Health and Human Services Secretary to appoint Helene Gayle as the Chair of Presidential Advisory Council

Aug 25 2009

Today, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced her intent to appoint Helene Gayle, MD, MPH to serve as the Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Secretary Sebelius made the announcement in Atlanta at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference.

“HIV remains a major threat to the health of our nation, and when one of our fellow citizens becomes infected with HIV every nine-and-a-half minutes, the epidemic affects all Americans,” said President Obama. “As we organize numerous ways to engage the American people in confronting the HIV epidemic in our country, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS will play a critical role in developing and implementing a National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Dr. Gayle brings an intense commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS and unique experience in advancing public health. I look forward to her leadership and counsel.”

“Dr. Gayle is an internationally acclaimed leader with a long history of working to end the epidemic both around the world and here at home in the United States. It is only fitting that we are announcing Dr. Gayle’s appointment today at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference since she sponsored the first HIV Prevention Conference when she was at the CDC,” said Secretary Sebelius. “We are hopeful that the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, under her leadership, will serve as a platform to share our plans and insights with the public health community and the public and serve as a vehicle to carry their ideas and input back to the Administration.”

The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) provides advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Service and the President regarding programs and policies intended to promote effective prevention of HIV disease, to advance research on HIV and AIDS, and to promote quality services to persons living with HIV and AIDS. The role of the Council is solely advisory. The Secretary provides the President with copies of all written reports provided to the Secretary by the Council.

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH, Chair, Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Helene D. Gayle is president and CEO of CARE USA, and is an internationally recognized expert on health, global development and humanitarian issues. Dr. Gayle spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), focused primarily on combating HIV/AIDS, in a variety of roles involving research, programs and policy. She was appointed as the first director of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention and achieved the rank of Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General in the U.S. Public Health Service. On assignment from the CDC, Dr. Gayle also served as the AIDS coordinator and chief of the HIV/AIDS division for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Dr. Gayle then directed the HIV, TB and Reproductive Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she was responsible for programs related to HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, reproductive health issues and tuberculosis. In April 2006, she joined CARE, an international humanitarian organization with programs in nearly 70 countries to end poverty. Dr. Gayle earned a B.A. in psychology at Barnard College, an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University. She is board certified in pediatrics, completing a residency in pediatric medicine at the Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington, DC. She has been honored with awards from Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, Cable Positive, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health and the U.S. Public Health Service, among others. She holds faculty appointments at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Emory University School of Medicine.

 http://www.hhs.gov/news