Bay Area Reporter - June 22, 2006
Rob Akers

Manzon-Santos, 41, announced his resignation, effective September 15, in an open letter to the community addressed to "supporters, volunteers, partners, and friends of the agency."

He said he was unsure of his next career move but hoped to continue his work in the social justice field in "new ways."

Manzon-Santos told the Bay Area Reporter he was "ready for a change" in his career, which led up to his decision to resign.

"There is never a good time to leave ... but being ready and being willing to act on it allows other doors to open," he said.

Starting out as an AIDS hotline volunteer in 1985, Manzon-Santos worked his way up through the ranks at the API Wellness Center. Under his direction the center has flourished, entering its 20th year as the oldest and largest organization of its kind in North America. The agency provides HIV/AIDS services as well as prevention programs.

In his resignation letter, Manzon-Santos said the wellness center "remains a strong community institution, our mission as relevant as ever to a rapidly evolving epidemic."

"I'm fiercely proud of our ongoing local, regional, statewide, and national impact in fighting HIV-related stigma, influencing public policy, and most importantly, focusing on the wellness of APIs living with, or at-risk for, HIV/AIDS and their families.

"I'm confident that this work will continue to grow and innovate under the agency's future leadership," he added.

He pointed to the work of his current colleagues as a strength of the agency.

A joint board-staff transition committee, led by board chair Jan Masaoka, will begin work to select a new director.

Manzon-Santos said he was confident the process would "ensure the continuity of our high quality services and maintain the organization's programmatic and financial strength."

The wellness center has experienced several milestones with Manzon-Santos at the helm, including:

• Implementation of the merger of the Asian AIDS Project and Living Well Project in 1997, during a time when there were not very many models of nonprofit mergers.

• Expansion of services, including the first API-focused HIV prevention with positives model in the country; the first transgender-specific needle exchange site; the California Statewide Treatment Education Program (in partnership with Project Inform) to certify HIV providers in English and Spanish; the first local Chinese-language anti-HIV stigma campaign (funded by Ford Foundation); and the first HIV/AIDS API research conference.

• Launching the now annual National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day through the Banyan Tree Project, a national campaign to fight HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

Additionally, API has been designated a Center of Excellence for HIV Care. The new approach brings primary and psychiatric care and complementary therapies "under one roof" to serve SF's most vulnerable residents, together with partners Tenderloin Health, the Tom Waddell Health Center, the Harm Reduction Therapy Center and Quan Yin Healing Arts Center,

API also operates two satellite offices in Oakland and Daly City, which provide services to residents in those cities.

For his efforts, Manzon Santos received a Flexible Leadership Award from the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund for excellence in organizational leadership.

As always, Manzon-Santos continued to promote his agency and its Pride weekend activities. "I'd be remiss if I didn't plug the Asian & Pacific Islander stage, seventh year running, on Sunday, June 25 for LGBT Pride Weekend," he said.

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