President Obama on Monday appointed as his new AIDS czar Douglas Brooks, an activist on health care policy who has been living with the HIV virus for more than 20 years.
Mr. Brooks has served most recently as senior vice president at the Justice Resource Institute in Boston, a nonprofit which provides outreach mental health treatment and services people with HIV/AIDS. He also has served on the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition in Washington, and was appointed by Mr. Obama in 2010 to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.
“Douglas’s policy expertise combined with his extensive experience working in the community makes him uniquely suited to the task of helping to achieve the goal of an AIDS-free generation, which is within our reach,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “I look forward to having him lead our efforts from the White House.”
As director of the White House Office on National AIDS Policy, Mr. Brooks will lead the administration’s work to reduce new HIV infections, improve health outcomes for people living with HIV, and eliminate HIV health disparities in the United States, the White House said.
A licensed social worker, Mr. Brooks replaces Dr. Grant Colfax, who served in the post for two years.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.