Bay Windows - March 2, 2006

Haag said she is confident that she can hold both positions without sacrificing her commitment to either organization. "With e-mail and voicemail I'm in constant touch. I don't think the split will be absolute, that when I'm in Washington I'll only be doing Washington business or when I'm in Massachusetts I'll only be doing Massachusetts business," said Haag.

She also said AAC's staff has the experience to keep everything running smoothly when she is working for the D.C. organization.

"I'm very pleased that we have a very strong management team at AAC, we have a very talented board and we can continue the work that we do and free me up to do some work at the national level with no consequences on the work we're doing locally," said Haag.

Craig Thompson, chair of the AIDS Action (D.C.) Council board of directors, gave the same assurances about the D.C. organization's staff.

"I think we have a lot of confidence in the AIDS Action Council staff in Washington, D.C. à who are very experienced inside-the-beltway policy players. And so we're very confident that we're very strong there and that Rebecca will be able to lead that team, which is a very experienced team," said Thompson.

He said Haag was a compelling choice to lead the organization both for of her track record in Massachusetts and for her relationships with members of D.C.'s AIDS Action. AAC is a member of the AIDS Action Council, and in her role as AAC executive director Haag has also served on the board of the AIDS Action Council for the past three years.

But beyond her familiarity with the organization, Thompson said Haag stood out among the candidates for her work at AAC in developing collaborative partnerships with other agencies and positioning the organization to remain viable and successful over the long term. He believes Haag will provide the same forward-thinking approach, particularly after the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act.

"What we were really looking for is someone who is really connected to the epidemic today and service delivery today and what our agencies do, but at the same time Rebecca is one of the people who is always pushing us to engage in broader discussions about the epidemics and what AIDS is going to look like in five years," said Thompson.

Haag said that as part of looking ahead she plans to do a lot of traveling to D.C. AIDS Action member organizations to make sure that their priorities and perspectives are reflected in the work taking place in D.C.

"The way we've looked at this from the Washington work is you can be effective inside the Beltway by understanding how the internal workings of the legislative process are, but that process needs to be informed by the work that's happening all over the country," she said.

The previous D.C. AIDS Action executive director, Marsha Martin, stepped down last August to direct the city of Washington, D.C.'s AIDS programs, but before her departure she drew fire from some HIV/AIDS activists for allegedly getting too close to the Bush administration. In December 2004 she became the center of controversy when it was discovered that she was serving on the host committee for an inaugural fundraiser for the AIDS Responsibility Project that, according to invitations, was a celebration of Bush's win and the Republican electoral success. Organizers of the event claimed it was non-partisan and that the invitations were printed in error.

Haag said she is not worried about bad blood from activists directed towards AIDS Action, and she said the organization has worked closely with activists in advocating for Ryan White reauthorization.

"I think some of that old history is behind us now, and we look forward to working collaboratively and cooperatively with all the advocacy groups," said Haag.

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