The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Welcomes Two New Members to its Board of Directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts: Johanna Harvey: jharvey@pedaids.org or +1 (202) 280-1657
Ryan Henson: rhenson@pedaids.org or +1 (202) 280-1537

Washington, D.C.—Jan. 25, 2016—The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) is pleased to welcome Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick, and Sara Steffens, secretary-treasurer of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), to its Board of Directors.

“We are delighted to have both Jack Leslie and Sara Steffens join our Board of Directors,” said Russ Hagey, chairman of the EGPAF Board of Directors. “They bring a wealth of experience in global health and in advocacy that will strengthen our board’s breadth of talent and depth of knowledge in order to support EGPAF’s mission to end AIDS in children worldwide.”

As the chairman of Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global communications and engagement firms, Jack Leslie brings more than 30 years of strategic communication and stakeholder engagement to the EGPAF Board of Directors. Leslie is also active in the global health and development arena.  In 2009, Leslie was appointed by President Obama to serve as chairman of the Board of Directors of the U.S. African Development Foundation. Leslie is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; chairman of the U.S. Agency for International Development Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid; chairman of the Ron Brown Scholar Program; former chairman of the Board of USA for UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency); and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Duke Global Health Institute.

“Improving the health and lives of people around the world, especially for children, has been a longtime passion of mine,” said Leslie. “Thanks to the work of EGPAF and its partners, we are closer than ever before to achieving an AIDS-free generation. I am honored to be joining this prestigious organization at such a critical time in the effort to end the AIDS epidemic.”

Sara Steffens is the secretary-treasurer of CWA, the largest telecommunications union in the world. EGPAF has been CWA’s charity of choice since 1990, and for more than 25 years CWA has generously invested nearly $8 million to support EGPAF’s work. Steffens has previously served as secretary-treasurer of The NewsGuild-CWA, the CWA affiliate representing journalists and other news workers. Steffens is a former journalist and successfully led her former co-workers at the Bay Area News Group-East Bay to organize and join the Guild.

“CWA and EGPAF have a long history of bringing lifesaving HIV/AIDS programs and services to the mothers, families, and children who need them the most. I am proud to be a part of that legacy as a member of the EGPAF board of directors,” said Steffens. “I look forward to applying my experiences as a journalist and an advocate to support EGPAF’s work to create a world where no child has AIDS.”

About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF):
EGPAF is the global leader in the fight against pediatric HIV/ AIDS and has reached more than 23 million women with services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. It currently supports nearly 8,000 health facilities and works in 15 countries to implement prevention, care, and treatment services; to further advance innovative research; and to execute global advocacy activities that bring dramatic change to the lives of millions of women, children, and families worldwide. For more information, visit www.pedaids.org.