Biographical / Historical
The World AIDS Institute (WAI) provides direction to AIDS organizations, assisting them in securing their own AIDS history. One of their core missions is preserving the history of the HIV and AIDS epidemic and the lives it has touched. The WAI motto is "Behind every statistic is a story."
From the WAI website: "The Mission of the World AIDS Institute is to document and preserve the global history of AIDS. As each day passes, establishing a comprehensive record of the fight against AIDS becomes more difficult, and more individual stories of personal devastation and triumphs of the human spirit are lost to us forever. The World AIDS Institute is dedicated to creating innovative projects designed to preserve that history. A substantial part of our commitment is to ensure the stories of those who led the fight against AIDS and the stories of those who we lost are never forgotten."
The World AIDS Institute (WAI) was founded by David Purdy and Chad Johnson. WAI's corporate entity, originally called the Friends of the AIDS Museum received it's 501(c)(3) status on June 5, 2001. WAI was re-launched on June 7, 2011--commemorating 30 years of AIDS (June 5, 1981 was the first government publication). Purdy, co-founder and chief executive officer dedicated over twenty years to educating about and destigmatizing AIDS. Purdy successfully fought his own battle with HIV while championing new science and technology protocols. During the 1980's Purdy led the global campaign to encourage the acceptance of anabolic steroids as treatment for the AIDS-Wasting Syndrome along with Dr. Walter Jekot, with a focus on hormone therapies using anabolic steroids. Hormone testing and treatment is now standard care for all patients living with HIV. Purdy also created the magazine NUMEDX covering nutrition, medicine, exercise and alternative therapies. The magazine circulated to more than a half a million subscribers worldwide.
Chad Johnson, co-founder, chief operating officer and general counsel of WAI during the past 22 years, worked in a variety of capacities, including work for not-for-profit, political, and legal organizations, to promote social justice. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Johnson served as a federal law clerk and later as an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLC. He served as co-chair of the board of directors of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN); acted as national general counsel for the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and AIDS PAC. In the 1990s, he volunteered at the Legal Aid Society of D.C. and the Whitman-Walker Clinic, Washington D.C.. Johnson served as the deputy national director for business leader outreach and deputy national director for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues for the presidential campaign of Vice President Al Gore. He was the executive director of the national LGBT Democrats organization, National Stonewall Democrats.
Reference: WAI website, accessed February and March 2012
