Press room ... 2001 archive

Ellen LaPointe Named Executive Director

March 29, 2001

San Francisco—Project Inform, the nation's leading HIV/AIDS treatment information and advocacy source, announced today that Ellen LaPointe has assumed the role of Executive Director.

Ms. LaPointe graduated from Brown University in 1989 with a degree in Community Health. She was Coordinator of the Brown University AIDS Program until 1992, at which time she relocated to San Francisco to become Director of Clinical Research and the HIVCare program at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. She returned to graduate school in 1996, and received her law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, in 1999. Most recently, Ms. LaPointe practiced intellectual property law and general litigation at Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP in San Francisco.

Ms. LaPointe has served on numerous national and local HIV/AIDS-related boards and committees. These include the AIDS Legal Referral Panel, the Community Advisory Board of the AIDS Clinical Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, the Board of Directors of the Healing Alternatives Foundation in San Francisco, and the National Operations Committee and National Executive Committee of the Community-Based AIDS Clinical Trials Network sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

"Ellen's leadership skills, clarity and sense of humor stood out during the executive search," reports Joseph Garrett, President of Project Inform's Board of Directors. "Indeed, Ellen's entire career has made her uniquely qualified to be Project Inform's Executive Director at this crucial point in the AIDS epidemic. We are delighted to welcome her."

Martin Delaney, Project Inform's Founding Director, adds, "Ellen has long been an effective activist and friend to people with HIV and AIDS. She is well known and respected in our movement and I greatly look forward to working with her as Project Inform enters the next stage of its evolution and activities. We could not have found a better choice to fill this critical role."

"It has been nearly twenty years since the first AIDS cases were reported in the United States, and the growing impact of HIV and AIDS worldwide is staggering," notes Ms. LaPointe. "Since its inception in 1985, Project Inform has provided inspiration and hope to people living with HIV/AIDS, their healthcare and service providers, and their families and friends. At this important juncture, as we all re-double our efforts to develop and implement strategies to eradicate the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS, I am honored to join an organization at the forefront of HIV/AIDS treatment information and advocacy."