Academy for Educational Development

Cornelius Baker, senior communications advisor with the AED Center on AIDS & Community Health, has been appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. With the Secretary of Health and Human Services, this council advises, informs, and recommends actions to the president on both U.S. and global HIV/AIDS policy issues, including the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

“It’s an honor to be part of President Obama’s efforts to craft a new national HIV/AIDS strategy that will impact the U.S. epidemic while maintaining a strong commitment abroad,” Baker said.

For more than 20 years, Baker has worked with U.S. government, community groups, and non-profit organizations to improve the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS. Currently at AED he directs the NIAID HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative for the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Initiative provides information, resources, and support so that opinion leaders are better equipped to inform their communities about HIV vaccine research through formal and informal partnerships. In addition, Baker serves as a national policy advisor with the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition. Previously, he served as executive director of Washington, D.C.’s Whitman-Walker Clinic and headed the National Association of People with AIDS.

AED has a long history of working on HIV/AIDS. In 1987 it launched USAID’s first global AIDS project. Today, AED operates programs in 25 countries to reduce stigma and discrimination, promote prevention with people who are HIV-positive, provide care for orphans and vulnerable children, promote nutrition care and support, prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and reduce transmission through workplace prevention and education.

“Cornelius’s leadership and tireless commitment are among our strongest assets in our work to fight HIV/AIDS and improve the lives of those living with it,” said Frank Beadle de Palomo, senior vice president and director of the AED Center on AIDS & Community Health. “Without a doubt, his contributions to the Presidential Advisory Committee will strengthen our country’s efforts to end the epidemic.”