George Ayala, PsyD, is Deputy Director of the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) where he directly supervises its four largest program divisions, and one program unit attached to the Office of the Director. They include Community Health Services, Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Family Health Services, Public Health Nursing, and Health Promotion and Community Partnerships. ACPHD serves nearly 1.7 million residents through 21 locations, covering 14 cities and 6 unincorporated communities. Dr. Ayala supported the Department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and served as the Incident Commander of Alameda County’s response to the mpox outbreak. Dr. Ayala is the former and founding Executive Director of MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights, an international advocacy and technical support network devoted to ensuring equitable access to effective HIV and other healthcare services for gay and bisexual men while promoting sexual health and human rights worldwide. He led the organization’s eleven-year growth trajectory and through three successful strategic planning cycles before stepping down from his post. MPact’s work is predicated on the principle that communities should be front and center in authoring and implementing solutions to challenges they face, drawing from their own strengths and knowledge. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Ayala has dedicated himself to promoting and protecting the health and human rights of disenfranchised communities worldwide. A clinical psychologist by training, he has worked in close partnership with communities to develop programs, manage non-profit organizations, and conduct social science research. Dr. Ayala’s recent studies focus on the socio- structural predictors of health, HIV service access and utilization among gay men, and the comparative advantages of community-led HIV responses.