Onetime LYRIC Staffer Andrew Spieldenner Named Executive Director for nonprofit MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights

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Onetime LYRIC Staffer Andrew Spieldenner Named Executive Director for nonprofit MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights

23 February 2021 – San Francisco:  Dr. Andrew Spieldenner, who has been involved in HIV activism for almost 30 years, will become the executive director of the Oakland-based nonprofit MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights as of March 1. The San Diego-based professor, who said he got his start at San Francisco’s own LYRIC, wants to make MPact a premier destination for people looking to get involved in HIV activism, advocacy and political work.  Dr. Spieldenner worked for LYRIC 1992 to 1994 as a HIV Prevention Program Coordinator.

“LYRIC is proud to see former youth and staff excel being their authentic self,” said LYRIC Interim Executive Director Toni Newman.  “We are very proud of Andrew and wish him the very best in his new position as Executive Director for Oakland-based nonprofit MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights.”

“Thanks to LYRIC for being a place where young queer people can get jobs, skills and health insurance,” said Dr. Spieldenner in an email to LYRIC. “You’ve been a great start for so many of us!”

A longtime HIV activist, Dr. Spieldenner currently serves as vice-chair of the United States People living with HIV Caucus and as the North American Delegate to the UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board. Dr. Spieldenner has worked as a nonprofit leader and an academic professor for nearly a decade, focusing his research on the intersection of health and intercultural communication surrounding HIV and the LGBTQ community.

As executive director, Spieldenner will work closely with MPact’s staff, board, and steering committee to steward the organization’s upcoming strategic plan, and to identify new approaches to continue serving the global gay community. Spieldenner has a long history of centering the voices of the broader LGBTQ community and people living with HIV, as well as addressing sexual health and human rights through the lens of racial justice.

MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights was founded in 2006 by a group of activists concerned about the disproportionate HIV disease burden shouldered by gay and bisexual men. MPact works at the intersection of sexual health and human rights and is linked to more than 120 community-based organizations in 62 countries who are leading innovative solutions to the challenges faced by LGBTI communities around the world.

LYRIC is a leader in the San Francisco Bay Area offering safe spaces, workforce development, healthcare navigation, individual counseling, and group-based community building to marginalized low-income LGBTQQ+ youth.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, LYRIC has continued its vital work for LGBTQQ youth in our community. LYRIC’s mission is to build community and inspire positive social change through education enhancement, career trainings, health promotion, and leadership development with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) youth, their families, and allies of all races, classes, genders, and abilities. For more information and to make a donation, go to www.lyric.org