BEYOND AIDS LEADERS FOR 2016, 2017

In its biennial election on November 15, 2015, Beyond AIDS selected the following officers and directors to serve during 2016 and 2017:

President:  Ronald P. Hattis, MD, MPH (California)
Vice-Pres:  Jeffrey Klausner, MD, MPH (California)
Secretary:  Deanna C. Stover, PhD, FNP (California)
Treasurer: Richel Strydom, MD, MPH (California)
Directors:  Adriana Andaluz, MPH (New York), 
                   replaced by Gary A. Richwald (California), 
                   11/19/17 
                   Franklyn N. Judson, MD (Colorado)
                   Elizabeth Kidder, MD, MPH (Washington, DC)
                   Monica M. Sweeney, MD, MPH (New York)
Past-Pres.: Cary Savitch, MD (California)

The Advisory Council will consist of:

Denise Bleak, MSN, PHN (California)
I. Jean Davis, PA, DC (California)
Josileide Gaio, MPH (California)
Peter Kerndt, MD, MPH (California)

Marsha Martin, DSW (Washington, DC)

Cesar Reis, MD, fellow (California)
Gary A. Richwald, MD, MPH (California, moved to Board 11/19/17)                             

The subsidiary Beyond AIDS Foundation, a 501(c)3 charitable corporation, will be governed by the following Board (elected by the membership of Beyond AIDS):

President:   Deanna C. Stover, PhD, FNP (California)
Vice-Pres.:  Monica M. Sweeney, MD, MPH (New York)
Secretary:   Ronald P. Hattis, MD, MPH (California)
Treasurer:   Richel Strydom, MD, MPH (California)
Directors:    Franklyn N. Judson, MD, MPH (Colorado)
                     Elizabeth Kidder, MD, PhD, MPH (Washington, DC)
                     Jeffrey Klausner, MD, MPH (California)

  Cary Savitch, MD (California)
                                   
The Scientific Committee is assigned by Beyond AIDS  to work with the Foundation. Members, as of April 2017:
Franklyn N. Judson, MD, MPH (Colorado) and
Monica M. Sweeney, MD, MPH (New York), Co-Chairs
I. Jean Davis-Hatcher, PhD, PA, DC (California)
Ronald P. Hattis, MD, MPH (California)
Elizabeth Kidder, MD, PhD, MPH (Washington, DC)
Peter Kerndt, MD, MPH (Mozambique)
Jeffrey Klausner, MD, MPH (California)
Gary A. Richwald, MD, MPH (California)
Cary Savitch, MD (California)
Colin Shepherd, MD (China)
Deanna C. Stover, PhD, FNP (California)

The memberships of this and other committees are subject to change and available on request.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF BOARD MEMBERS OF BEYOND AIDS, 2016/2017

RONALD P. HATTIS, MD, MPH, President

Ron Hattis is continuing as President of Beyond AIDS, and Secretary of our subsidiary tax-deductible Foundation.  When the organization was founded, he was the first Vice-President, and later but before his current offices served as Secretary, as well as President of the Foundation. He has been active in contacts with federal leaders, and in Beyond AIDS' legislative efforts in California, and has represented our organization in consultations with the California Office of AIDS. He developed the original Bylaws for both the membership organization and the foundation, and has mentored many of our past interns. 

He is a physician, board-certified in Public Health/Preventive Medicine, and lives in Redlands, California.  He was formerly the Chief of Medical Services at a large state hospital, where in addition to medical management, he was in charge of HIV testing and training HIV educators for 20 years, and he treated HIV/AIDS patients at the infectious disease clinic.  Since retiring from that position, he has worked part-time in clinical medicine, currently including student health and primary care. He has been an HIV clinician/specialist. 

Dr. Hattis is an Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine Loma Linda University School of Medicine, where he has lectured on HIV as a representative of our Foundation.  He spent 23 years with a disaster medical assistance team, serving at the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, and the Northridge earthquake.

Other past positions in reverse order have included teacher of family medicine, county health officer, country family physician (on Kauai in Hawaii), and Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (assigned through field services to the Hawaii Department of Health). 

His goals for Beyond AIDS over the next two years include developing proposals for more effective implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy; and continuing to be involved with legislation in California and important states, as well as at the federal level. In particular, he plans to continue to work to promote the HIV care continuum; to utilize HIV reporting to trigger outreach for referral of patients to treatment, partner services, and other services to prevent transmission; and to enhance HIV prevention science. 

JEFFREY D. KLAUSNER, MD, MPH, Vice-President

Jeffrey D. Klausner is a UCLA Professor of Medicine and Public Health. He is a physician, board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He served as a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer 1995-1997, Deputy Health Officer and Director of STD Prevention and Control Services, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 1998-2009, and Branch Chief for HIV and TB, CDC South Africa, 2009-2011. 

Dr. Klausner has been a leader in implementing the public health approach to HIV prevention and control through policy and programmatic activites resulting in the streamlining and evaluation of routine HIV testing, early HIV case detection with HIV RNA screening, linkage-to-care and contact tracing and partner notification services.  In addition Dr. Klausner through his epidemiologic research, identified the role that bacterial STDs, the Internet, sex clubs, methamphetamine and Viagra played in augmenting the risk of HIV tranmission and implemented successful population-based programs to mitigate those risk factors. In collaboration with community leaders and organizations, he inititated sexual health campaigns and peer-led sexual health services for sex workers and gay men in San Francisco which have been replicated globally. 

Dr. Klausner has been conducting research in laboratory-based diagnostics for HIV infection and other STDs since the early 1990s and is considered an expert in infectious disease detection and management. He has a busy clinical HIV/AIDS practice in Los Angeles and regularly attends on the infectious diseases consultation service at UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital.  Dr. Klausner brings nearly two decades of public health, clinical and research experience to the Board, much of it specific to HIV prevention. 

DEANNA STOVER, PHD, RN-BC, FNP-BC, CNS, COHN-S, Secretary

Deanna Stover is the Executive Director, Community Based (Outreach) Programs and Services, at Redlands Community Hospital, with responsibility for the provision of healthcare to the community with a focus on low-income and underserved populations. She began her nursing career in 1979 while serving in the United States Air Force in Europe, and she earned her PhD in Nursing, Health Policy from Loma Linda University in 2011. She holds board-certification as a family practice nurse practitioner, medical-surgical nurse, and occupational health nurse specialist.

Prior positions include Director, Medical Services, City of Los Angeles, and Chief of Clinical Operations, Center for Employee Health and Wellness, County of San Bernardino. She has actively worked in the medical arena for over 30 years with training and expertise in community-based healthcare, health policy, HIV/AIDS health care, occupational medicine, and advance practice nursing as a family nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist.

She holds a certificate as an Advanced HIV Nurse Clinician from USC Medical Center, AIDS education training center (1995) and has provided HIV/AIDS training for healthcare providers.

She has served on organizational boards at the state and local level and is a current board member for a local non-profit community service organization, Building A Generation, located in Redlands California, in addition to being the current Secretary, Beyond Aids, Inc, and the President of the organization’s Foundation.

RICHEL STRYDOM, MD, MPH, Treasurer

Richel Strydom, MD, MPH, the current Beyond AIDS, Inc. and Beyond AIDS Foundation Treasurer,  is presently a third year Loma Linda University (Loma Linda, CA) Preventive Medicine Resident Physician.  Prior to beginning her current Preventive Medicine Residency Training, Richel obtained a Masters degree in Public Health, with a Global Health Concentration, at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health.  Prior to her MPH studies, Richel completed a couple of years of Family Medicine Residency Training, in Tallahassee, FL.

Dr. Strydom was born and raised in the country of South Africa.  The HIV burden of the South African population, as well as the HIV burden within many African and other countries, including within the U.S.A., have contributed to a strong, persistent public health problem.  In July 2016, shortly following the June 2016 launch of   the “Test and Treat” HIV care approach in Lesotho, the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to formally adopt this strategy recommended by UNAIDS in 2015, Richel had the privilege of attending a briefing on the new program while doing a rotation in HIV and Tuberculosis care and prevention, at Maluti Adventist Hospital, in Lesotho.

While a Family Medicine Resident in training, in Tallahassee, FL, Richel worked as a volunteer to provide education and comprehensive support to people who are living with HIV, within an eight-county area of Florida. Earlier, while attending medical school at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, she worked with students and faculty members to actively promote knowledge about, and the prevention of, HIV and STIs. Prior to that, while attending North Carolina State University, she worked with the Alliance of AIDS Services – Carolinas (AASC) as a volunteer “care partner” for a young woman living with HIV.

Richel feels compelled to work to improve HIV care and prevention policies and practices. Serving with Beyond AIDS furthers that aim.

ADRIANA ANDALUZ, MPH, Director (until 11/19/17) 

Adriana Andaluz originally hails from Los Angeles, CA, where she studied Microbiology along with a minor in Spanish Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. She began her path in public health as an undergrad while working with Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias at the Pacific Institute for Women’s Health, an incubator for programs designed to further women’s health in the US, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Largely inspired by Dr. Rodriguez-Trias’ dedication to health policy and increasing access to care, Ms. Andaluz’s first post-collegiate job was in the Public Affairs department at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. During her tenure, she was able to work on many politically charged state and federal campaigns, including California’s historic Reproductive Privacy Act.

Ms. Andaluz later moved to New York to pursue a master in public health and work at the New York City Department of Health, where she has been since 2007. She currently serves as the Director of External Affairs for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control where she oversees the development of priority policy initiatives, is responsible for the Bureau’s interactions with the Mayor’s Office, other inter- and intra-governmental agencies and key-stakeholders including the agency’s press office, and also oversees the Bureau’s social marketing and social media activities.

FRANKLYN N. JUDSON, MD, MPH, Director 

 

Frank Judson received his BA from Wesleyan University in 1964, his MD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, and his house staff training from the University of Wisconsin Hospitals (internal medicine) and the University of Colorado (infectious diseases).  He was an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the Centers for Disease Control assigned to the Colorado Department of Public Health  (1970-72), and Scientific Liaison, Global Program on AIDS, Geneva (1990 -91).  He is board-certified in internal medicine, infectious diseases and preventive medicine. 

For over 41 years, his research interests have concentrated on the epidemiology and control of sexually transmitted infections including hepatitis B and HIV.  His public health policy interests have run the gamut from childhood and adolescent vaccine programs, to urban air pollution, bioterrorism preparedness, and tobacco, tuberculosis, influenza, and HIV prevention and control.  He has authored or co-authored more than 270 scientific publications. 

Dr. Judson has served as President of the American STD Association (ASTDA), President of the International Society for STD Research (ISSTDR), President of the International Union Against the Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI), Chairman of the Board of the American Social Health Association (ASHA), Chief of Infectious Diseases for the Denver Health Medical Center (1983-2002), and Director of the Denver Public Health Department (1986-2004). He has been a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), the CDC/HHS Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Board of Regents of the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the Colorado State Board of Health. Currently, he is a member of the Colorado Governor’s Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee (GEEERC) and Professor, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and the Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Denver.

ELIZABETH (BETSY) KIDDER, MD, PhD, MPH, Director

Elizabeth (Betsy) Kidder, MD, PhD, MPH received her Master's in Public Health, Medical Degree, and PhD in Public Policy and Health Policy from the George Washington University. She is currently in the last year of her residency in the Internal Medicine and Primary Care program at the George Washington University Hospital.  Her career and research interests focus on access to quality health care by underserved communities, improving access to addiction treatment, and implementing innovative and patient-centered cancer screening options.  Her dissertation research investigated self-administered HPV testing as a cervical cancer screening option for underscreened women.

Betsy joined Beyond AIDS in 2001 as an intern, and has served as a Board member since 2003. She received her Master's in Public Health in 2004 and her Medical Degree in 2011, both from the George Washington University. She also completed a doctorate there in health policy.

As a public health professional, she has worked in Rome, Italy with the United Nations on the development team for the "Initiative to End Child Hunger" - a collaboration between the World Bank, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the World Food Program. Previous to that, she worked with the Global Health Council in Washington, DC on issues related to HIV/AIDS and child health, as a part of a national PBS media and outreach campaign in global health. She has also worked at the Department of Defense's HIV/AIDS Prevention Program as well as the Futures Group, where she assisted with the research and writing of a "What Works" program guide for developing country policymakers on evidence-based practices in HIV/AIDS/STI prevention.

Her interest in issues related to HIV was initially sparked by the case of Nushawn Williams, a young man who knowingly spread HIV in her small hometown community and high school. After that incident, she traveled to South Africa, where she studied the epidemic in the Eastern Cape, taught an HIV/AIDS education class, and volunteered in a pediatric HIV clinic, all of which deepened her commitment to staying involved with HIV advocacy through her career.

GARY A. RICHWALD, MD, MPH, Director (from 11/19/17)

Gary Richwald received his engineering degree from Cornell University, medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and Master's in Public Health (MPH) in health services research/epidemiology from UCLA. He completed his specialty/subspecialty training in internal medicine, geriatrics, and preventive medicine at the University of Michigan and UCLA. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar at UCLA/RAND in health policy services research.

From 1981 to 1989, Dr. Richwald was a full-time faculty member at UCLA in the Schools of Public Health/Medicine, and subsequently served as Director and Chief Physician, L.A. County Sexually Transmitted Disease Program (1989-2000). He has been a consultant on STD policy and clinical care for the AME, American Sexual Health Association (ASHA), and CDC. He chaired the California STD Control Association for 3 terms, and was a founding member, National Coalition of STD Directors. He has worked with GSK, Novartis, Abbott, Merck, 3M Pharmaceuticals, and Focus Technologies/Quest Diagnostics in the development of STD-related health care technology.  


MONICA SWEENEY, MD, MPH, Director

Monica Sweeney is Vice Dean for Global Engagement and Chair, Dept. Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center.  Additionally, she is the chair of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center's Association of Council Members and College Trustees.

Before that, she was the Assistant Commissioner of Health for New York City. Previously, for six years, she was in charge of the NYC Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. Her responsibilities there included oversight of programs and budgets for prevention; care and treatment (Ryan White); Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA); and the epidemiology/Field Services Unit.

Previously, she was the medical director and vice president for medical affairs in a Federally Qualified Health Center in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn NY.  The community served was medically and economically deprived and HIV/AIDS was one of many challenges she addressed daily during her 17 years in Bedford Stuyvesant.  During her tenure there, in addition to direct patient care, she became involved in policy and advocacy and had the opportunity to work with Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn to get her historic legislation (the Baby AIDS Bill, and Named-based Reporting) passed -- over almost insurmountable opposition.

Dr. Sweeney is a board-certified internist and geriatrician with a masters degree in public health.  She has always combined individual and public health in her practice, by working with the Medical Society for the State of New York (MSSNY), the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), and the American College of Physicians (ACP) and by serving on the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA).  Prior to election to the position of Vice-President, she was a Director on the Beyond AIDS Board, and before that she served on the Advisory Council. Her goals as Vice-President include working diligently to broaden the reach of the only AIDS organization that has always used sound public health policy to fight the epidemic.

CARY SAVITCH, MD, Immediate Past-President

Cary Savitch was one of the Founding Members of Beyond AIDS, organized its founding meetings, and was elected its first President. He has served on the Board of Directors since the founding of the organization.  He recruited many of the early members of the organization by speaking to friends, colleagues, and patients about the need for HIV reform, writing a book about the subject, and giving talks on HIV, especially in Ventura County and the surrounding area where the founding meetings were held. 

He is an infectious disease physician, and has taken care of AIDS patients for the past 33 years (starting even before the disease had a name). In 1997, he published a book, “The Nutcracker is Already Dancing,” which highlighted the lack of application to HIV of sound public health practices that had been successfully utilized for diseases such as syphilis and tuberculosis. He believes strongly that the mission of Beyond AIDS, to stop the transmission of HIV, is the direction we must take in order to save lives in this epidemic.

He expresses pride in the time he has already spent with Beyond AIDS, which he believes is the only organization willing to stand up and support the necessary public health policies needed to contain HIV. His goals are to continue these efforts in every and any capacity needed, and to encourage others to join our battle for HIV/AIDS prevention.