GMHC Announces Eight New Members of Its Board of Directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Krishna Stone | 212.367.1016

New York, NY — Gay Men's Health Crisis, the oldest HIV/AIDS service organization in the world, announces that Matt Morningstar has been elected as Vice Chair of its Board of Directors, and eight new board members, including three leading HIV doctors, have been appointed.

Matt Morningstar has served on GMHC's Board of Directors since January 2008, co-chairing the Governance Committee. As Executive Director and Counsel in Morgan Stanley's US Litigation Department, he oversees complex litigation and regulatory matters. Mr. Morningstar is also the immediate past Co-chair of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council, New York's voting rights and election protection organization.

Myron (Mickey) Sulzberger Rolfe, re-elected again this year to Chair the Board of Directors, said, "The addition of these particular eight new members provides yet more energy, new points of view and enhanced areas of expertise to our Board as GMHC enters our 31st year. Altogether, with even greater vigor, we are able to continue to fight to achieve our mission: to end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected."

Marjorie J. Hill, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, welcomed the new additions, stating "GMHC is very enthusiastic about all eight members, including the addition of three HIV specialists. Their expertise will help guide us as we work to achieve an AIDS-free generation in this lifetime."

• Warren Bimblick is Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development for Penton Business Media, the largest privately owned business to business media company in the U.S.  There he supervises strategy and communications as well as several media groups including those focused on wealth management, commercial real estate and aviation.  Mr. Bimblick also served as Treasurer for the Board of Trustees for the American Red Cross of Greater New York and currently serves on the executive committee of the board of trustees of BPA Worldwide, leading global media auditing organization.
• Osvaldo Perdomo worked for years in the fashion industry at such companies as Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger, Jones New York, Kenneth Cole and Saks Fifth Avenue.   After his AIDS diagnosis in 2004, his declining health left him with no choice but to go on long-term disability. He speaks to high school students about HIV prevention and has been the co-curator for GMHC's "Art & AIDS" exhibitions, which feature the work of artists living with HIV/AIDS at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. He has been a proud GMHC client since 2005.
• Paul Bellman, MD is presently an Attending Physician in the Department of Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital at Cornell. As a Class of 1982 graduate of New York University School of Medicine and longstanding physician in private practice and at St. Vincent's Hospital, Dr. Bellman has been on the front lines of HIV/AIDS care since the beginning of the epidemic. His work was recently honored by the City Council of New York which noted his "outstanding contributions to HIV/AIDS treatment and courageous patient advocacy."
• Demetre Daskalakis, MD is the Infectious Disease Fellowship Program Director at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and an Assistant Attending at Bellevue Hospital. He has served on the translational research committee of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and is a site principal investigator for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. As a distinguished leader in HIV prevention among men who have sex with men, Dr. Daskalakis established the NYU/Bellevue Men's Sexual Health Project (M*SHP).
• Yvette Hollingsworth leads the Operational Risk's Compliance Risk Management Group for Wells Fargo & Company.  As Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, she ensures that all areas of Wells Fargo meet compliance risk-management responsibilities and abide by all applicable laws and regulations.  She also serves as a national Board member of INROADS.
• Roberta Kaplan, Esq. is a partner in the Litigation Department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison, LLP. A New York "Super Lawyer," she is considered to be among the 500 leading litigators in the nation. Ms. Kaplan is well known for her pro-bono work, which includes representing Edith Windsor, a widow forced to pay $363,000 in federal estate tax in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.
• Frank Spinelli, MD, FACP is a board-certified internist at the Chelsea Village Medical Center. He is an Associate Clinical Professor at New York Medical College and author of the Advocate Guide to Gay Men's Health and Wellness. He contributes to The Advocate, the oldest-continuing gay publication in the United States and the Huffington Post. He maintains a full lecture schedule, in which he speaks on men's health and lifestyle issues.
• Fay Wells served as the Director of Business Strategy/Digital Video Distribution at Disney and ESPN Media Networks. Previously, she worked at ESPN since 2008, and at the United States Tennis Association, as well as for the Houston Rockets and Comets. Ms. Wells serves on the Executive Committee of the Dartmouth Alumni Association of NYC.

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About GMHC
GMHC is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS.  We provide prevention and care services to men, women and families that are living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS in New York City.  We advocate for scientific, evidence-based public health solutions for hundreds of thousands worldwide.