Eric Sawyer Joins GMHC as VP of Public Affairs & Policy

GMHC announced the hiring of Eric Sawyer as Vice President of Public Affairs & Policy. Sawyer has been actively involved in HIV/AIDS issues since 1983 and was a founding member of ACT UP NY, where he was a key strategist in formulating, steering, and representing the group's public and governmental policies.

"I'm thrilled that the dedicated and capable Eric Sawyer is joining us at GMHC. The early days of the epidemic taught us that silence equals death. Eric's deep experience in the community and extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS policy will help guide his work and ensure our clients' voices and values are heard," said GMHC CEO Kelsey Louie.

Sawyer helped establish three separate committees that focused on AIDS housing, HIV/TB co-infection, and global AIDS issues and played a large role in leading ACT UP's work on issues of equity, access, and social justice.

As a cofounder and board member of Housing Works, Sawyer was involved in organizing, fundraising, and promoting the organization. He also developed the HIV supportive housing model of co-locating an AIDS Day Treatment Program, a diagnostic treatment clinic with independent housing units.

Sawyer helped oversee the construction of the first housing program of this model, The Keith Cylar House on East 9th Street in New York City. In 1999, he joined with Dr. Alan Berkman and other health care activists to start the Health GAP Coalition, which sought to bridge the gap between the access to essential medicines in developed countries and the lack of access in the developing world.

Prior to joining GMHC, Sawyer served as Civil Society Partnership Advisory at the UNAIDS New York U.N. Headquarters Liaison Office. Sawyer is a founding and current member of The Board of Directors of The New York City AIDS Memorial at St. Vincent's Triangle.

As the Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy, Sawyer will lead GMHC's public affairs and policy analysis, research and advocacy efforts in support of science-based prevention, treatment and care related to HIV/AIDS. He will work on health care access and health disparities, equality for LGBTQIA people, racial and economic justice, gender inequality, and other related issues.

"It is an honor to continue my lifelong fight against HIV/AIDS at GMHC -- the world's first and leading provider of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and advocacy. With so much political uncertainty for our clients and our community, it is more important than ever that GMHC be a leading voice for reason, compassion, and justice. Together, we can defend the rights of those affected by HIV/AIDS and finally end the epidemic," said Eric Sawyer.

Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is the nation's leading provider of HIV and AIDS care, prevention services and advocacy, serving over 10,000 people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS in New York City, the epicenter of the epidemic in the U.S. As the world's first HIV and AIDS service organization, GMHC is an expert in providing services that every person affected by the epidemic deserves.

GMHC is on the front lines caring for people who are both HIV negative and positive, including: testing, nutrition, legal, mental health and education services. GMHC also advocates for stronger public policies at the local, state and federal level with the goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic in New York State by 2020.

Most recently, GMHC and other HIV and AIDS organizations successfully persuaded the federal government to recommend widespread use of PrEP, a new daily treatment that is over 90% effective in preventing HIV infection.

For more information, visit www.gmhc.org.