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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ADAP Advocacy is governed by a dedicated, diverse volunteer board of directors. The organization now benefits from the combined experience of eight HIV-positive members, two ADAP recipients (plus three former ADAP recipients), one pharmacist, two attorneys, three pharmaceutical company representatives, one nurse (retired), and several influential AIDS community activists and leaders.
The Board of Directors Includes:
- Guy Anthony - (New York, NY)
- Wanda Brendle-Moss, RN - (Winston-Salem, NC)
- Erin Darling, Esq - (Washington, DC)
- Robert "Bobby" Dorsey, Esq. - (La Plata, MD)
- Lyne Fortin, B.Pharm, MBA - (Montreal, Canada)
- Lisa Johnson-Lett - (Birmingham, AL)
- Brandon M. Macsata - (Washington, DC)
- Maria Mejia - (Miami, Florida)
- Shabbir Imber Safdar - (San Francisco, CA)
- Jennifer Vaughan - (Watsonville, CA)
- Marcus A. Wilson - (Orlando, FL)
Director Emeritus:
- Michelle Anderson
- William E. Arnold, in memoriam
- John D. Kemp, Esq.
- Gary R. Rose, in memoriam
- Joyce Turner-Keller, Arch-Bishop
- Rani G. Whitfield, MD
Board of Directors:
Guy Anthony
Guy Anthony is Co-Founder and President of Black, Gifted & Whole who is a well-respected HIV/AIDS activist, community leader, and author. Diagnosed with HIV as a teen, Guy has dedicated his adult life to the pursuit of neutralizing global HIV/Aids-related stigmas. He released Pos(+)tively Beautiful: Affirmations, Advocacy & Advice on World AIDS Day in 2012. This collection of inspiring narratives, raw imagery, and affirming anecdotes have earned Guy much acclaim, including being named one of the top 100 HIV prevention leaders under 30 by POZ Magazine and as one of the top 100 Black LGBTQ/SGL Emerging Leaders to Watch by National Black Justice Coalition.
Guy served as a Program Manager/Coordinator for the Treatment Adherence program at Us Helping Us, a local AIDS service organization serving Black communities in the Washington, DC area for two years. In his role at US Helping Us, Guy worked with newly diagnosed Black gay men to help them come to terms with their status, navigate the complex health care system so they can access care, and develop plans for them to adhere to their treatment regimen and achieve viral suppression. Guy also served on Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Ryan White Planning Council, overseeing millions of dollars in HIV funding for the city for two terms and is a regular contributor to AIDS.gov and POZ.com. Guy serves as a brand ambassador to ViiV Healthcare, one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies. He is the President/CEO the Black, Gifted & Whole Foundation, a two-fold intermediary organization that provides scholarships to Black gay men attending Historically Black Colleges & Universities.
Guy is currently focused on providing mentorship and financial assistance to the 6 Black, Gifted & Whole HBCU ambassadors from across the country.
Wanda Brendle-Moss, R.N.
Wanda Brendle-Moss, R.N. was diagnosed
with HIV in July 2002. Wanda has always been open about her positivity except
in the early years because an employer threatened to fire her if she discussed
her status. She was member of Consumer Leadership Corps Trainers with AIDS
Alliance. She volunteered during XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington
DC where she was photographed as part of the "Graying of AIDS."
She also participated in Caitlin Margaret Kelly's photo display of women living with HIV called "Please Call Me By My True Names." Wanda has actively participated in numerous advocacy efforts, including Treatment Action Group, HIV is Not A Crime, Positive Women's Network, The Well Project, "A Girl Like Me," HealthHIV Pozitively Healthy, Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS North America, AIDS Watch and the ADAP Advocacy Association.
In 2014, she received the ADAP Advocacy Association's prestigious "Emerging Leader" award. Wanda is also involved with the Moral Monday Movement in North Carolina, Wanda Believes that we "Lead By Example" and "Age with Purpose!"
Erin Darling
Erin Darling currently serves as AVP of Federal Policy for Merck. In this role, Erin is responsible for leading the company's U.S. policy and alliance
development teams, which develop and implement advocacy and policy strategies on federal health care legislative and regulatory issues.
She works extensively on Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal program coverage and payment issues, drug pricing and transparency, health care reform, therapeutic area specific policy issues such as in infectious disease and oncology, and various other health care policy issues. Before coming to Merck in 2007, Erin worked in private practice as a health care lawyer with two Washington, D.C. law firms.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Children's Inn at NIH, the civic engagement organization All in Together, and the HIV+Hep Policy Institute. Erin has a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in Political Science with Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Robert "Bobby" Dorsey
Robert "Bobby" Dorsey is a respected advocate, policy advisor, and leader with expertise in legislative and regulatory research and drafting, lobbying,
internal and external stakeholder engagement, and strategic initiative advancement. In his current role as deputy chief of staff for the D.C. Department
of Small and Local Business Development, Bobby oversees all legislative and communications priorities and assists the chief of staff with day-to-day agency operations.
Previously, as associate state director for AARP District of Columbia, Bobby lobbied the District Council for reforms leading to improved outcomes for older District residents and their families.
After receiving a Bachelor of English degree from Williams College, Bobby went on to attend the Howard University School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctorate in 2013. During his time at Howard, Bobby interned with the Office of U.S. Senator Rob Portman where he researched tax issues. He was also a Crowell & Moring Law Fellow at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, an organization dedicated to providing housing for low-income District residents.
Bobby currently sits on the Board of Directors for Gifts for the Homeless, a District-based nonprofit that provides essential clothing to local shelters, soup kitchens, and transitional housing facilities.
Lyne Fortin, B.Pharm, MBA
Lyne graduated with a bachelor of pharmacy from the University of Montreal in 1982 and later obtained an MBA from Concordia University.
She worked most of her career at Merck & Co., with the last 15 years in executive level positions. From 2013 to 2018 she held the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at Theratechnologies, a global specialty pharmaceutical company addressing unmet medical needs of people living with HIV. Lyne also served on the Board of Directors of a biotechnology company with a rare condition asset and as advisor to a US start-up focusing on rare diseases. In 2021 she was appointed Chair of the Board of Small Pharma Inc, a neuropharmaceutical company developing innovative treatment for depression and other mental health disorders, a position which she held until the company was acquired in October 2023.
Her association with the HIV community goes back to the early days of her professional life when she was involved with the launch of a protease inhibitor and, at that time, established HIV advocacy relations and corporate community support for Merck in Canada. Later, she got involved in preparing for the launch of an integrase inhibitor, another new mechanism of action in the fight against HIV. More recently she lead the US launch of an orphan drug for the treatment of multi-drug resistant HIV-1. As part of her career she lived, with her family, in the Los Angeles area where she experienced firsthand the realities of market access for patients living in the US.
As Lyne would say: "We all play a different role in support of the HIV community. My motivation has always been, going back to my DNA as a pharmacist, to bring the science of inspired researchers to help patients with their medical needs. However it is through the strength of collaboration, connections, and diversity that we can have the greatest impact on people's lives."
* Photo Credit: ©Bénédicte Brocard
Lisa Johnson-Lett
Lisa Johnson-Lett is an entrusted Living Well Peer Support Specialist who is originally from New York City and now resides in Alabama. Lisa served honorably
in the U.S. Armed Forces – Army for 10 years and is a graduate of the Audrey Cohen School of Human Services and Education. Lisa holds two degrees: Bachelors
of Professional Studies - Human Services and Associate Degree – Speech Communications. Diagnosed with HIV while serving the country in 1995, Lisa learned to
embrace HIV well-surpassing the criminalization and stigma. She immediately involved herself in Peer lead support groups and partnerships with the following
entities while representing community: Alabama Disability Advocacy Program-(ADAP); Alabama Consumer Advisory Board - (ACAB); Patient Advisory Board - (PAB).
More recently, Lisa has invested time into Positive Leadership Council and Alabama + Action projects Promoting HIV/AIDS Policy and Advocacy-partnering with AIDS UNITED and the Positive Women’s Network to raise HIV Awareness and to encourage MIPA-Meaningful Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS.
Brandon M. Macsata
Brandon M. Macsata is a long-term survivor, living with HIV/AIDS since March 2002. He serves as Managing Partner of the Purple Strategy Group, Inc. - a
national political strategy firm specializing in grassroots advocacy campaigns, media tactics, and social networks. In that capacity, Macsata has served
as the CEO of the ADAP Advocacy Association since the organization's inception in July 2007. He is widely recognized for his ability to connect national,
state and local stakeholders interested in influencing public health policy. Notably, Macsata has successfully assembled a wide spectrum of public health
stakeholders to re-energize patient advocacy around the AIDS Drug Assistance Program at the national level. He is unapologetically pro-patient.
He is also a former ADAP recipient. From November 2003 to March 2006, Macsata authored a weekly news column on national HIV-related stories for The Weekly News, an LGBT publication based in Miami, Florida. In November 2009, Macsata was acknowledged by HIV-Plus Magazine to be amongst the “Top 25 LGBT Leaders Fighting HIV/AIDS”.
At the age of 27, Macsata was the youngest Executive Director of a national trade association. He managed the American Congress of Community Support & Employment Services (ACCSES) from 2000-2003, a national trade association representing the interests of community, non-profit agencies providing supports and services to persons with disabilities. Prior to moving to Washington, DC in 2000, he opened a 100-bed assisted living care facility in Wilmington, North Carolina. Serving as the facility’s assistant administrator, Macsata worked closely with community leaders and state agencies to advocate for seniors.
He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. In April 2009, UNCW awarded Macsata - and his business partner - the Political Science Department’s “Outstanding Political Science Graduate” award in recognition for their accomplishments. Macsata is a single parent raising his son, Sebastian.
Maria Mejia
Maria Mejia is an accomplished author, co-authoring the book titled "From a Warrior's Passion and Pain," which provides a personal account of her enduring 35-year battle with HIV. In addition to her literary achievements, she currently serves as the co-chair of the Women and Minorities Outreach for the esteemed Dab the AIDS Bear project.
Furthermore, Maria holds the prestigious role of Ambassador for the Center for Disease Control's campaign, "Let's Stop HIV Together," and serves as an ambassador for the ongoing Greater than AIDS campaign, as well as the renowned women's organization, "The Well Project."
With an unwavering dedication to creating awareness and education surrounding HIV/AIDS, Maria has become a formidable activist for education, treatment, testing, prevention, LGBTQAI+ rights, and human rights. Her work has been recognized and featured in prominent magazines, billboards, television programs, as well as national and international conventions. Maria has also contributed to four impactful documentaries aimed at raising HIV awareness.
Maria is the co-founder of the first Latin x positive peoples network in the United States. She is a volunteer for the Red Cross, an HIV educator for Jackson Memorial Hospital, and a motivational speaker. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Arianna Center and the Positive People Network in Miami, Florida, and previously served as a board member for the Community Access National Network.
Maria's book has made her message very clear. She is far more than a condition; her journey through life is a moving account of survival. HIV has been only one of her many challenges.
Shabbir Imber Safdar
Shabbir Imber Safdar has served as the Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines since 2017. Before that he was the Director of Outreach and
has served as a consultant to PSM for nearly a decade. Shabbir is passionate about patient safety and the dangers of counterfeits, having seen them firsthand
the dangers of counterfeits in countries around the world where a closed, secure drug supply chain doesn't exist.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines, founded in 2003, is a not for profit focused entirely on researching the danger of counterfeit drugs in America and educating the public about how to stay safe from them.
Today Shabbir leads the Partnership for Safe Medicines team from San Francisco, CA where he lives with his wife and two children. He plays string bass in a bluegrass band for fun.
Jennifer Vaughan
Jennifer Vaughan is a California native, a teacher, mother of three and the founder and creator of Jennifer’s Positive Life, a YouTube channel featuring
her life living with HIV. Launched 5 months after her February 2016 diagnosis, her channel now features over 200 videos and is followed by more than
40,000 subscribers (2019).
Her videos propelled her into instant advocacy and from that she founded a private support group through Facebook for HIV+ women. The majority of her members are newly diagnosed and women who have lived years without ever knowing another poz female. Her group currently supports 200 women from all over the globe.
Plus Magazine named Jennifer 2018’s 5th Most Amazing HIV+ People of the year, while POZ Magazine included her in their 8th Annual Celebrating POZ 100 Women of the year issue. Jennifer attended AIDS2018 International in Amsterdam as a Social Scholar representing the Prevention Access Campaign (U=U). She received a scholarship from N.M.A.C. and attended the USCA conference in Florida as a Social Media Fellow. In September 2018, she attended ADAP’s Advocacy Association’s Annual Conference in Washington D.C. as the Keynote Speaker and was the recipient of the 2018 Social Media Campaign of the Year for her YouTube channel. She’s also a blogger for The Well Project.
Her influencer mentality is continually projected through all her social media in an attempt to educate the masses on HIV and combat the stigma that surrounds the virus.
Marcus A. Wilson
Marcus A. Wilson (He/Him) is the Senior Director, Community Engagement and Patient Advocacy, U.S. Virology at Gilead Sciences, Inc. Marcus has enthusiastic
contributed to ending the HIV epidemic and improving health equity globally for more than two decades. His work with national advocacy organizations
has protected patient and physician choice, increased equity in healthcare, and improved access to life saving therapies.
Marcus is an active member of the LGBTQ+ community. He has served on the boards of AIDS Foundation Chicago, Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, and currently serves on the boards of ONYX, and LLC. Marcus has provided support and guidance to numerous community organizations utilizing his policy and advocacy knowledge and esteemed relationships.
In his free time, Marcus enjoys international travel, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering within his community. He is a native of Detroit, MI who currently resides in Orlando, FL with his partner, Steven.
