10 Black HIV/AIDS Advocates Who Are Making a Difference

Christine Campbell, Vice President of National Advocacy and Organizing, Housing Works, New York

Christine Campbell has spent more than 10 years dedicated to running programs for people living with HIV/AIDS. At Housing Works, she teams with other national organizations to advocate for changes in policy that will better serve people living with HIV/AIDS. With no signs of slowing down, Christine is galvanizing support for relifting the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs. She also helped launch AIDSVote 2012, a tool that educates political candidates and voters on which policies most impact the HIV community. No matter what the initiative, Christine looks to include housing as a means to improve health outcomes of those living with HIV: "Any successful strategy to end AIDS will include housing." And as AIDS 2012 gets closer, she is working with President Obama's administration to update plans on implementing the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Her overall message is to speak up: "I have found that in this current climate, our friends need to hear from us not only in their offices but also publicly. My hope for advocacy is that many of us will be bold and public in our call for an end to AIDS."