A Personal Perspective from Dr. Timothy Harrison

Content From: Miguel Gomez, Director, AIDS.gov, and Senior Communications Advisor, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesPublished: December 31, 20142 min read

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Editor's Note: As we near the end of 2014, we reflect on some of the personal perspectives we have shared throughout the year. Today, we want to share with you Dr. Timothy Harrison's personal story and his commitment to working to reduce the disparities across the HIV care continuum.

Many of our colleagues in the HIV/AIDS field have both personal and professional commitments to their work formed by diverse life experiences that continue to inspire them. As we observe National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we are pleased to share another personal reflection from one such colleague: my longtime officemate Dr. Timothy Harrison. Tim is the Senior Policy Advisor in the HHS Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy (OHAIDP) where, among other things, he manages the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund. As he discusses in the video below, Tim’s commitment to working to reduce racial/ethnic health disparities across the HIV care continuum have personal roots shaped by loss. But they are also grounded in his more than a decade of service at OHAIDP where he has led a variety of technical assistance, demonstration, and outreach and mobilization activities focused on addressing HIV/AIDS among racial and ethnic minority communities, including work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions of higher education as well as OHAIDP’s consultation on HIV among Black gay and bisexual men.

Watch Tim’s reflection: