January Net2 - Kelly McCann with the AIDS Foundation Houston

We are really excited to start the 2008 year with a wonderful guest speaker!! Kelly McCann, longtime advocate and CEO of the AIDS Foundation Houston, Inc., will be speaking about her work promoting AIDS awareness, prevention education

She has done some amazing work, working city-wide testing campaigns through the recent Hip Hop 4 HIV 'Know Your Status' concert this year in Houston to travelling across the world working on global AIDS initiatives. This will be a powerful discussion, not to be missed!

A little bit about Kelly:
Kelly has over 22 years of experience in the fields of corrections, community mental health and HIV services. After working for many years for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, MHMRA of Harris County, and Montrose Counseling Center, Kelly joined the staff of AIDS Foundation Houston (AFH) in 2001 as Vice President of Community Resources.

Her focus on prevention education and continuity of care issues, especially with corrections populations, contributed to the agency?s status as a leader in the provision of services to incarcerated and recently released populations. Kelly served as Project Director for two important prison-based programs: Wall Talk, an offender peer health education program currently operating in 80 Texas prisons, and Safe Prisons, an innovative, peer-based offender sexual assault awareness program. In addition, Kelly served as an external consultant to the U.S. Surgeon General?s Call to Action on Correctional Health Care in May 2004.

Kelly was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of AFH in August 2005. Since that time, she has focused on developing closer ties with diverse population groups such as members of the gay community, politicians and policy makers, and African American church congregations. Kelly has also established priorities of testing and prevention, increasing community awareness of HIV especially among youth, and raising the profile of AIDS Foundation Houston within the city.