For Immediate Release
Feb. 20, 2025, WASHINGTON, D.C. — After four decades of unwavering commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS, Jesse Milan Jr.’s journey began with a personal experience and evolved into a relentless dedication to community impact. Jesse Milan Jr., J.D., president and chief executive officer (CEO) of AIDS United, has announced his plan to retire on July 1, 2025. AIDS United’s board of trustees unanimously voted for Carl Baloney Jr., the organization’s vice president for public affairs and chief policy officer, to succeed Milan. Baloney will serve as CEO-elect immediately until July 1, with responsibilities including collaborating with Milan to ensure a smooth leadership transition and supporting strategic initiatives including engaging with key stakeholders. Following Milan’s planned retirement, Baloney will begin on July 2 as the new president and CEO of AIDS United.
“My 40-year journey of service to the HIV community started in my own home and has taken me to amazing roles across the country and the world. In my letter to our board chair, Dr. Eugene McCray, I outlined several important milestones for me in 2025,” Milan said. “In July of this year, I will be just one year from turning 70; and in June, I will have served AIDS United as CEO for nine years. Additionally, 2025 marks the 40th year since my late partner was diagnosed and died of AIDS in 1985. AIDS United is truly the capstone of my career, but my husband of 36 years, Bill, and I have many things we have yet to do. It is now time to turn to the next generation to lead the HIV movement.”
“When I promoted Carl from director of government affairs to vice president, he had already demonstrated a vision that extended beyond our advocacy portfolio,” Milan continued.
“So, I intentionally expanded his strategic leadership to ensure that advocacy remained central to every aspect of our work. Over the years, Carl boldly took on more responsibility, centralizing advocacy into our grant-making and capacity building, as well as our business development and communication work — strengthening AIDS United’s pillars in uncertain times. I am proud to pass the torch to someone who not only understands the complexities of our work but is ready to lead with a formidable vision for the future.”
A Black gay man living with HIV for over four decades, Milan, 68, is a well-respected leader and critical thought expert in the national and global HIV/AIDS movement. Milan has held executive roles in the public and private sectors and has directed multimillion-dollar budgets and staff for federal, state, local, and global public health agencies. Milan has served on and chaired numerous HIV boards and federal committees. He just completed 10 years on the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board, is the current board chair of Funders Concerned About AIDS, and is an appointed member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA).
Milan was appointed interim CEO in June 2016 and, after a national search that concluded in November of that year, was named permanent president and CEO. Throughout his tenure, Milan has spearheaded various initiatives that strengthened AIDS United’s role in strategic grantmaking, policy, advocacy, capacity building, and technical assistance to the HIV sector. Several of his notable achievements include:
- Grantmaking Impact: Awarded $73 million committed through 1,200 grants to 500+ organizations in 47 states and territories during his tenure.
- Southern HIV Impact Fund: Distributed more than $16 million through 275 grants across the U.S. Southern region in eight years.
- Transgender Leadership Initiative: An eight-year program Milan conceived to provide grants and capacity-building support to emerging transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming leaders and trans-led organizations.
- Pandemic Response: Successfully transitioned the organization to a primarily virtual structure during the COVID-19 pandemic, with staff now based in 16 states.
- Strategic Planning: Completed two strategic plans to guide the organization’s growth and sustainability.
- AIDS United Advisory Council: Established to strengthen engagement and insight from key community leaders.
“I am deeply grateful for Jesse Milan Jr.’s unwavering leadership at AIDS United and his dedication to the broader HIV movement,” Athena Cross, DrPH Vice President & Chief Programs Officer for AIDS stated. “As Jesse approaches retirement, his legacy will endure through the countless lives he has impacted. Having known and worked alongside Carl Baloney Jr. for over 15 years, I’m excited about Carl leading our next efforts to strengthen grassroots HIV efforts, cultivate new HIV champions, and amplify our collective voice in the fight to end the HIV epidemic.”
A Deliberate Succession Plan
As Milan prepares to retire, the organization has carefully followed a strategic succession plan to ensure continued success. In 2023, the board of trustees adopted a plan outlining three potential scenarios:
- Emergency Replacement: Protocol for appointing a CEO in the event of an unforeseen departure.
- Planned Departure: Steps for identifying and appointing a successor when a retirement or resignation is anticipated.
- Internal Recommendation: Guidelines for when the current CEO recommends a successor from within the staff or board.
Following these guidelines, Milan and board chair Eugene McCray, M.D., discussed potential retirement dates and successor candidates throughout 2024. In December 2024, Milan finalized his retirement date and recommended Carl Baloney Jr. as his successor. In January 2025, McCray presented Milan’s recommendation to the board’s executive committee, which then recommended Baloney to the full board. Earlier this month, the board completed an assessment and interview process with Baloney and voted unanimously to appoint him as the immediate CEO-elect and the next president and CEO.
“The leadership transition at AIDS United follows a planned and deliberate process; one that Jesse and the board carefully aligned on through the succession plan we created in 2023,” said Eugene McCray, M.D., chair of AIDS United’s board of trustees. “We recognized that Jesse could not stay forever, and AIDS United needed a successor with political acumen, deep organizational knowledge and skills, and a strong commitment to the populations we aim to impact most. Given Carl Baloney Jr.’s decade-long tenure at AIDS United and his deep roots in policy and advocacy, the board recognized a clear path forward by promoting from within the pipeline of emerging leaders. Carl’s preparedness and strong relationships with funders, and his dedication to advancing health equity and social justice solidified our confidence in this decision. There is no doubt that Carl will hit the ground running and continue serving this organization and the movement with excellence.”
(In Photograph to the left: Carl Baloney Jr. and Jesse Milan Jr. at the Biden Administration 2024′ World AIDS Day Event at the White House in Washington, D.C.)
Upon Baloney’s acceptance, Milan and McCray delivered the news to AIDS United’s staff, advisory council, and the 60-plus member organizations of its Public Policy Council through hybrid meetings on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
“Having served on AIDS United’s board of trustees when Jesse was called as CEO and now as chair of the advisory council, I have witnessed Jesse lead the organization through transformative change and elevate its national impact,” said Jamie Nesbitt, Ph.D., former board secretary and current chair of AIDS United Advisory Council. “Jesse has an unmatched ability to drive change, identify and nurture strong leaders, and inspire people and high-performing teams. Carl has proven himself as a visionary leader in his own right, with a deep commitment to the mission of AIDS United and the skills to continue advancing the organization’s work with innovation and dedication.”
About Carl Baloney Jr. : Baloney has shared that this opportunity is not just the culmination of his professional experiences, but also a reflection of his deep-rooted passion for social justice and health equity, which is evident throughout his career achievements, and the realization of a lifelong commitment to justice, equity, and the health and well-being of the communities AIDS United serves. He often reflects on being raised in South Louisiana by a father who embodied service and resilience, and how these early lessons in justice and advocacy shaped his career trajectory.
As a Black gay man from the Deep South, Carl Baloney Jr., 40, is an advocate for policy solutions that improve the living and social conditions of disenfranchised communities, especially in the Southern region. In Baloney’s early career, he served as a staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives for a Democrat from Louisiana and later as the senior manager of legislative affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where he cultivated partnerships with policymakers to support key issues, including expanding women’s health care coverage. In August 2015, Baloney joined AIDS United to lead its federal advocacy portfolio through strategic collaboration.
With nearly a quarter of his life dedicated to AIDS United, driven by a deep passion for health equity and social justice, Baloney led the development of the AIDS United Roadmap to Federal Action to End the HIV Epidemic, which laid the foundation for the federal Ending the Epidemic initiative. He also doubled the membership of the Public Policy Council to more than 60 organizations and modernized AIDSWatch, the nation’s oldest and only federal HIV advocacy event.
As a member of AIDS United’s executive team, Baloney has mentored emerging policy and communication professionals at every level. His commitment to broader social justice is evident through his service on the boards of several organizations, including It Gets Better, the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition, Planned Parenthood Advocates for D.C/MD/VA and Global Black Gay Connect, where he helps advance health equity and uplift marginalized voices in diverse spaces. (Headshot of Carl Baloney Jr., Denis Largeron, 2024.)
AIDS United staff, the board of trustees and advisory council, and the Public Policy Council express their deep gratitude for Jesse Milan Jr.’s unwavering leadership and fully support the outcome of the succession process and the thoughtful transition of the president and CEO role. A celebration will be planned for a later date to honor Milan’s tenure as president and CEO of AIDS United and his trailblazing legacy in the HIV movement.
For media inquires or question for AIDS United spokespersons, please contact AIDS United’s Communications Department at communications@aidsunited.org.
About AIDS United: AIDS United is committed to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States (U.S.) through strategic grantmaking, advocacy, and capacity building. Through our pillars of strategic grantmaking, capacity building and technical assistance, policy and advocacy. AIDS United has delivered more than $160 million in direct funding and leveraged an additional $184 million to increase the capacity of communities and organizations responding to the HIV epidemic across the U.S. Our grantees and members touch communities representing more than 96 percent of today’s HIV epidemic and we have proudly supported the work of over 600 organizations across 43 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Visit www.aidsunited.org to learn more about our work.
