Historic Selection Makes Brooks First Black Gay Man Living with HIV to Hold the Post
Washington, DC – Today, the White House announced the appointment of Douglas M. Brooks, MSW, as the Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). As the Director of ONAP, he will lead the Obama administration’s work to reduce new HIV infections, improve health outcomes for people living with HIV, and eliminate HIV-related health disparities in the United States.
“NMAC applauds President Obama’s historic selection of Mr. Brooks to fill this critical position,” said National Minority AIDS Council Executive Director Paul Kawata. “His decades of experience working on the ground to combat this epidemic, will prove incredibly useful as he works to implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and the HIV Care Continuum initiative. Since 2010, Brooks has served on the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) and most recently was Senior Vice President for Community, Health, and Public Policy at the Justice Resource Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition, he has served on the boards of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, AIDS United and the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition.”
“As the first openly Black gay man living with HIV to hold the post, Mr. Brooks will bring incredible insight of what it means to be living with this disease to ONAP and the White House,” added Kawata. “As the most heavily impacted population in the country, it is critical that Black gay men – especially those living with HIV – are represented at the highest levels of our government’s response to the epidemic. We look forward to working closely with Mr. Brooks in his new role, and building on the invaluable work of his predecessors to realize the vision of an AIDS-free generation.”
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Kyle Murphy, (202) 803-8027/kmurphy@nmac.org