AIDS Action Announces New Communications Director

Contact: Daniel Zingale
(202) 986-1300, Ext. 3011

WASHINGTON, DC -- AIDS Action announced today that Steven Fisher will join its staff as the new Communications Director, effective September 8, 1997. Fisher comes to AIDS Action from the office of Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) where he serves as Deputy Chief of Staff.

Fisher has held several communications and policy positions on Torricelli's staff since 1990 when Torricelli was a member of the House. His media relations experience includes Torricelli's 1995 revelations of CIA involvement in the deaths of Americans in Guatemala as well as Torricelli's 1996 race for Bill Bradley's Senate seat, considered by many to be last political season's most hotly-fought.

"Sen. Torricelli and his staff have a reputation for running one of the most effective and aggressive communications operations on Capitol Hill," said Daniel Zingale, AIDS Action Executive Director. "Steve also brings to AIDS Action and the AIDS community a solid policy background including FDA, Medicaid, Medicare, and the budget."

On legislative matters, Fisher has been Torricelli's principal domestic policy advisor with an emphasis on health care, technology, budget and human rights issues. A resident of Washington, D.C., Fisher is a 1989 graduate of George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science.

"I am exhilarated to join AIDS Action at the most exciting and indeed crucial moment in the history of the AIDS crisis," said Fisher. "Joining AIDS Action on the frontline against AIDS will be an immensely challenging and, I expect, rewarding experience."

Torricelli, who began his first Senate term last January after serving 14 years in the House, has maintained a consistent record of support for AIDS research, education and treatment issues.

"As we head into the next century, finding a cure for HIV-related disease and protecting HIV-positive individuals are among America's most urgent health care priorities," said Sen. Torricelli. "The antidote for the pain of losing one of my most loyal and talented staff members is that he is joining AIDS Action in the war on AIDS."

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AIDS Action is the nation's leading AIDS advocacy organization, representing all Americans affected by HIV and AIDS and over 2,000 community-based organizations that serve them.