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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                          (Dhaka, Bangladesh)

For Immediate Release March 20, 2000

             PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES NEW MEMBERS TO THE
               PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HIV/AIDS

The President announced today that Secretary Shalala appointed ten individuals to serve as members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Sixteen members were re-appointed for service. Pursuant to the President's Executive Order, signed on June 15, 1995, the Council was established at the Department of Health and Human Services to: provide advice, information and recommendations regarding programs and policies to promote effectie prevention of HIV disease, advance research on HIV and AIDS, and promote quality services to persons living with HIV disease and AIDS.

The Honorable Ronald V. Dellums of California, who will serve as chair of the Council, is President of Healthcare International Management Company and a former member of the U.S. Congress, representing the 9th Congressional District of California for 27 years. First elected to Congress against the backdrop of the Indochina War of 1970, Mr. Dellums worked to end that conflict and has remained an active leader on the international scene. As a member and former chairman of the House National Security Committee, he aspired to become an expert on international affairs and to accumulate the knowledge necessary to work on behalf of social justice and human rights. Mr. Dellums led the congressional effort to end U.S. support for the racist apartheid regime of South Africa. The National Health Service Act, introduced by Mr. Dellums in 1977, is still considered one of the most comprehensive, progressive health care proposals ever before the Congress.

Terje Anderson of Washington, D.C. currently serves as the Interim Executive Director for the National Association of People with AIDS. He has served as the AIDS Program Chief for the Vermont Department of Health and was also the founder of the Vermont Committee for AIDS Resources, Education, and Services. He has chaired the Health Resources and Services Administration's HIV/AIDS Committee and has been the Co-chair for the National Organizations Responding to AIDS. In addition, he has served as the Co-chair for the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

Regina Aragon of Oakland, California served as the Public Policy Director for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, where for nine years she led in developing state and federal policy, including successful campaigns to expand funding for HIV/AIDS, to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act, and to decriminalize needle exchange. Ms. Aragon served as the Chair of the Cities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief (CAEAR) Coalition from 1993-1999. She has a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Ignatius Bau, J.D. of San Francisco is the Policy Director at the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum in San Francisco, California. He has served as the Chairperson of the California Department of Health Services Task Force on Multicultural Health and as a consultant to the CDC. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Minority AIDS Council and was a founding board member of both the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center: Community HIV/AIDS Services and the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Judith A. Billings, J.D. of Seattle has been an educator for 37 years, serving as the Washington State elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for eight years (1989-1997). Diagnosed with AIDS in 1995, she currently chairs the Governor's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and the Board of the Northwest AIDS Foundation, and serves on the Board Executive Committee of the National AIDS Fund. She remains active in education, chairing the Board of the Agency for Instructional Technology, co-chairing the Washington State Council on Public Legal Education, and working as the President and CEO of Economics America Washington Council on Economic Education.

Charles Blackwell of Washington, D.C. is the founding Director of The Native Affairs and Development Group (NADG) at Pushmataha House on Capitol Hill and serves the Chickasaw Nation as their Ambassador to the United States of America. Ambassador Blackwell is widely recognized for strongly protecting the federal-tribal trust relationship and the sovereignty of American Indian tribes while developing strong tribal economies. He represents numerous tribes in Washington and many private sector companies in Indian Country.

Stephen Boswell, M.D. of Boston is the Executive Director of the Fenway Community Health Center (FCHC), a national leader in community primary health care for persons with HIV/AIDS and the gay communities. He is active in various research arenas and is currently a member of the Infectious Disease Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners' AIDS Research Center. He helped found the Community Care Alliance, a collaborative enterprise of seven Boston community health centers with historic clinical ties to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Phil Burgess, R.PH. of Illinois is currently the National Director of Pharmacy Affairs for Walgreens, and has been involved in responding to the needs of the HIV/AIDS community since the early ?80s. Mr. Burgess is responsible for the recent initiative to certify a large group of Walgreens pharmacists throughout the nation providing pharmaceutical services to HIV/AIDS patients.

Lynne M. Cooper, D. Min. of St. Louis, Missouri is President of Doorways, an Interfaith AIDS Residence program, providing housing to 450 people living with HIV/AIDS in the St. Louis region. The Doorways programs have earned local and national awards and Cooper has been recognized by the Women of Worth, the Deaconness Foundation, the Health Care Financing Administration, and Fontbonne College for service to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Joe Cristina of Los Angeles, California is a 15-year veteran at Mattel, Inc. where he is currently Vice President of Inventor Relations. After publicly disclosing his HIV status in 1993, he founded the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation (CAAF). Through Joe?s leadership as Board Chair, CAAF has raised over $6 million to help provide direct care and services to children affected by HIV/AIDS throughout the nation. Joe is an openly gay man residing in Long Beach, California.

Ingrid Duran of Washington, D.C. is the Executive Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a premier national non-profit and non-partisan organization whose mission is to develop the next generation of Latino leaders. CHCI's vision is to have an educated and civilly active Latino community that participates at the local, sate, and federal policy decision-making levels. Prior to joining the CHCI, Duran was the director of the Washington, D.C. office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed officials (NALEO).

Rabbi Joseph Edelheit of Minneapolis, Minnesota serves as the Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel, a 121 year-old, Reform congregation in Minneapolis. He has previously led several Jewish and interfaith AIDS coalitions and pastoral service groups. He was the initial rabbinic co-chair the Reform Judaism's national committee on HIV/AIDS. He has written several published essays on topics related to the religious and ethical issues provoked by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Debra Fraser-Howze of New York, New York is the President/CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc., which she founded in 1987. Ms. Fraser-Howze has been widely recognized for her more than two decades of service to African and other communities of color on issues relating to teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS prevention, and public health. A graduate of Hunter College, Ms. Fraser-Howze received a Master's in Public Administration from Baruch College.

Cynthia A. Gomez, Ph.D. of San Francisco, California is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) AIDS Research Institute (ARI) and Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS). She received her Master's in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Boston University. Prior to coming to CAPS, Dr. Gomez spent twelve years working in community mental health settings in Boston. Dr. Gomez also serves on the CDC's HIV & STD Advisory Council, SAMHSA's Advisory Committee on Women's Services, and the Scientific Advisory Committee and Board of Directors of the Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Bob Hattoy of Washington, D.C. is a person living with AIDS, who served as a White House Liaison to the Department of the Interior for seven years and before that as the Deputy Director of White House personnel. He came to the Clinton administration from the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group and now volunteers his time with different HIV/AIDS organizations as well as on federal campaigns.

Michael Isbell, J.D. of New York, New York formerly oversaw the public policy, communications, and education programs at Gay Men's Health Crisis, the nation's oldest and largest AIDS service organization. He also directed the AIDS litigation project at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. He received his law degree at Harvard Law School and currently is an independent consultant in the field of public health policy.

Ronald S. Johnson of New York, New York currently serves as Associate Executive Director of Gay Men's Health Crisis, Inc.(GMHC). In that capacity he manages GMHC's public policy, communications, and community relations functions. Prior to coming to GMHC, Mr. Johnson served as the Citywide Coordinator for AIDS policy in the Office of the Mayor, City of New York and as the Executive Director of the Minority Task Force on AIDS. Mr. Johnson is also living with HIV.

Alexandra M. Levine, M.D of Los Angeles, California is currently a Professor of Medicine at USC, Chief of the Division of Hematology, and served as the Executive Associate Dean of the USC School of Medicine from 1985 to 1990. She also serves as Medical Director of the USC/Norris Cancer hospital. Dr. Levine's research interests include the hematologic malignancies and HIV disease, where she has published over 150 articles and over 50 book chapters. She began an active program of AIDS research in 1981, focused primarily on the cancers related to AIDS, and most recently on HIV disease in women. She has worked with Dr. Jonas Salk in the development and testing of a therapeutic AIDS vaccine.

Steve Lew of San Francisco, California has been involved in HIV services and advocacy issues over the past fifteen years, co-founding the GAPA Community HIV project, serving as the Executive Director of the Living Well Project and Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center in San Francisco. A gay man of color living with HIV, Mr. Lew has also participated in local, regional, and national HIV planning and public policy efforts. Currently Mr. Lew serves as Development Director for CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, based in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Caya B. Lewis, MPH, of Baltimore, Maryland is the National Health Coordinator of the NAACP where she advises on health policy, designs health prevention and education initiatives, and builds partnerships to support the NAACP's 2200 affiliates. During her tenure, the NAACP has passed several new policies on HIV/AIDS and implemented an HIV/AIDS film outreach project. Ms. Lewis is a graduate of Spelman College and the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Miguel Milanes of Miami, Florida is the Community/Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator for the Florida Department of Children and Families-District 11. He was previously the Director for the Miami-Dade County Health Department's Office of AIDS Services. Before coming to Miami, Miguel served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Supportive Housing Demonstration Program at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Brent Tucker Minor of Northern Virginia is the Director of Community Relations at Food & Friends, a community-based organization that delivers meals and groceries to people living with AIDS in the greater Washington, D.C. area. He currently serves as the Co-chair of the Planning Council for the Washington, D.C. Ryan White Title I Planning Council. Minor also serves on the Northern Virginia HIV Consortium and the Alexandria City Council's Task Force on AIDS among other organizations. Minor is an active athlete and in 1999, completed his 31st triathlon (Olympic distance), his fourth Washington D.C. AIDS Ride, and his first marathon since learning of his HIV diagnosis in 1987.

Helen M. Miramontes, MSN, RN, FAAN of San Francisco, California is a Clinical Professor and Deputy Director of The International Center for HIV/AIDS Research & Clinical Training in Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, and Nurse Coordinator for the Pacific AIDS Education & Training Center, School of Medicine, UCSF. Ms. Miramontes has been working in the HIV/AIDS pandemic, both as a health professional and an activist, for seventeen years with a particular emphasis on prevention, policy, and provider education.

Michael Rankin, M.D., MPH. of San Francisco, California is a military psychiatrist, who served for 24 years as a Medical Officer in the United States Navy, and is immediate past Chair of the Department of Psychiatry of the Oakland, California, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. At the Oakland VA, Dr. Rankin established and directed mental health programs for active duty military and veterans living with HIV and AIDS, including a hiking, rock climbing, and white water rafting program for PLWA's which received national recognition and duplication. He is a life member of the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Disabled Veterans of America, as well as a member of the Alexander Hamilton Chapter of the American Legion. In 1982, Dr. Rankin and Dr. Dennis McShane co-founded the Gay and Lesbian American Medical Association.

Victoria L. Sharp, M.D. of New York is the Director of the Center for comprehensive Care at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. She serves as the Chair of the Board of Doctors of the World, an international humanitarian organization.

Denise Stokes of Stockbridge, Georgia has been an AIDS educator and activist for eleven years. Her grass roots background is in street outreach, public education, support group facilitation, substance abuse counseling and training other peer counselors. Ms. Stokes sits on the Board of Directors of both Outreach Inc., serving the minority community and All Saints. Covenant Community (a men's substance abuse recovery community). She was infected with HIV at thirteen and was not only one of the first people to publicly put a face on heterosexual HIV in the 80's but also instrumental in accessing Southern African-American churches in the early 90's. Ms. Stokes is a frequent presenter to the National Football League on HIV education.

Secretary Shalala is nominating the following individuals for appointment:

Stuart Burden of Chicago is a Senior Program Officer at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation located in Chicago, Illinois. Burden's grantmaking focus includes reproductive health & rights, sexuality education for young people, and HIV prevention. In addition to his work at MacArthur, Burden serves on the Boards of the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, the Working Group on Funding Lesbian & Gay Issues, and Funders Concerned About AIDS. Burden consults on health issues with various foundations and has served on the Scientific Program Committee for the International AIDS Conference.

Thomas Patrick Healy of New York, New York is a writer and former contemporary art dealer. He serves as chairman of the public arts organization "Creative Time" and is on the boards of the AIDS Action Foundation in Washington and the NYU Art Museum. Healy is HIV positive and works as a writer of poetry and criticism.

Valerie Reyes-Jimenez of New York, New York was infected with HIV in the early 1980s and has overcome formidable odds to become a leading AIDS activist and advocate for those living with HIV and AIDS. She has worked side by side with homeless HIV positive individuals and, in particular, those with chemical dependencies and mental disorders.

John A. Perez of California is the Executive Director of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Region 8 States Council, representing California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii. In addition, he is Co-Chair of the California Democratic Party Finance Committee, a member of the California Managed Health Care Improvement Task Force, and a member of the Board of Directors of the League of Conservation Voters, the LAEDC, and the Los Angeles Human Rights Committee.

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