Press room ... 1997 archive

Project Inform Announces Staff Appointments:
New Hotline Manager and Outreach and Education Coordinator

July 31, 1997

San Francisco, CA—Project Inform, the San Francisco-based, national HIV/AIDS treatment information and advocacy organization, announced two new staff appointments today which will strengthen its efforts to bring accurate HIV/AIDS treatment information to its constituents and all those affected by HIV disease.

Judy Leahy-Hogan will join David Evans in the Outreach and Education Department as an Outreach and Education Coordinator. The focus of her activities will include developing Project Inform’s Speakers Bureau, local programs including Introductory and Update Town Meetings and technical assistance programs, and the new PI-in-Person project in which Project Inform volunteers and staff meet directly with health and service providers to introduce Project Inform services and help disseminate PI materials to HIV positive individuals and their care providers. Underlying these activities is Project Inform’s commitment to reach more people who have yet to learn or take advantage of Project Inform’s services.

Ms. Leahy-Hogan has over 12 years of experience in community health programs including outreach and education activities with the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, the Needle Exchange Program of Marin, and Project Inform’s National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health degree at San Jose State University.

“The treatment situation has changed dramatically in the past year,” said Ms. Leahy-Hogan. “This is a very challenging time in AIDS with many more people exploring treatment options. While we expect to see a net health gain for people with HIV, we are quite concerned about drug failure with new combination therapies. It is essential that treatment newcomers, especially women and people of color, get the information they need to make difficult treatment decisions.”

Currently Ms. Leahy-Hogan is coordinating Project Inform’s upcoming Update Town Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 19 which will discuss the treatment options beyond protease inhibitors and strategies for coping with drug failure with a special focus on women and HIV.

Eric Whitney will become Project Inform’s new Hotline Manager replacing David Kiviaho who will be returning to his home in New Orleans. The Project Inform National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline annually serves the treatment information needs of over 50,000 callers nationally. Coupled with Project Inform’s treatment publications, mail service and Internet website, Project Inform constituents can receive, free of charge, accurate treatment information plus direct contact, via telephone, with trained volunteer hotline operators and information providers.

Mr. Whitney is currently the Information Manager for the California HIV/AIDS Hotline at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. In that capacity and others he has done aggressive research on health and treatment information, policy issues and their affect on services for people with HIV. He has extensive experience in developing and disseminating information that is accurate, emotionally-supportive and culturally-appropriate. He hold’s a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Stanford University and also participated in an honors study program with the Stanford School of Education.

“I feel excited to contribute to a professional team of concerned and dedicated people striving for common goals,” said Mr. Whitney. “Perhaps because I am HIV positive the sense of pride I feel as a worker in an AIDS service organization is enhanced by my positive impression of quality HIV services in San Francisco, and specifically the important role Project Inform plays in the lives of HIV positive people.”

Mr. Whitney’s first responsibility upon arrival will be to assist in the coordination of Project Inform’s Summer Hotline Training Program scheduled for August 20, 23 and 24.

Ben Collins, Program Services Director at Project Inform said, in regard to these hires, “Project Inform is consistently blessed with dedicated staff, willing to engage in the intricacies of AIDS treatment education efforts at the highest level. It’s an honor to be a part of such commitment. I look forward to developing Project Inform’s services with Judy and Eric."