[Spotlight originally posted March, 2011]
The Community Advisory Boards of the NYU Medical School, NYU Langone Medical Center, and Bellevue Hospital ACTU, CFAR, IMPAACT, HVTN, and The Men’s Sexual Health Project held its annual CAB appreciation dinner at a midtown Manhattan restaurant on January 21st. The dinner was hosted by the ACTU’s Dr. Judith Aberg and IMPAACT’s Dr. William Borkowsky and is an opportunity for the staff to show its appreciation for the hard work by the CAB and community efforts by the members throughout the year. The 11 present members of our CAB work with almost two dozen HIV-related organizations throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The CAB has been in continuous existence since the very early 1980s when the first cases of AIDS were treated by NYU’s Dr. Fred Valentine who immediately started meeting with members of the gay community. Officially organized in 1986 and passing bylaws and electing officers in 1996, the CAB meets 10 times annually at evening meetings preceded by a light supper.
They then have a two-hour meeting including officers’ reports, protocol reviews, CAB Draft discussions and questionnaires, and educational discussions with the PIs often using the “white board” and markers to amplify their lectures. The meetings are always fully attended by both CAB members and staff who serve in an ex officio capacity and who play a critical role in educating in all aspects of HIV treatment and prevention.
This year’s awardees included both CAB members and staff members. The awardees are:
STAFF:
Emerline Lam, ACTU Staff Honor Award
Carlos Mavestutto, MD, ACTU Fellow Honor Award
Demetre Daskalakis, MD, ACTU Researcher Honor Award
Michelle Cespedes, MD, ACTU Researcher Honor Award
Richard Silvera, MPH, ACTU Researcher Honor Award
Richard Hutt, RN, ACTU Researcher Honor Award
Karen Cavanagh, RN, ACTU Researcher Honor Award
Janet Forcht, RN, ACTU Researcher Honor Award
CAB Members:
Gayle Dorsky, Outstanding CAB Member Award
Lydia Mercado, CAB Member Honor Award
Lorenzo Penn, CAB Member Spirit Award
Jannet Tollinche, CAB Member Spirit Award
Father Jonathan Sampson Cossey, CAB Member Humanitarian Award and the ACTG CAB Bridget Murtagh Award
Initiated in 2010 by CAB Chair Don MacIver, the walnut-framed award certificates are a tangible recognition of the many years of dedication and service by both staff and community volunteers. The dinner was a complete success on a cold snowy night in New York City — the Big Apple!
Written by Don MacIver, CAB Chair and GCAB Co-chair
Photos by Bill Bahlman, CCS Member and GCAB Alternate
(Pictured above: Don MacIver, Dr. Michelle Cespedes and her daughter)
(Pictured below: Gus Vianna Biehler, Bill Bahlman, Fatime Velasquez, Don MacIver, Janet Tollinche, and Dr. Judith Aberg)
