AIDS expert Dr. Helene Gayle, president and chief executive of the charity CARE USA, has been named to chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), the U.S. government said on Monday. Gayle will advise President Barack Obama on fighting the virus, which has infected an estimated 1 million Americans and 33 million people globally.
I have known Helene and her brother Jacob Gayle the head of the Ford Foundation’s Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS for many years. Like so many others I value their contributions and feel privileged to count these heroes and lifesavers and colleagues and friends.
When I met Helene she was living in Atlanta. Later she would host President Clinton’s PACHA for dinner at her home. Helene was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She completed her undergraduate degree at Bernard College of Columbia University, and then received her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She also completed her M.P.H. at Johns Hopkins University.
I know Helen best as the director of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as Assistant Surgeon General. She has also headed AIDS efforts at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Congratulations Dr. Gayle this is good news for all people living with HIV and AIDS and the nation.
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