Jason Myers The new boss of the NZ AIDS Foundation is a gay man, an ex-staffer and an academic who until two months ago was a member of the Foundation's board of trustees. Jason Myers has a long history of HIV study and work and was employed at the NZAF from 2010 to 2014. Over that period he held a number of roles, including leading the International Development and Love Your Condom programmes. A just-released announcement from the NZAF says Myers comes to the NZAF with "over a decade of experience spanning HIV, public health, human rights and international development. He has in-depth knowledge of the HIV sector both in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, and has held representational roles in MSM sexual health and rights across the Asia-Pacific region. "Myers’ academic background is also in HIV. His PhD explored the lives of gay men living with HIV in Auckland. He has presented this work at a number of local and international conferences, and his research has been published in edited books and peer-reviewed journals." Myers himself says "excellent foundations have been laid by the outgoing Executive Director," and he is "looking forward to working with the NZAF Board and staff as well as all of our external stakeholders to bring NZAF’s new strategic direction to life.” “I feel deeply privileged to be given this opportunity and can’t wait to get started,” he adds. “The Board is thrilled that Jason has accepted the role,” says Board chair David Friar. “We face a number of significant challenges ahead, particularly given the increase in newly diagnosed HIV infections among gay and bisexual men in 2015. But there are also exciting new opportunities, as we supplement our strong condom message with the use of new bio-medical tools such as increased testing, immediate access to treatment, and PrEP.” “Jason has the skills, knowledge and experience to lead NZAF during its next phase, as we look to use all of these tools to end the transmission of HIV within the next decade.” Late last year Myers, who has been working for Oxfam, was elected onto the NZAF board but it is understood he immediately stepped down from the board when Shaun Robinson announced in March he was leaving the Executive Director position, in order to pitch for the top staff job. “The NZAF Board ran a robust recruitment process, which was led by Board member Michael Moore. More than thirty candidates applied for the role, and the Board interviewed seven candidates before deciding to offer the role to Jason,” says Friar. Myers will start with NZAF on 18 July 2016.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 27th May 2016 - 10:24am