Sandra L. ThurmanSandra L. Thurman was appointed by the President on April 7, 1997 as the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy at The White House.
For nearly two decades, Ms. Thurman has been a leader and advocate for people with AIDS at the local, state, and federal levels.
Most recently, Ms. Thurman served as the Director of Citizen Exchanges at the United States Information Agency. From 1993 to 1996, Ms. Thurman was the Director of Advocacy Programs at The Task Force for Child Survival and Development at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
From 1988 to 1993, Ms. Thurman served as Executive Director of AID Atlanta, a community-based nonprofit organization that provides health and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS and offers an array of HIV prevention programs. Under her leadership, AID Atlanta, the largest and oldest AIDS service organization in the south, tripled in size, and became a multi-million dollar agency.
Ms. Thurman has been a tireless advocate on behalf of the disenfranchised and marginalized. After spending her college years as a volunteer in a Poverty Rights Program, she went on to work as a counselor in a maximum security facility for youthful offenders and a pretrial intervention program. She then turned her attention to health policy.
Ms. Thurman was a Member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and
a founding member of Cities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief (CAEAR). She has
served on the Board of Directors of numerous AIDS organizations and other health
related organizations including the March of Dimes, and the National Kidney
Foundation. She is one of the world's leading experts on AIDS issues and has
provided testimony before the United States Congress, the White House Conference
on HIV/AIDS, and the National Commission on AIDS.
Testimony provided by Sandra Thurman at a hearing by the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy & Human Resources on "What is the United States' Role in Combating the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic?" (July 22, 1999)
Comments by Sandra Thurman to the annual meeting of the US Conference of Mayors
Comments by Sandra Thurman to the 10th Annual National AIDS Update Conference (March 25, 1998)
Comments by Sandra Thurman to the Annie E. Casey Foundation on HIV/AIDS and families (December 11, 1997)
Sandra L. Thurman
Thurman Speech to U.S. Conference of Mayors
Thurman Speech to Annie E. Casey Foundation
Thurman Speech to 1998 National AIDS Update Conference
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