Washington Blade - February 22, 2002
Kara Fox
Martin has been an advocate in the HIV/AIDS community for more than 15 years and said her main goal in her new position is to fight AIDS.
"We are going to work on AIDS at AIDS Action. We are going to be on AIDS what [the Human Rights Campaign] is on gay rights issues," Martin said. "We are going to take an approach to reflect the needs of our members. ... We will take their experience to advocate for policies and programs that speak to and address issues impacting those living with HIV, and those working in the field. Advocacy needs to be done."
Martin served for three years as special assistant on HIV/AIDS policy to Secretary Donna Shalala at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, where she advised Shalala on issues related to AIDS and the homeless. Prior to her service at HHS, Martin was the coordinator for homeless veterans initiatives at the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, as well as the executive director of the Federal Interagency Council on the Homeless at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. She had previously served as director of the Mayor's Office on Homelessness & SRO Housing in New York City under Mayor David Dinkins.
"Dr. Martin's life's work has been defined by her efforts to improve the human condition," said a statement released by AIDS Action. "She brings a newfound energy to AIDS Action and believes her appointment comes at the most critical time in the history of the epidemic. Dr. Martin is eager to continue her advocacy work on behalf of those most at risk of HIV/AIDS infection and to answer the call of unmet needs in America's communities."
Martin declined to say why her predecessor left AIDS Action after such a short time. Babbitt began her tenure at the national AIDS advocacy organization on Sept. 17, 2001, replacing Claudia French, who moved to Denver to head the Gill Foundation. A news release on Jan. 31, 2001, announced that AIDS Action had selected Martin to become executive director of the organization, but did not mention what happened to Babbitt.
Martin told the Blade that AIDS Action's board of directors began a search for a new executive director in January and that the board unanimously voted for her. Martin said she was not in the position to comment on Babbitt's departure. Efforts to reach other AIDS Action officials who could speak to the issue were unsuccessful.
Martin said that she will use what she learned at HHS and her knowledge of the government to help her as executive director.
"We want to advocate the policies that follow science. This is first a disease that requires us to have the knowledge on a scientific level and a behavioral level," Martin said. "We need to know how to work with the government to design and institute a more equitable response to HIV/AIDS. ... I learned the value of government from an advocacy position. We need government to say yes and not no."
FOR MORE INFO
AIDS Action
1906 Sunderland Place, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-530-8030
www.aidsaction.org
Martin, a native of Iowa, received an undergraduate degree in psychology and a master's degree in social work from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in social work from Columbia University. It was while she was in New York working on housing for the homeless that Martin said the AIDS epidemic impacted her when it first surfaced in the 1980s.
"Everyone was dying in those days," Martin recalled. "If you lived in New York City from the late 1970s forward, you could not have avoided being impacted by HIV. I came to it by living through the last 20 years of it." AIDS Action officials lauded Martin's appointment.
"Dr. Martin has been an integral part of the HIV/AIDS care and advocacy community for many years," Anthony J. Braswell, chair of the AIDS Action Council board of directors, and David Wexler, chair of the AIDS Action Foundation board of directors, said in a joint statement. "Her tireless efforts in the HIV/AIDS arena have helped shape many of the policies that support our individual agency efforts today. We are pleased that Dr. Martin will bring her depth of knowledge and expertise to our team."
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