Funders Concerned About AIDS Welcomes Five New Board Members

Washington, D.C., January 20, 2022 – Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA), the leading voice on philanthropic resources allocated to the global HIV pandemic, today announced the election of five new members to its Board of Directors. The Board plays a pivotal role, providing leadership and guidance on the direction of FCAA’s mission and operations. Each Board member contributes to the organization’s efforts to maximize the impact of HIV-informed philanthropy.

“All five individuals are making outstanding contributions in the field,” said Channing Wickham, Executive Director of the Washington AIDS Partnership and Chair of the FCAA Board of Directors. “They represent a diversity of organizations in terms of funder types, approaches and geographies, which is sure to strengthen our Board.”

The Board will welcome the following five new Board Members:

• Anne Aslett is the global Chief Executive Officer of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, where she has served for almost 20 years. During Aslett’s tenure, the foundation has become the 6^th largest AIDS funder globally, saved the lives of over 5 million of the most marginalized people in the world and raised awareness of HIV amongst more than 100 million people.

• Paul-Gilbert Colletaz is the Coordinator for Red Umbrella Fund. An advocate for sex workers’ rights, Colletaz previously worked as Programme Manager for the global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), Programme Coordinator for Solidarité Sida and as a Civil Society Member of the International Steering Committee of the Robert Carr Fund. 

• Sharmila Mhatre is Acting Director of Open Society Foundations’ Public Health Program. An expert in health systems and policy research in low- and middle-income countries, Mhatre has more than two decades of experience leading, designing and managing multi-sectoral health programs. She previously worked at Canada’s International Development Research Centre, where she headed the Governance for Equity in Health Systems program.

• Jennifer Wright is Program Officer for California Wellness Foundation’s Equity in Access portfolio. She brings 10 years of experience in strategic grantmaking, health care administration and nonprofit management. Prior to joining Cal Wellness, Wright worked as a Senior Program Manager at the Center for Care Innovations (CCI).

• Vuyiswa Sidzumo is the Acting Regional Director and a Senior Program Officer at the Ford Foundation‘s office for Southern Africa. Vuyiswa joined Ford in 2017 after spending over 12 years at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, where she served as the Country Director for South Africa. She has worked within the social justice and development arena for more than 20 years.

 “Achieving FCAA’s mission and goals will require awareness of, and influence within, a range of philanthropic and community spaces,” said John Barnes, FCAA Executive Director. “These five leaders will be instrumental in these efforts.”

For a complete list of FCAA’s current board members visit fcaaids.org.

About FCAA:
Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) is a philanthropy-serving organization (PSO) founded in 1987 to take bold actions and push philanthropy to respond to HIV/AIDS. FCAA informs, connects, and supports philanthropy to mobilize resources to end the global HIV pandemic and build the social, political and economic commitments necessary to attain health, human rights, and justice for all.