Pennsylvania Man Among Those Named to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Adrian Shanker is a prominent advocate in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania’s native Adrian Shanker was one of eight new appointees to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. 

“I am deeply honored to be appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS,” Shanker said in a news release. “Health equity is an unmet dream at the center of the challenges faced by HIV/AIDS around our country and across the globe.”

Shanker is the founder and executive director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, which supports the Lehigh Valley LGBTQ communities. He also serves as Commissioner and Health Committee co-chairperson on the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs.

The center has an art gallery and library that highlight the LGBTQ community, and helps coordinate many events in the region.

A graduate of Muhlenberg College, Shanker has twice been named “Person of the Year” by Philadelphia Gay News.

“Adrian’s expertise, passion, and motivation to improve health outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS will greatly benefit the Biden-Harris Administration, and I applaud his appointment to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS,” said US Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh).

The 25 members of the advisory council serve 4-year terms.

Dr. Rachel Levine, the nation’s highest ranking transgender official and former Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, nominated the new members. 

The PACHA provides advice, information, and recommendations to the secretary of health and human services regarding programs, policies, and research to promote effective prevention, treatment, and cure of HIV disease and AIDS.

According to a statement by the council, “Their distinct experiences and perspectives help ensure that the Council’s work honors the racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minority, and geographic diversity of the HIV epidemic in the U.S. today. Like the current members, the new members share a commitment to making a difference in the response to HIV by sharing their knowledge, creativity, and time.”