Washington, D.C. – September 4, 2014 – Vignetta Eugenia Charles, PhD, Senior Vice President for AIDS United, has been appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). Formed by Executive Order in June 1995, PACHA provides advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary regarding programs and policies related to HIV prevention, care and research. Members are selected for their particular expertise in, experience with, or knowledge of, matters concerning HIV and AIDS.
“It is an honor to be able to serve on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS,” said Dr. Charles. “So much incredible work has been done in the past 30 years to help prevent and treat HIV/AIDS–and I’m happy to have been a small part of it. But there is still more work to do–and it is a privilege to be able to provide information on programs that work and make recommendations for national action with such an esteemed group of colleagues on the PACHA.”
“I can’t think of a better appointment than Dr. Charles for PACHA. Her decades of experience, her push for ensuring real outcomes, her history in evaluation, and her passion for social justice, ensures that Vignetta will be an incredible asset to PACHA,” said Michael Kaplan, President & CEO of AIDS United.
At AIDS United, Dr. Charles is responsible for overseeing grantmaking and capacity building programs. She is an alumna of the University of California at Berkeley, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her work experience includes diverse roles, such as: serving as the national health educator for the Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies, initiating a teen pregnancy prevention portfolio for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and coordinating HIV-prevention programs in both San Francisco and Oakland, California. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS).
Dr. Charles has been appointed to serve a two-year term on PACHA.
“I am truly humbled by the nomination to serve,” she said. “I will strive to do us all proud.”
About AIDS United
Born out of the merger of the National AIDS Fund and AIDS Action in late 2010, AIDS United’s mission is to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. AIDS United’s work falls within four primary domains, which include strategic grantmaking, capacity building, formative research and policy. AIDS United works to ensure access to life-saving HIV/AIDS care and prevention services and to advance sound HIV/AIDS related policy for U.S. populations and communities most impacted by the epidemic. To date, our strategic grantmaking initiatives have directly funded more than $85.8 million to local communities, and have leveraged more than $110 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to, HIV prevention, access to care, capacity building, harm reduction, and advocacy.
