Mayor Vincent C. Gray Appoints Members and Chair of Metropolitan Washington Regional Ryan White Planning Council

WASHINGTON, DC) — Mayor Vincent C. Gray today signed an order renaming the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Regional HIV Health Services Planning Council as the Metropolitan Washington Regional Ryan White Planning Council and appointing new members and a chair for the body.

The council establishes priorities for allocation of funds within the region as provided under the Public Health Services Act of 1990, develops a comprehensive plan for the organization and delivery of health services to individuals with HIV, and conducts demographic research and determines the needs of the HIV/AIDS population. The federal legislation was named after late AIDS activist Ryan White.

“As I said last year when I established my Mayor’s Commission on HIV/AIDS, fighting this virus is one of my top priorities,” Mayor Gray said. “The members of the Ryan White Planning Council will help us coordinate with our regional and federal partners to ensure that we do our utmost to combat HIV and AIDS.”

Mayor Gray reappointed 17 members of the council to additional two-year terms, and named 18 new members to the panel, including naming National Association of People With AIDS Executive Vice President Stephen Bailous as its chair. The Mayor’s order also names D.C. Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA) Director Dr. Gregory Pappas as the D.C. government’s staff representative to the council.

Besides Bailous and Pappas, other new appointees to the panel are Dedra Spears-Johnson, Cornett Roberts-Njoku, Melvin Cauthen, Herbert Jackson, Linda Scruggs, Ronald Swanda, Ralph Black, Yolanda Santirosa, Ronald Scheraga, Reginald Davis, Martha Cameron, Nicolette Solan-Pegler, Steve Bailey, Tyranny Smith, Alexis Blackmon, Alis Marachelian and James Brown.