Pacific AETC Pays Tribute: Honoring Harold J. Phillips’s Legacy and Leadership, A Farewell from Prescott Chow

This week, we take a moment to reflect on the remarkable journey of Harold J. Phillips, the Director for the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, as his tenure comes to an end. Prescott Chow, our program director here at Pacific AETC, shares his personal connection with Mr. Phillips and sheds light on the profound impact of Mr. Phillips’s leadership on our shared mission.

“I met Harold years ago in the first decade of the epidemic, when we were both early in our careers in HIV. At that point, I doubt that either of us (certainly not me) had planned to be involved in this work for so long – you did whatever you could, in part because of the urgency of what was happening around you to your community. I remember being introduced by a colleague of his at NMAC, Ginny Bourassa, who said, ‘he’s good people’. An apt assessment, and prescient of Harold’s journey and achievements since then.

I reconnected with him years later when I started at the Pacific AETC – by that time he had worked his way up within HRSA HIV AIDS Bureau and later, became the Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). He’s accomplished big milestones (like the rollouts of the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, NHAS 2022-2025). It’s the details of that work, for me, that illustrate his biggest feat: raising the voice of community to be front and center, continuing to embrace evidence-based and innovative practices to end HIV, and prioritizing our collective need for achieving access and health equity so no one is left behind. I’m so lucky to call Harold a colleague and a friend. Thank you Harold!”

Join us in delving deeper into the narrative of a leader who has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV, offering valuable perspectives on the journey so far and the path ahead. Read Mr. Phillips’s article, Reflections from ONAP 2021–2024, HERE.