The AIDS Pandemic: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally

Moderator

James W. Squires, M.D., President, Endowment for Health

Dr. Squires was born and raised in New Hampshire. After graduating from McGill Medical School and spending a one-year internship in surgery, he served two years in the U.S. Air Force as a flight medical officer, completed four more years of surgical training at New England Medical Center, and taught surgery for one year at Boston Veterans Administration Hospital.

Dr. Squires was instrumental in establishing the Matthew Thornton Health Plan, New Hampshire's first HMO. In 1994, Dr. Squires received the "Physician of the Year Award" from the New Hampshire Hospital Association. Following his retirement in 1996, he was elected to the New Hampshire Senate. Re-elected in 1998, he was appointed chair of the Public Institutions, Health and Human Services Committee. In 2000, Dr. Squires sought the Republican nomination for Governor and finished second in the primaries.

In 2001, Dr. Squires became the first president of the Endowment for Health, whose mission is to improve health and reduce the burden of illness in New Hampshire. This position allows him to use his vast and varied experience to provide leadership and guidance to this new foundation.

Discussion Leaders

Rory Kennedy, Co-president and Co-owner, Moxie Firecracker Films; Producer and Director of Pandemic

Award-winning producer, director, and writer, Rory Kennedy is co-founder of Moxie Firecracker Films. She has produced and/or directed award-winning documentaries for several television networks including HBO, covering a variety of topics including the global AIDS crisis, human rights, domestic abuse, poverty, and drug addiction.

Rory Kennedy most recently directed and produced, Pandemic: Facing AIDS, which follows the lives of five people living with AIDS in different regions of the world and uses their experiences to put faces behind the numbers and to connect audiences with the heartache and triumph of living under the extreme conditions that AIDS enforces. After visiting Africa with a White House Delegation in 1999, Rory Kennedy produced Epidemic Africa, a short film about the devastating impact of AIDS on families in Africa.

Before launching Moxie Firecracker Films, Rory Kennedy served as Executive Director of MayDay Media. A social activist and public speaker, she also serves on several non-profit boards including The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial and The Legal Action Center.

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Ochoro Otunnu, Ugandan Lawyer and Human Rights Activist; Co-founder / Executive Director, Africa AIDS Initiative

Global Citizens Circle is pleased to welcome back Ochoro Otunnu for a second program on the critical issue of AIDS. He inspires us to continue the search for solutions to this global crisis.

Ugandan lawyer and human rights activist Ochoro Otunnu is the co-founder and executive director of Africa AIDS Initiative, a non-profit organization seeking to address the urgent need for funds, medicine, technical expertise, and an integrated approach to the exponential spread of infection, particularly with respect to women and children. The Africa AIDS Initiative is presently developing a number of projects in Uganda, Zambia, Botswana and Ethiopia. Through mobilization of the U.S. private sector, the Initiative is dedicated to raising awareness of the extreme nature of the AIDS crisis in Africa.

Mr. Otunnu previously worked for Oxfam America in Boston where he was responsible for their development and emergency relief work in Southern Africa. He also practiced law in New York before co-founding the Africa AIDS Initiative with Rory Kennedy, and Dr. Sorosh Roshan, president of the National Council of Women of the United States.

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Kate Roberts, Director, Cause Marketing; Founder, YouthAIDS; Population Services International

Kate Roberts is the director of Cause Marketing and founder of YouthAIDS, a global HIV/AIDS prevention initiative for the nonprofit organization Population Services International.

Providing technical assistance to over 60 country offices, Roberts develops international communications strategies by initiating relationships with corporations, media and celebrities.

Since joining PSI in 1999, Kate Roberts has used cause marketing to secure both financial and in-kind support for YouthAIDS from several leading corporations including Levi's, MTV Networks, Sketchers and other youth focused brands. Youth AIDS and its partner corporations work to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS and funding for PSI programs that provide products and services to young, low-income populations most at risk of HIV infection.

Prior to joining PSI, Kate Roberts worked with Bates, Saatchi & Saatchi where account management took her to seven countries. As managing director, she established the promotion agency "141" in Russia, Ukraine and Romania, provided integrated marketing communications and oversaw operations in Eastern European markets. Kate Roberts speaks five languages, including Russian, Dutch and Romanian.

Co-Sponsor

The Center of New Hampshire/Holiday Inn