At yesterday’s meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) in Washington, DC, Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Wanda Jones, swore-in 11 new members and 3 re-appointed members.

The PACHA provides advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary regarding programs and policies intended to promote effective prevention of HIV disease, and to advance research on HIV disease and AIDS. The White House asks PACHA to provide, on an ongoing basis, recommendations on how to effectively implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, as well as monitor the Strategy's implementation. The Council may have up to 25 members, including the Chair. Members and the chair are selected by the Secretary of Health and Human Services from authorities with particular expertise in, or knowledge of, matters concerning HIV and AIDS. Council members are invited to serve for overlapping terms of up to four years.

“We are delighted to welcome 11 new PACHA members hailing from 8 states and the District of Columbia who bring valuable perspectives from industry, clinical care, health departments, the legal community, and philanthropy and advocacy,” observed PACHA Chair Nancy Mahon, Senior Vice President, M·A·C Cosmetics and Global Executive Director, M·A·C AIDS Fund. “Their expertise will inform PACHA’s efforts to examine key issues from many important perspectives and develop actionable recommendations to help strengthen the national response to HIV across all sectors.”

“We are grateful to all of the members who serve on PACHA – our new members, our continuing members, and the members whose terms just expired – for so willingly sharing their wisdom, expertise, creativity, and time to make a difference in HIV prevention, care, and treatment across the U.S. and around the world,” remarked Chairman Mahon.

You can read the biographies of all the members of PACHA in the PACHA section of HIV.gov. A full list of PACHA members with their terms noted is available here .