Bay Area Reporter - December 27, 2007
Matthew S. Bajko, m.bajko@ebar.com

Foundation Executive Director Mark Cloutier is looking at how to fill the agency's vacant director of state and local affairs position after the departure in November of Dana Van Gorder, who became executive director of Project Inform. Ensuring the agency maintains a strong voice both at City Hall and the state Capitol will be key as both local leaders and state lawmakers are wrestling with budget deficits next year.

Cloutier will also be hiring a new deputy director for programs and services in light of Steven Tierney's leaving the agency after a two-year stint to launch a new concentration in community mental health within the master of arts in counseling psychology program at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

The agency is also mulling over a plan to consolidate several programs it merged with this summer into the upper Market Street space Tower Records vacated last winter. The proposal calls for relocating Magnet, the gay men's health center in the Castro, and the Stonewall Project, a harm reduction agency aimed at gay meth users in the inner Mission, into the retail center near the corner of Market and Noe streets.

Cloutier declined to discuss details about the agency's lease negotiations for the space. He would only confirm that the foundation is exploring the possibility of using the space to not only relocate but expand both programs' û as well as the foundation's Speed Project's û capacity to see clients.

"We have an interest in the space and believe there is a need in the community for services that would fill the space," said Cloutier. "We are in the process of doing active planning. There are so many variables û I couldn't say when the final decision will be made."

Kent Jeffrey, whose family owns the center, said last week that no one has signed a lease for the space. Along with the foundation, he said both Office Depot and Under One Roof, the Castro retail outlet that helps fund local AIDS agencies, have expressed interest in the vacant storefront.

Cloutier said were his agency to secure the space, one possibility could be having primary care doctors on site.

"We could have a doctor who sees AIDS patients directly. We are exploring that," he said. "There are a lot of very good physicians in San Francisco skilled at treating people with HIV. I would observe that there are not enough physicians who are culturally competent to serve a lot of gay men."

Tierney said one idea under consideration is to team up with San Francisco General Hospital's Positive Health Program and have clients see doctors in the Castro or at the agency's 6th Street location. He said it would be similar to the kinds of direct services both Magnet and Stonewall already offer to clients.

"We are talking about moving to higher levels of direct services. It is a part of our efforts now with Magnet, which provides medical clinical services, and Stonewall, which provides clinical mental health. They have licensed therapists there," he said.

Tierney himself will be playing a role in helping community-based agencies offer direct care in his new role at the institute. The program he is creating will train marriage and family licensed therapists to work in publicly funded settings.

He sees the program as a new response to fighting the spread of HIV.

"Here in 2007, when you look at new infections in HIV, you see that often depression and substance abuse are connected to that transmission. This is an opportunity to get to the root causes of HIV infections," said Tierney, who was originally trained in adolescent psychotherapy and began his career in Boston working with LGBT youth. "This will train a whole new generation of people to help us respond to all that."

Starting in January, Tierney will split his time between the foundation and launching the new program. By the fall he will turn his attention full-time to teaching and overseeing the new community mental health program.

Cloutier, who recruited Tierney to the foundation, said he will be missed but expects the agency will maintain close ties to him.

"Given what this opportunity holds for him, I was very supportive of it. It is Steven's dream job," he said.

While he expects to rehire for Tierney's job, Cloutier said he is unsure exactly what to do in terms of filling Van Gorder's shoes.

"We are assessing what we are going to do in terms of state and local public policy and lobbying," said Cloutier.

The foundation continues to retain Kathy Mossberg as its state lobbyist, and Courtney Mulhern-Pearson, who worked closely with Van Gorder, remains with the agency. Both Judy Auerbach, the agency's deputy executive director of science and public policy, and Cloutier himself have taken a more active role in state lobbying.

"I am engaging in a little more activity than I did," said Cloutier, who recently met with Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and other state lawmakers to discuss statewide HIV issues.

He said he is concerned about how the state will deal with a projected $14 billion deficit next year. Adding to the funding anxiety is San Francisco's nearly $300 million estimated budget deficit next year.

"Depending on what they decide to cut, it could translate into increased new infections in San Francisco or diminishing health for people with HIV. We cannot let that happen," he said. "We need to continue the forward movement and we need to build the capacity to bring the infection rate down."

071227
BR071213

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2007. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2007. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .