Monique Tula Joins AIDS Action Committee as Director of Strategic Planning and Public Policy
Monique Tula joins AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC) as Director of Strategic Planning and Public Policy. Working with key stakeholders and focused on priorities to stop the spread of new HIV infections and improving the health of those living with HIV, Tula is responsible for the agency’s Strategic Planning, Organizational Development and Change Management and Community Engagement. She also drives AAC’s state Public Policy agenda, emphasizing advocacy for increased funding for HIV and hepatitis prevention, screening, and treatment; comprehensive sex education; and housing for people living with AIDS (PWAs) and those at risk.
Most recently Director of Prevention at Cambridge Cares About AIDS, which she joined in 2000, Tula brings 15 years’ experience in public health programming to AAC, and has received numerous honors and much recognition for her pace-setting work.
“Monique is a tremendous addition to our outstanding team at AAC,” said Rebecca Haag, President and CEO, AAC. “Her arrival coincides with an urgent need for non-profit organizations to work more horizontally and collaboratively across issues and illnesses to more effectively address clients’ needs and to erase their barriers to access to care and prevention programs.”
Tula holds a B.A. in Community Planning from the University of Massachusetts and is currently applying to the McCormack School’s doctoral program in Public Policy with a focus on Organizational Development.
Separately, Denise McWilliams, Esq., who joined AAC in 2004, is named General Counsel and continues to both direct legal advocacy and representation for AAC clients and drive federal public policy involvement for the agency. She represents AAC on DC-based AIDS Action Council’s Public Policy Committee.
Both Tula and McWilliams serve on AAC’s Senior Management Team.
AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is the state’s leading provider of prevention and wellness services for people vulnerable to HIV infection. It provides services to one in six people in Massachusetts living with an HIV diagnosis. These services include HIV counseling and testing; needle exchange; mental health counseling; housing assistance; and legal services. AIDS Action works to prevent new HIV infections, support those affected by HIV, and tackle the root causes of HIV/AIDS by educating the public and health professionals about HIV prevention and care; and advocating for fair and effective HIV/AIDS policy at the city, state, and federal levels. Founded in 1983, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is New England’s first and largest AIDS service organization. Learn more at www.aac.org.
