Bay Windows - Local News, January 20, 2000
By Beth Berlo, Bay Windows staff

The prestigious Jonathan Mann Distinguished Leadership Award, named for the international AIDS advocate who died in the Swiss Air crash over Nova Scotia in 1998, will be given to Dr. Peter Piot, director of the UNAIDS Programme. Piot, a Belgian physician and microbiologist, has fought diligently for more than a decade securing funding to prevent the spread of HIV in developing countries.

Larry Kessler, AAC executive director, called Piot ôan inspiring, dedicated leader in the global fight against AIDS.ö

The AAC named the Distinguished Leadership Award after Mann last year. The first recipient was Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

ôJonathan Mann really put the worldwide AIDS epidemic on the map as far as public awareness goes,ö said Carisa Cunningham, AAC communications director. ôIn particular, he united the themes of health care and human rights and [brought to light] how violations of human rights impair our ability to contain the epidemic.ö

A minister, two school teachers, a devoted pharmacist and a band of health-care providers and advocates for people with AIDS are among the chosen 14 who have gone beyond the call of duty to better the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Noreine Kaleeba, community mobilization advisor at UNAIDS will accept the award on behalf of Piot. Kaleeba, a native of Uganda, lost her husband and nine family members to AIDS. When her husband died in 1987, she began The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), one of the first community responses to AIDS in Africa. In addition, Kaleeba worked with the World Health OrganizationÆs (WHO) Global Commission and has been given several awards for her ongoing efforts.

The remaining 13 honorees as profiled by the AAC are:

Margot Abels of Lynn and Julie Netherland of Jamaica Plain, who work as HIV/AIDS prevention program coordinators at the Massacahusetts Department of Education as a team promoting youth HIV and sexuality education for students;

Connie Amaral of Randolph, an HIV-positive AIDS educator who speaks about AIDS to junior high and high school students throughout the Archdiocese of Boston and the rest of Massachusetts;

Shannon Bourke of Somerville, a volunteer for Deaf, Inc., who makes HIV counseling and testing procedures more accessible to those at risk by communicating in American Sign Language;

Gary Chalmers and Kelly Finneran of Shrewsbury, teachers at Calvin Coolidge Elementary School in Shrewsbury who promote AIDS awareness to their fifth grade students;

Minister Leroy Irvin of Dorchester, co-founder and lead minister of Who Touched Me Ministry, who dedicates himself to bringing HIV education to African-American churches in the Boston area;

George Johnson of Boston, an HIV-positive AIDS advocate who has been an extraordinary volunteer in the AIDS community and with the Boston Living Center and Boston AIDS Consortium in particular;

Ana LaMarche of Jamaica Plain, HIV coordinator at the Martha Eliot Health Center who provides HIV education, pre- and post-test counseling, case management and advocacy services to people living with HIV and AIDS;

Carlos E. Martinez of Chelsea, an HIV prevention educator and speaker who has worked at the Dimock Community Health Center as coordinator of HIV Counseling and Testing for more than nine years;

Joe McKee of Worcester, a needle exchange advocate at Worcester Harm and Risk Reduction Coalition who devotes his time targeting youth and IV drug users;

Dr. David Stone of Wellesley, a physician at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital and New England Medical Center who provides care to people with HIV as they move from prison into the general population;

The Women of Color AIDS Council, staffed by Karen McManus and Malkia Kendricks, which provides HIV education workshops, testing and counseling and support groups to women, sex workers, homeless women, women with children, HIV positive women and people of color.

In addition, Tremont Drug of Boston will receive the Community Service Award for providing access to HIV medications and offering free delivery and other services to people with HIV and AIDS since the epidemic began.

Also, the FounderÆs Spirit Award will be given to Bette Byrnes of Boston, who lost her son to AIDS and has been an AAC volunteer for more than a decade, working the switchboards and giving countless hours to AAC events such as AIDS Walk Boston.

ôWe are indebted to all of these men and women,ö Kessler said. ôTheyÆve acted with courage, generosity, and dedication to make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS.ö

Piot was chosen for the Mann award, Cunningham said, because the nominating committee wanted to underscore the concept of one epidemic. In other words, ôThat those of us fighting HIV in neighborhoods in Boston are fighting the same fight in neighborhoods in Botswana,ö she said.

Where does the AAC see the disease going? ôLocally, we see the epidemic continuing to spread among young people, gay and straight, among people of color, gay and straight, and IV drug users,ö said Cunningham. ôAnd unfortunately, the demand for our services continues pretty much unabated. I think the picture is very similar nationally. We donÆt see trends very different here except that people with HIV in Massachusetts tend to live longer than other states because of supportive care systems and health care systems that have been put in place over the years by both by state and community based organizations.ö

AAC says the event is not a fundraiser. It is a gift to the community. ôItÆs something we do to recognize people who are doing incredible things who arenÆt getting Academy Awards or voted MVP at the World Series,ö Cunningham said.
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