PACHA Updates: New Co-Chair, New Subcommittee, December Meeting, and More
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The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) has a new co-chair and a new subcommittee. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also reappointed six current PACHA members and set December 6 as the date for the Council’s next full council meeting.
HHS Announces New PACHA Co-Chair
HHS has invited PACHA member Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, PhD, MPH, to serve as co-chair of PACHA, alongside Marlene McNeese, Deputy Assistant Director of the Houston Health Department. Dr. Guilamo-Ramos was recently named Director of the new Institute for Policy Solutions at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, beginning January 2024. He has served as a member of PACHA since February 2020. Dr. Guilamo-Ramos succeeds Dr. John Wiesman, who served as co-chair until his four-year term on the council ended earlier this year.
"Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos' unparalleled expertise in public health, coupled with his passionate commitment to addressing HIV disparities, position him as an outstanding PACHA co-chair,” remarked Kaye Hayes, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infectious Disease and Executive Director of PACHA. “I am confident that he and Marlene McNeese will make an extraordinary team, leading PACHA with a strategic vision grounded in achieving health equity for all.”
PACHA Establishes Subcommittee on Aging with HIV, Long-Term and Life-Time Survivors
In consultation with HHS, the Council has established a new subcommittee: Aging with HIV, Long-Term and Life-Time Survivors, co-chaired by PACHA members Alicia Diggs, MPH, and Jesse Milan, JD. Other members of the subcommittee are Kayla Quimbley and Paul Kawata, MA. The new subcommittee is organizing a panel discussion for the upcoming PACHA meeting. Read about all of PACHA’s subcommittees.
Six PACHA Members Reappointed
HHS also announced the reappointment of six PACHA members to an additional term:
- Guillermo Chacón
- Raniyah Copeland, MPH
- Alicia Diggs, MPH
- Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, PhD, MPH
- Laura Platero, JD
- Darrell Wheeler, PhD, MPH
ADM Rachel Levine, MD, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health, administered the oath of office to these six members on November 16, 2023. Read the bios of these and all the PACHA members on HIV.gov’s PACHA Members & Staff page.
PACHA to Meet Virtually on December 6
PACHA’s 79th full council meeting is scheduled to convene virtually on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, from 11:00 AM–6:00 PM (ET). The meeting will be livestreamed at hhs.gov/live. In addition to the new subcommittee’s session focused on addressing the needs of people aging with HIV, and long-term and life-time survivors, the meeting will include:
- a PACHA-to-the-People community engagement session,
- a discussion about getting to the goal of reducing new HIV infections in the United States by 90% by 2030, and
- a panel about addressing the needs of transgender men and nonbinary individuals.
More information about the upcoming meeting can be found on HIV.gov’s About PACHA page, including a draft agenda, information on making a public comment, and details about how to participate in the PACHA-to-the-People community engagement session.