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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NATIONAL LGBT HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS ADVOCATE SEAN CAHILL JOINS THE FENWAY INSTITUTE AS DIRECTOR OF HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH Sean Cahill, PhD, a national leader in the fight for LGBT equality and science based HIV/AIDS prevention and care for twenty years, has joined The Fenway Institute as Director of Health Policy Research. In his new role, Cahill will oversee efforts to adapt Fenway’s LGBT health and HIV/AIDS research data and findings to better advocate for a progressive public health policy. Cahill served most recently as the Managing Director of Public Policy, Research and Community Health at GMHC (2007 – 2011) and was the Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute before that (2001 – 2007). He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Administration at New York University. Cahill’s past accomplishments include advocating for a national AIDS strategy, working to defund abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education programs, repealing the federal funds ban on needle exchange programs, and repealing the United States’ HIV entry ban. Cahill helped secure language in the reauthorization of the global AIDS relief program calling for prevention and research on gay and bisexual men in Africa and the Caribbean. Cahill served on the New York City HIV Planning Council for four years. At the Task Force Policy Institute, Cahill produced seminal research on LGBT policy, including "Outing Age," the largest-ever Black and Asian LGBT surveys, studies of transgender and LGBT youth homelessness, and analysis of race and gender differences among same-sex couple households. Cahill also pushed for adding sexuality questions to federal surveys. “We’re very excited to have Sean join The Fenway Institute as Director of Health Policy Research,” said Rodney VanDerwarker, Administrative Director of The Fenway Institute. “His track record speaks for itself and we’re confident that he will be able to work with our research and policy advocacy teams and our partner organizations to further advance our LGBT health and HIV/AIDS policy agenda at the state and federal levels.” "This is a time of great opportunity and progress for LGBT equality, HIV policy, and health care policy at the federal level," said Cahill. "It is also a time of great peril, as opponents of health care reform and LGBT rights fight these advances tooth and nail. Fenway and Massachusetts have been leaders in all these areas. I look forward to working with the visionary team at The Fenway Institute to build upon their many successes to date and advocate for more effective and equitable policies locally and nationally." For nearly forty years, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population. The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues. |
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