San Francisco AIDS Foundation honored Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and longtime local HIV leader Bill Blum at its inaugural policy and advocacy fundraiser “The Agenda,” held at The Academy in San Francisco. The event celebrated two individuals who have shaped our city and country’s response to the HIV epidemic through their brave and impactful leadership and advocacy.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi was awarded the “Nancy Pelosi Award for HIV Leadership in Elected Office,” recognizing a lifetime of steadfast leadership on behalf of people living with HIV. Since her first speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1987, when she declared, “We must take leadership in the crisis of AIDS,” she has remained one of the nation’s strongest champions for people living with and at risk for HIV and AIDS.
“It was a deep honor to accept this recognition from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, an organization that has led with courage, compassion and determination,” said Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. “From the earliest days of this crisis, we have fought to replace fear with hope and indifference with action. While our work is not yet finished, we remain committed to continuing this fight until HIV/AIDS is banished to the dustbin of history.”
Among her many accomplishments, Speaker Emerita Pelosi introduced the legislation creating the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, secured millions of dollars in federal funding for HIV prevention and treatment, played a leading role in establishing PEPFAR and funding the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and passed legislation designating San Francisco’s AIDS Memorial Grove as what is still the only national memorial in the U.S. commemorating those who have died of HIV.
“Speaker Emerita Pelosi’s leadership has transformed countless lives,” said Tyler TerMeer, PhD, CEO of SFAF. “She has never wavered in her belief that people living with HIV deserve dignity, care, housing, and justice. From the early years of the epidemic, through today, she has used her voice and power to advance policies that have improved and saved lives. It is a privilege to present her with the inaugural Nancy Pelosi Award for HIV Leadership in Elected Office.”
SFAF also honored Bill Blum, Director of HIV Health Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, with the “HIV Community Advocacy Award” for his decades of leadership, activism, and public service.
Since 2009, Blum has overseen San Francisco’s system of HIV care, ensuring that our city maintains one of the world’s most effective networks of support for people living with HIV. Prior to joining the San Francisco Department of Public Health, he held HIV leadership roles in San Mateo, New York City, and Puerto Rico. A former member of ACT UP and a person living with HIV, Blum draws on decades of activism and lived experience to improve care, expand access, and advocate for communities disproportionately affected by HIV.
“Bill Blum represents the very best of San Francisco’s HIV movement,” said Laura Thomas, MPP, MPH, SFAF’s senior director of HIV and harm reduction policy. “As an activist, public servant, and person living with HIV, Bill has spent his career and the better part of his life working to ensure that every person has access to quality HIV care. His leadership, and the heart he brings to this work, inspires all of us as we continue our work to end the HIV epidemic.”
The inaugural event, named “The Agenda,” brought together civic and community leaders, elected officials, advocates, and philanthropists to support the policy advocacy work championed by SFAF’s Public Policy team. The funds raised at the event support legislative and systems-change advocacy that improves HIV prevention and treatment, expands access to services and care for LGBTQ+ people, and advances health equity at the local, state, and federal levels.
“We change the course of the epidemic through policy advocacy,” said Jonathan Frochtzwajg, SFAF’s director of health justice policy. “Since the earliest days of the epidemic, SFAF has played a key role in establishing some of the most effective legislation and funding streams for people affected by HIV–from the Ryan White CARE Act to the California laws that legalized the distribution of sterile syringes. We are thankful for the community’s support in continuing this work on behalf of all people living with and impacted by HIV.”