Award Honorees Embody Our Commitment to the Public Health Safety Net

By: Brandon M. Macsata, CEO, ADAP Advocacy Association

The ADAP Advocacy Association announced earlier this week the honorees for its Annual ADAP Leadership Awards, which recognize individual, community, government and corporate leaders who are working to improve access to care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS — including under the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). The 2017-2018 award honorees reflect the theme of the organization's 11th Annual ADAP Conference, “Mapping a New Course to Protect the Public Health Safety Net,” being held in next month in Washington, DC.

As in years past, it is always difficult selecting the honorees for the various awards because so much amazing work continues to be done fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But some work always stands out and it deserves our recognition! It is our way of saying, thank you.

The following awards will be presented during the Annual ADAP Leadership Awards Dinner, which will be hosted on Friday, September 21st:

• ADAP Lifetime Achievement awarded posthumously to Gary R. Rose. As we noted earlier this year, Gary was One for the Roses.

• “William E. Arnold” ADAP Champion awarded to Evelyn Foust, Director of the North Carolina DHHS Communicable Diseases Branch. Evelyn has been instrumental in the implementation of the ADAP premium assistance in the state. 

• ADAP Emerging Leader awarded to Tori Cooper. Learn more about her groundbreaking work. Tori currently serves as a prevention specialist at Positive Impact Health Centers in Atlanta, GA.

• ADAP Corporate Partner awarded to Lambda Legal for their tireless work on behalf of so many people living with HIV/AIDS, including most recently with Harrison v. Mattis & Doe v. Mattis. 

• ADAP Lawmaker awarded to the Honorable John McCain, Arizona’s senior U.S. Senator, for his courageous thumbs down vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act. Sen. McCain's surprise vote ensured countless people living with HIV/AIDS continued to receive care. Former President Barack Obama even called McCain to thank him!

• ADAP Community Organization awarded to the Community Research Initiative ("CRI"), based in Boston, MA. CRI embodies the community-based focus that has long been associated with appropriate and timely access to care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS. Serving over 12,000 clients in the greater metropolitan area of Boston, CRI not only manages Massachusetts’ AIDS Drug Assistance Program, but it has also been on the front lines in fighting Hepatitis C, training service providers on culturally competent care, and advocating for successful prevention strategies, just to name a few. Learn more at https://crine.org. 

• ADAP Media awarded to Larisa Epatko with PBS News Hour for her "5 good news stories about the fight against HIV/AIDS," which was posted on June 13, 2018. 

• ADAP Grassroots Campaign awarded to Let’s Kick A$$ for their "Long-Term Survivors Stories Public Service Announcement," which features Long-Term Survivors sharing their personal stories what it means them to be a long-term survivor. 

• ADAP Social Media Campaign awarded to Jennifer Vaughan for her YouTube channel,"Jennifer’s Positive HIV Life,"with over 10,000 subscribers and with almost 2 million views on her 90+ videos about living with HIV/AIDS.

Information about the awards (including former honorees) is listed online at  www.adapadvocacyassociation.org/awards.html.

Tickets for the awards dinner can be purchased online. This year's awards dinner will be headlined by the one and only, Josh Robbins (who also happens to be a past award honoree).

Congratulations to the honorees of the 2017-2018 ADAP Leadership Awards!