Nationwide — The Board of Directors of the Black AIDS Institute (BAI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Toni Newman as its Interim Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Kemal M. Atkins as Managing Director to help fortify the organization’s infrastructure and round out the organization’s stellar leadership team.
Ms. Newman is currently the Interim Executive Director at LYRIC – a non-profit in San Francisco, California that focuses on advancing the community and creating social change for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQQ) youth through education, career training and health advocacy. She oversees the budget, programs, and community outreach for LYRIC. Ms. Newman is a distinguished Faculty Member at the Transgender Strategy Center in Los Angeles, where she advises non-profit organizations on engagement with transgender and non-conforming communities. In addition, she is the Chair of the Board of Directors for TransCanWork based in Los Angeles. Ms. Newman has a wealth of knowledge in non-profit management, budget and finance, and human resources and operations. We’re excited that she has agreed to serve as our Interim CEO as we continue implementing our transition plan to find a permanent, innovative executive staff leader.
Dr. Atkins has been engaged to help further build infrastructure and management processes at BAI. Dr. Atkins, who will serve as a consultant on a temporary basis, has an extensive background in higher education and non-profit leadership where his expertise in crisis management, such as leading institutional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and expertise in building national wellness health models will provide much-needed program direction for BAI.
Ms. Bass’ work in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention is truly extraordinary. As one of the architects of the Ryan White CARES Act – the largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS, she helped pave the way for modern treatments to prevent the spread and contraction of the virus. Mr. Bates also has a distinguished career in HIV prevention policy – having served as the Executive Director on the Presidential Advisory Council on AIDS and Director of the Office of AIDS Policy under President Barack Obama. Together they will oversee a comprehensive review of BAI’s program efficacy, contributions, and impact in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention and provide data that informs BAI’s mission as the organization continues to refine.
Ms. Newman, Dr. Atkins, Ms. Bass, and Mr. Bates will work alongside Jami Cox and Wendell Miller as we continue to deploy our substantial resources, forward-looking vision, and human capital in the fight to end the HIV epidemic in Black communities and improve the health and quality of life for Black people living with and vulnerable to acquiring HIV/AIDS across the country.
Ms. Newman comments, “The work of BAI is as important today as it ever has been, and they are so proud of our incredibly talented and dedicated team that understands what is at stake for the Black community impacted by HIV and is committed to ending this epidemic. Please join us in welcoming these accomplished leaders to our team. And thank you for continuing to support BAI and our entire staff across our networks.”
Learn more about Black AIDS Institute at BlackAIDS.org
