09 Apr The American Academy of HIV Medicine Celebrates the Appointment of Francisco Ruiz as Director of ONAP
The American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM) applauds the choice of Francisco Ruiz as the new Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). Mr. Ruiz will take an instrumental role in supporting and implementing efforts to end HIV and to ensure health equity for communities most affected by HIV.
“Mr. Ruiz brings with him an incredible background of service and leadership within the field, and the Academy is looking forward to working with him to make progress on our mutual goals of making HIV care and prevention tools and services widely and easily accessible to everyone who needs them and ultimately ending the HIV epidemic,” says Bruce J. Packett II, the Executive Director of AAHIVM. “His experience and background will be invaluable as we work to address the systemic inequalities in HIV prevention and care, as will his unique perspective as the first Latino to lead ONAP.”
Mr. Ruiz joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over a decade ago and has focused his work on the goals of Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. Throughout his tenure, he has helped shape and guide the CDC’s HIV outreach and messaging. He has extensive experience in community-building and collaboration and in working on outreach at the state and federal levels. Prior to joining the CDC, Mr. Ruiz was the Senior Manager at the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, where he worked with state and local health departments to address the effects of HIV among communities that are disproportionally affected by it, such as Black, Latino and LGBTQ populations. Before that, Mr. Ruiz served as the Chair of the National Latino AIDS Action Network, an organization dedicated to identifying and prioritizing HIV prevention, research and care for Latino communities.
Mr. Ruiz will succeed Harold Phillips as the Director of ONAP; Mr. Phillips served in the role from 2021 through January 2024. During his time at ONAP, Mr. Phillips oversaw the release of the 2022-2025 National HIV/AIDS Strategy and worked to underscore the need for a national PrEP program. The Academy thanks him for his years of service and wishes him well as he begins his new role as the Deputy Director of Programs at NMAC.