By Joseph S. Amster, Dana Miller, Karen Ocamb, and Denise Penn

Next year the world will mark the 25th year that HIV/AIDS has gripped the planet. Since June 5, 1981, when the Centers for Disease Control first published warnings about a strange pneumonia that had infected a small group of gay men in Los Angeles, 60 million people have been infected with the virus and about 40 million are living with HIV/AIDS, according to UNAIDS. Worldwide, the disease has claimed the lives of over 20 million, with 524, 060 in the United States as of 2003.

Today the global pandemic of deaths and rising infection rates are largely due to poverty, low-income, lack of education, and inaccessibility to antiretroviral drugs. In America's gay community, the rise in HIV infection and STD rates are generally associated with the crystal meth epidemic.

Throughout the pandemic there have been heroic LGBT and straight people who have stood on the frontlines fighting the disease, many of whom have died. There are too many to name. But with this issue, IN Los Angeles magazine wishes to acknowledge some of the HIV/AIDS leaders in Southern California whose important work on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS inspires and honors us all.

Irvin S. Y. Chen, Ph.D.
Director UCLA AIDS Institute

Dr. Irvin S.Y. Chen is the director of the AIDS Institute in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, one of the most prestigious AIDS care and research institutions on earth. He received his B.A. in biology/genetics from Cornell University in 1977, and his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin in 1981. He is an internationally renowned investigator in AIDS research. As director of the UCLA AIDS Institute, Dr. Chen coordinates all AIDS-related patient care, education, and research activities at UCLA and its affiliated hospitals. With both David Geffen and Elizabeth Taylor on speed-dial, Dr. Chen clearly has power.

Oscar de la O

As executive director of Bienestar Human Services, Oscar de la O has brilliantly and creatively found ways to fund 11 LGBT community and HIV/AIDS education centers in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and San Diego counties serving Latino/as, especially poor, non-English-speaking immigrants. De la O has also supported what has become the internationally recognized Trangenderos Unidos program for transgender Latinas. This past year, he started working with a national coalition of grassroots Latino organizations, teaching them how to develop local community service centers. (www.bienestar.org)

Larry Forester

Currently serving as vice mayor of the city of Signal Hill, Forester was one of the first, if not the first, mayor in the nation living with HIV. Since joining the Signal Hills City Council in 1998, he has been completely open about his HIV status and the citizens of Signal Hill have been very supportive of him. In addition to his duties on the City Council, he has served as the board chair of Being Alive Long Beach and has been credited, along with Executive Director Whitney Engeron, with revitalizing the organization. Forester is a firm believer in names-based HIV reporting. Outside of the HIV/AIDS community, he is also the chair of the Conservation Corps of Long Beach.

Craig Vincent Jones

"Ask Craig," meaning Craig Vincent-Jones, executive director of the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV, is the frequent reply to questions about local HIV/AIDS programs and polices. Hired away from the county Office of AIDS (OAPP) in April 2004, nine months after the once demure HIV Commission secured its independence from OAPP, Vincent-Jones injected the commission, co-chaired by longtime HIV/AIDS activists Al Ballesteros and Nettie DeAugustine, with fresh vitality and respectability. (www.hivcommission-la.info)

Tom Peterson

AIDS Services Foundation Orange County's director of public policy has never sought the spotlight, but took what started as a part-time job in 1997 to become a major player in AIDS policy in the state and nation. As public policy committee co-chair, former co-chair, and a founding member of the Southern California HIV Advocacy Coalition, as well as a board member of the national AIDS Action Council, Peterson has quietly worked to ensure funding for people living with HIV and AIDS. He is currently fighting for funding of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, as well as reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act.

Dan O'Shea

As senior health planner for HIV care and treatment at the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, O'Shea's role is to support the local community planning process for HIV services funded by the federal Ryan White CARE Act. He helps determine the needs of people living with AIDS and HIV in San Diego County and helps prepare the proposal for the more than $10 million in annual funds. Because of this, San Diego received a high grant application score, contributing to continued funds to support local HIV services.

Craig Thompson

Craig Thompson, executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles, decries the flat-line funding for HIV/AIDS just as more people are living with the disease -- L.A. has an estimated 57,000 PWAs with 2,000 new HIV infections annually. APLA's 21st AIDS Walk featured 26,000 participants who raised over $3.2 million for HIV/AIDS services in L.A. and the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast. Thompson also chairs the Washington, D.C.-based AIDS Action Council, a coalition that lobbies Congress on federal HIV/AIDS policy. (www.apla.org; www.aidsaction.org)

Michael Weinstein

Often controversial for his aggressive style, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) founder and President Michael Weinstein is arguably one of the most effective leaders in the history of HIV/AIDS. Founded in 1987, Weinstein's AHF "fast-tracked" hospice care, prolifically sponsored legislation to increase patient access to treatment, sued governments and programs for inequities and greater accountability, sued pharmaceutical companies over "greedy" drug pricing policies, and, in cooperation with local community partners, opened free treatment clinics throughout the U.S. (14 in California and Florida), Africa, Central America, Asia, and on Oct. 26, in Tijuana, Mexico. AHF now claims to be the largest HIV/AIDS organization in America. (www.aidshealth.org)

Phill Wilson

Phill Wilson has been a leader on the national and local scene since the mid-1980s. Diagnosed with HIV in 1980 and living with AIDS since 1990, Wilson has used his leadership as founder and executive director of the Black AIDS Institute to get major media outlets to talk about HIV/AIDS, including the Oprah Winfrey Show. With the recent study indicating that 46 percent of the 1.3 million Americans living with AIDS are black gay and bisexual men, Wilson hopes galas like the 2005 Heroes in the Struggle (Nov. 17 at the DGA in Hollywood) will provide inspiration and education. (www.BlackAIDS.org)

Celebrities Lend the Power of Their Fame to the Fight Against AIDS

David Geffen

When it comes to giving to AIDS service organizations, David Geffen is our Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller. This DreamWorks SKG cofounder is in various ways a visionary, ultimate dealmaker, and a caring soul. Over the years, Geffen has orchestrated the sale of his record companies and other media investments -- which made him a billionaire -- and continued making even more significant donations to the AIDS community, David has always put his money where his mouth is. He covered payroll at APLA in the early days, and his Geffen Foundation donates millions upon millions to organizations both large and small all around the world. From the mailroom at the William Morris Agency to a titan in business, Geffen has stayed true to his community. David Geffen's philanthrophy has made a signifcant impact in the lives of people living with AIDS and HIV. Although he has not sought the spotlight, he certainly deserves accolades for all he has done.

Elton John

Superstar, diva, philanthropist, and genius: There are lots of words to describe Elton, but it's his Beverly Hills based AIDS Foundation that we truly honor. In 1992, horrified and angered by the magnitude of HIV/AIDS and how little was being done to help those affected by the virus, Elton John set up the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Elton is chairman of the EJAF and continues to personally donate to the foundation via concerts and various fund-raising events, including his annual Oscar gala at the Pacific Design Center. Funding from the Elton John AIDS Foundation encompasses a broad spectrum of services supporting men, women, young adults, children, infants, minorities, and entire families living with or at-risk from HIV/AIDS. Since its inception, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has given out more than $62 million funding HIV/AIDS projects in 55 countries across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, South America, and right here at home.

Elizabeth Taylor

One of the last great movie stars on earth is still fulfilling her role as an AIDS activist and our community owes her a huge debt of gratitude. This two-time Academy Award winner long ago traded in the life of an actress for that of an activist, and her cause of choice was us. Before the virus was identified and the masses quietly muttered of a "gay cancer," Elizabeth was there. She created APLA's Commitment To Life Awards, helped establish the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in 1985, and created the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. The two organizations have raised a combined $243 million to fund research and improve the quality of lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. This great star used her celebrity and clout to open doors of government and philanthropy that were not only closed -- they were locked. Who says no when Elizabeth Taylor calls? Nobody. And Dame Elizabeth is still on the phone today.