Press room ... 2002 archive

Project Inform Mourns Passing of Board Member
and Longtime AIDS Treatment Activist Linda Grinberg

June 3, 2002

San Francisco, CA—Project Inform announces with great sadness the passing of long-term Board Member Linda Grinberg, a fearless AIDS treatment activist and founder and president of the Foundation for AIDS and Immune Research (FAIR). Ms. Grinberg died quietly at home on May 27 of complications of AIDS and pulmonary hypertension.

"Linda was an inspiration to all of us at Project Inform and to AIDS activists everywhere," said Project Inform's Founding Director Martin Delaney. "She played a pivotal role in treatment activism with government, academia, and industry. We knew her as ‘the steel fist in the velvet glove.' She will be deeply missed by all."

Diagnosed with AIDS in 1991, doctors told Linda Grinberg that she had approximately one year to live. Not content to accept that, Linda contacted the Project Inform Treatment Information Hotline and began to educate herself about available treatments. Four years later, she founded FAIR, which has made grants to more than a dozen cutting edge research initiatives. In addition, Linda served as a driving force behind the Coalition for Salvage Therapy, and the creation of a series of international scientific conferences on Structured Treatment Interruption. Linda was also a co-founder of the Fair Pricing Coalition, a national coalition of activists and AIDS service organizations that advocates for reasonable drug prices within the pharmaceutical industry. Over the years, Linda had become especially close to Martin Delaney, who worked with her on these and other initiatives on a daily basis.

"Linda was an active and important member of Project Inform's Board of Directors for many years," said Ellen LaPointe, Project Inform's Executive Director. "Her efforts on behalf of all people living with HIV and AIDS in this capacity significantly strengthened our work, and she energized us daily by her example. We have all lost a fierce, powerful activist and an incredible person. On a personal level, I will miss Linda's smile, her support, and her spirit."

Mark Cloutier, President of Project Inform's Board of Directors, remarked, "Linda's enormous intellectual curiosity, and her ability to understand and explain complex science and engage activists, scientists and government leaders in her brilliant strategies around structured treatment interruption, fair pricing for HIV drugs and new drug development are an enormous loss. I celebrate Linda's life and will always remember her for her dedication and passion to make innovative HIV treatments understood and available to all."

A private funeral was held on May 31 in Los Angeles. Arrangements for a public memorial service, to be held in San Francisco, are currently being made. For more information, contact Project Inform at 415-558-8669. Linda's family and friends have requested that donations in her honor be made to the Foundation for AIDS and Immune Research, 356 Skyewiay, Los Angeles, California 90049, or to Project Inform, 205 13th Street, Suite 2001, San Francisco, California, 94103.