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President and CEO, AIDS Foundation of Chicago

Mark Ishaug has helped make the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) one of the premier organizations in the country. As the president and CEO of the AFC, Ishaug runs programs that serve approximately 5,000 people living with HIV and AIDS in Chicago and its suburbs.

"Every day, we make a difference. We support agencies that prevent new infections and we provide primary medical care and drugs to people that otherwise would not have that," says Ishaug. As a result of his work with various entitites, Ishaug said almost no children are born with HIV anymore. "This is a huge success thanks to one of our partner agencies, Pediatric AIDS Chicago."

AFC is participating in several joint ventures, including Dance for Life (DFL), an annual dance spectacular that brings together some of Chicago's best dance companies to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS.

"We've got to keep having events like Dance for Life to raise money, awareness and media attention," says Ishaug.

Through another AFC initiative, "Women's Collaborative," women who patronize their local beauty salons have the opportunity to learn about HIV, as well as how to protect themselves and their partners. "Everybody's got to believe that they can do something to end this epidemic," he says. "We need both the political will and the resources to do it, and hundreds of volunteers. There's no secret about how to end AIDS."

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago will host the AIDS Run and Walk Chicago on Sept. 15 in Grant Park. -tarin harris

If you're interested in volunteering, please visit www.aidschicago.org.


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