantly reduced the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne diseases among injection drug users. 

   Given these developments, as we look forward into 2012, EJAF’s grant-making, advocacy, and strong voice for change will be needed now more than ever.

7. Why do you fund AIDS?
   EJAF’s Founder Sir Elton John established this organization in 1992 out of his sincere desire to focus his philanthropic efforts on the prevention and eventual elimination of this terrible disease, which had claimed the lives of so many of his friends and colleagues in the music and entertainment industry.  He was particularly moved to do so by the extraordinary example of young Ryan White and by his grief over Ryan’s tragic death in April of 1990.  In many ways, Elton regards his work as an opportunity to carry on Ryan’s legacy and to honor his efforts to educate people about the disease and reduce the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.  I share Elton’s concern and commitment to this urgent cause
8. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the FCAA Membership?
   

   Given the current economic climate and the continuing threat of budget cuts and funding reductions for HIV/AIDS programs, I feel it is especially important for all HIV/AIDS organizations to do everything they can to improve operating efficiency and to seek out ways to partner with like-minded organizations on projects of mutual concern and interest.  We must do our utmost to maximize the impact of our precious resources, and we can best do that by working together and combining our talents, our experiences, and our expertise to achieve the best possible outcomes for our programs.

Shari Turitz

1. Can you tell us about your current position/organization?

   I’m the Director of Programs in the Public Health Program (PHP) at the Open Society Foundations (OSF).  I’m on the Senior Management team, which includes the Director Marine Buissonniere, Deputy Director, Jonathan Cohen, and myself who oversee a $41 million, 55 person program, including 10 global initiatives, and one cross-cutting campaign – the Campaign to End Torture in Health Care.  I supervise those who direct our work on the Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP), the Law & Health Initiative (LAHI), the International Palliative Care Initiative (IPCI), and, with our Director,  the International Harm Reduction Development Program. I also coordinate our work on strategic planning, learning and evaluation, as well as our efforts to leverage other donors

2. How long have you been in the AIDS funding world? What brought you to this work?
   

   This is my first position in the AIDS funding world.  I came to OSF four years ago with a background in human rights and international development After college, for three years, I worked at the Guatemala Human Rights Commission.  From there I went on to pursue a Masters in International Development and Latin American Studies.  After graduating, I worked for 11 years with the Synergos Institute, an international development organization where at first I ran the organization’s Latin America Program and then a global program to build community philanthropy in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  My first exposure to the AIDS funding world was at Synergos, where I collaborated with our Southern Africa Director to strengthen the local South African philanthropic base for NGOs working on HIV/AIDS in the region.

3. What are your current funding and programming priorities?

   The PHP is dedicated to advancing the health and human rights of marginalized persons by building the capacity of civil society leaders and organizations, and advocating for accountability and a strong civil society. This overarching goal spans all of our ten initiatives.   Those initiatives include efforts focused on particularly marginalized populations including drug users, sex workers, transgender persons, Roma, people with intellectual disabilities and persons with life-limiting illnesses.  And a second set of initiatives that are more cross-cutting or tools- based, which work with advocates from affected populations and others to protect the health and rights of marginalized people.  Those Initiatives include: Law and Health, Global Health Financing, Health Media, Access to Essential Medicines and Accountability and Monitoring in Health.  We concentrate our work geographically in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and Southern and East Africa, although we also have limited programming in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

4. Why did you decide to join the FCAA Board of Directors?
   

   Funding for HIV/AIDS is at a critical juncture.  Between the common arguments in global donor circles against disease-specific funding and the crisis at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, there is a real danger that the gains made in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS will be eroded.  And we especially fear that programs to protect the rights to treatment and care for the populations we are most concerned about (e.g. drug users, sex workers, LGBT, those at the end of life) will be the first to go when donors and governments begin to look for “efficiencies.”  There has never been a more important time for the private philanthropic community to come out strongly in favor of continued funding for HIV/AIDS.  I hope that by participating on the Board I can work with FCAA members to strengthen private philanthropy’s response to these critical issues.

   In addition, part of my role here at PHP is to help our Initiatives and leaders connect with other donors of like mind and interest to build collaborations.  Through FCAA, I hope to be able to better understand the funder landscape and to find new partners we are not yet working with. 

5. What was your “top story” of 2011?

   Over the last three years, in collaboration with other donors and the sex work community, PHP helped to launch a new funder collaborative focused on sex worker health and rights.  The Red Umbrella Fund was launched in January of this year.  Seeing the culmination of that project was a huge accomplishment last year. It is a very different kind of model for a donor collaborative, not driven by the donors, but in fact explicitly driven by the sex workers themselves. It’s an innovation in philanthropy. Read more about the Red Umbrella Fund here…

6. What is one of the most important things PHP will be doing in 2012?

   One of the major initiatives that we’re undertaking in PHP this year is trying to gain support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  We believe the Global Fund plays an absolutely critical role and we are working on many fronts to advocate for Round 11 funding and for the long term sustainability of the Fund.  Our efforts are being led by our Global Health Financing Initiative, run by Shannon Kowalski.

7. Why do you fund AIDS?
   In a health and rights program, at a foundation interested in supporting the most marginalized, HIV/AIDS is a very logical place to fund. AIDS is fueled by stigma, discrimination and a lack of access to services and to justice.  In addition, the tremendous civil society leadership on HIV/AIDS also offers a strong base of community, passion and commitment to partner with in the places where we work.
8. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the FCAA Membership?
   

   It’s a pleasure and privilege to be able to serve on the board, and I really look forward to engaging with the full community of organizations involved.
   

Shane Jenkins

1. Can you tell us about your current position/organization?

   The Magic Johnson Foundation, a 501(c) (3) organization was established in 1991 to raise funds for community-based organizations focused on HIV/AIDS education and prevention.  To date, the foundation has donated over $10 Million to community organizations and has provided over $3 million in scholarships to students through the Taylor Michaels Scholarship Program.  The foundation has since expanded its mission to develop programs and services that address the broader educational, health and social needs of ethnically diverse urban communities throughout the nation.

   I’ve been with the organization for 12 years. As Director of HIV/AIDS I’m responsible for managing and developing our HIV initiative that consists of HIV education and prevent, testing, and grant making. 

2. How long have you been in the AIDS funding world? What brought you to this work?
   

   9 years. I initially started as the receptionist and acquired the desire to work in HIV after learning the harsh numbers affecting the minority community.   HIV funding is our founding principal of the organization.
   

3. What are your current funding and programming priorities?

   Our funding priority is solely  to HIV education and prevention programs located in Northern & Southern California, Atlanta GA, New York, New York, Washington DC, Houston, Texas, Cleveland OH, Chicago, IL. On occasion we will support organizations outside our geographical guidelines. MJF also has two other programs: Our Taylor Michaels Scholarship Program and our Community Empowerment Centers.  MJF supports educational empowerment through our HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, our Taylor Michaels Scholarship Program, and our Community Empowerment Centers across the US.

4. Why did you decide to join the FCAA Board of Directors?
   

   To associate myself with like-minded individuals who are serious about making a difference in HIV.  To collectively make an impact to ensure HIV education, prevention, & services are being met. 

5. What was your “top story” of 2011?

   MJF turns 20! November 7, 2011 marked the 20th Anniversary of Mr. Johnson’s HIV announcement and the creation of the Foundation. We dubbed November 7th as “Point Forward Day”. Through our 40 campaign – MJF raised $1 million dollars. Our Point Forward Community Activations were made possible through our partner Wells Fargo, and included:

   ·       10 MJF Community Empowerment Centers participated

   ·       Approximately 2,700 individuals attended Point Forward events

   ·       Over 1500 people were tested and if necessary were linked to care and treatment services.

   ·       MJF donated over $25,000.00 to support local Point Forward Efforts

   ·       Technology upgrades to Computer Labs

   ·       Beautification project and stocked a new Library

   ·       Hosted health screenings

   ·       November 7th declared Magic Johnson Foundation Day in Sacramento

   ·       MJF recognized for work by Town of Bladensburg

   ·       Taylor Michaels Scholarship student, Shinquell Green offered a job by Sacramento School District after speaking at the press conference that started the day‘s festivities.

   ·       Launched Magic Reading Lounge program and donated books to children

   ·       Our partners FedEx, Best Buy, IBM, Grockit, Cisco & AHF Volunteers supported the day

   ·        A Workshop on Bullying was presented by Kevin Bailey, author and motivational speaker

   ·       Free cell phone giveways to participants who were tested for HIV/AIDS

   ·       TMSP Student, Tarikul Islam launched his Mentoring Urban Youth program designed to assist youth in grades 9-12 with the support and resources to attend college

   ·       Over 50 of our scholarship recipients hosted HIV awareness events on campus.

6. Why do you fund AIDS?
   To have an AIDS-Free Generation.

Caitlin Chandler

1. Can you tell us about your current position/organization?
   

   HIV Young Leaders Fund’s mission is to enable new leadership in HIV response among young people most affected by HIV. We are a youth-led and youth-governed funding mechanism committed to supporting the needs and rights of youth-led initiatives working with most affected populations. HYLF builds leadership capacity at every level of our organization – from our peer review panel of young people that selects grantees to the groups we support.

2. How long have you been in the AIDS funding world? What brought you to this work?
   

   HYLF is my first foray into the AIDS funding world. I am motivated to work on funding issues because I believe that how resources are allocated – and who makes decisions about resources – matters.

   Too often in the history of philanthropy, funding decisions are made which do not reflect the needs or inputs of communities affected by social injustice issues. We need more smart, flexible grantmaking that is effective and responsive to the needs of communities.

   Young activists from around the world founded HYLF in 2009 to address systemic issues that youth-led HIV initiatives face accessing funding, and we are working to create a model that is accountable to and driven by the communities we serve. We don’t have it all figured out yet, but are committed to learning as we go.

3. What are your current funding and programming priorities?
   

   In 2011-2012, HYLF is focused on three regions: Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and West and Central Africa. We also have 23 grantees around the world that were supported through our first global Request for Proposals in 2010.

   In December 2011, we made seven grants in the Southeast Asia and Pacific region to youth–led initiatives working with young men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, and young people living with HIV. Our upcoming RFP for Eastern Europe and Central Asia will focus on young women affected by HIV and drug use.

   For any region we work in, we support peer-based services, advocacy and community mobilization. Groups must be led and governed by young people under 30, involve the community they serve in decision-making, and be committed to documenting and learning from their work, among other things.

4. Why did you decide to join the FCAA Board of Directors?

   There are not many youth-led funding mechanisms – or young people – in philanthropy. HYLF is strongly committed to participating in Funders Concerned About AIDS to share our experiences, challenges and reflections on how to create a more effective HIV response. Through our participation, we hope to contribute to synergies within the AIDS funding community and also encourage donors to think critically about the youth-focused programs they support to ensure they are meeting the needs of HIV affected young people.

5. What was your “top story” of 2011?
   

   Our grants cycle in Southeast Asia and the Pacific was a highlight of 2011 – with the support of ViiV’s Positive Action Programme we reached young people in local languages and our peer reviewers selected seven outstanding youth-led initiatives working on critical issues like access to Hep C treatment for people who are co-infected, the leadership development of young men who have sex with men, and continuity of services for young people living with HIV.  

   We also joined the Free Space Process, a collaborative space of 10 civil society networks convened by International Civil Society Support (ICSS) and dedicated to ensuring a more coordinated HIV response, and welcomed the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF) as a new Steering Committee organization.

6. What are you most looking forward to in 2012?

   Our upcoming grants cycle in EECA focused on young women affected by HIV and drug use. HIV in EECA increasingly affects young women who use drugs, who face tremendous age and gender barriers to accessing services and care. HYLF will support young women organizing for their right to health.

7. Why do you fund AIDS?

   HYLF funds AIDS because young people are disproportionately affected, accounting for over 40 percent of new infections. We fund AIDS because we believe all people have the fundamental right to access health care, including HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Thirty years into the epidemic, we fund AIDS because we need bold leadership to enable a just world in which all people can live with dignity.  

8. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the FCAA Membership?

   Check out this brief video about HYLF’s model, and stay tuned to our website for soon to be released videos featuring new HYLF grantees. Also, come visit us at one of the events we’ll be hosting at the July International AIDS Conference in the Youth Pre-Conference and Global Village.

Andrea Flynn

1. Can you tell us about your current position/organization?
   

   The M.A.C AIDS Fund is the charitable foundation affiliated with M.A.C Cosmetics.  It is funded entirely through the sale of M.A.C’s VIVA Glam lipstick and lipglass products.  To date, the VIVA Glam campaign has raised over $235 million USD for the Fund.

   I joined the M.A.C AIDS Fund team in 2007 and am currently a Vice President with the Fund. In this capacity, I support the Fund’s Global Executive Director in the development and execution of its global grant-making strategy and management of day to day operations.

2. How long have you been in the AIDS funding world? What brought you to this work?
   

   I began working in HIV/AIDS in 2003 as a Program Officer for International Health Programs at the Advisory Board Foundation.  I was given the opportunity to lead the Foundation’s strategy for the development of its HIV/AIDS programs in South Africa.  It was both a daunting and an exciting time to enter the field as South Africa was just beginning to roll-out its antiretroviral treatment program at the time.  After spending time in South Africa witnessing first-hand the scale and impact of the epidemic, I knew that I wanted to dedicate my energies and career to combating HIV/AIDS.   

3. What are your current funding and programming priorities?

   The M.A.C AIDS Fund supports HIV/AIDS programs in every country in which the Viva Glam products are sold through our Affiliate Community Grants Program.  Through our community grants, we support direct service programs in North America and around the world that aim to address the link between poverty and HIV/AIDS.   In addition, the M.A.C AIDS Fund supports a range of targeted special initiatives that strive to reach those most vulnerable and at greatest risk of HIV/AIDS and increase their access to HIV prevention, testing, care, treatment and support programs.

4. Why did you decide to join the FCAA Board of Directors?

   I was honored to be asked to join the Board of Directors of Funders Concerned about AIDS.  FCAA plays a unique and critical role in the fight against HIV/AIDS bringing together private funders to work together and in collaboration with bilateral and multilateral donors toward a shared purpose and objective.  The scientific advances of the last two years have brought renewed energy to the field and mobilized the HIV/AIDS community around a vision of the End to AIDS. Yet, these advances have come at a time of a global financial crisis and dwindling financial resources for HIV/AIDS programs making the role of FCAA all the more critical.

5. What was your “top story” of 2011?
   
   2011 was an unprecedented year for the M.A.C AIDS Fund and for scientific advances in HIV/AIDS.  With Lady Gaga as the Global Spokesperson, the Viva Glam Campaign raised a record $34 million globally for programs for men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS allowing MAF to expand its work in the U.S. and around the world during a crucial time for many programs. 

   One example of this is a unique public-private partnership that MAF launched with NASTAD and Welvista in late 2011 to address the ADAP wait list crisis.  MAF was honored to be able to commit $500,000 USD to expand Welvista’s ADAP patient assistance program, a grant that we hope will provide thousands of low income Americans with life saving access to anti-retroviral medications. 

   This year, we also forged a partnership with the U.S. Department of State and the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa to expand the Thutuzela Care Center (TCC) Network.  The TCC Network provides access to crucial medical and psychosocial services (including access to post-exposure prophylaxis) for survivors of sexual assault in South Africa.  With MAF’s support, the TCC Network will be able to expand both its geographical reach as well as its hours of operation to ensure greater access to its services.

6. What are you most looking forward to in 2012?

   Over the last several years, there have been a number of groundbreaking scientific advances in the HIV/AIDS field.  With the results of the HPTN 052 study, the field has come together to begin a dialogue about how we can bring about an end to AIDS.  Yet at the same time, this is a time of tremendous challenges including reductions in global financing for HIV/AIDS programs.  In 2012, we look forward to partnering with advocates, program implementers, policy makers and scientists alike to expand access to critical HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services, particularly for those most vulnerable, and to joining with the global community to continue to fight for an end to AIDS related stigma and discrimination.

7. Why do you fund AIDS?

   The M.A.C AIDS Fund was founded in 1994 with the mission of supporting programs for men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS around the globe.  With over 34 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally and 2.6 million new infections in 2009 alone, we believe that HIV continues to be one of the greatest public health crises of our time.  The M.A.C AIDS Fund funds AIDS because we believe we have a moral imperative to do so.  Moreover, today we know that we are armed with more proven and effective tools to combat the disease than ever before.  We fund AIDS because we believe that by putting our resources toward scaling up and expanding access to these interventions; we can have a massive impact and play a role in ending the epidemic. 

Comments   3/6/2012 5:43:46 PM Hayshie  New Comment  Adriana Stuijt // May 28, 2009 at 6:34 pm There are several pgours who are busy drawing up charges of crimes against humanity against specific members of the ANC in regards this terrible tragedy. Millions of people throughout southern Africa now are dying due to this, because the infections also could spread rapidly from South Africa after Mbeki basically threw open all the borders and effectively turned many neighbouring countries into new South African provinces. LOL. I'm so glad Adriana Stuijt turned up on this thread too and I invite posters on here to visit her wonderful website called censor-bugbear . Look for example for posts under the label Afrikaner Boer ethnocide by ANC-regime 2009 where you will find plenty of unrelated stories.censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/search/label/Afrikaner%20Boer%20ethnocide%20by%20ANC-regime%202009 Your Name Title Comment New Comment Enter the code