TAG to honor Dafina Ward, Keith Alcorn, Cynthia Carr, Tom Viola, and Joe McConnell at annual fundraising gala.
Contact: Natalie Shure, natalie.shure@treatmentactiongroup.org
New York, September 16, 2024 – Treatment Action Group’s (TAG) most important fundraising event of the year is the Research in Action Awards, which honor the best and brightest activists, researchers, leaders, and scientists whose work has been integral in ending HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C (HCV).
The joyful celebration will take place on October 17, 2024 at the beautiful Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk Street, New York City. The reception/cocktail hour begins at 6:00 p.m.; the program starts at 7:00 p.m. Allies unable to attend in-person can watch free via livestream or make a donation in any amount.
This year, RIAA will recognize five exceptional honorees: Dafina Ward, the Executive Director of Southern AIDS Coalition; Keith Alcorn, longtime editor of aidsmap, and Cynthia Carr, an award-winning author whose writing has explored queer culture and activism. BroadwayCares/Equity Fights AIDS Executive Director Tom Viola will be given a Lifetime in Action award, and Joe McConnell, TAG’s administrator from 2005 to 2024, will receive a Commitment in Action award. Each honoree represents the powerful change that one person can make in the fight against HIV, TB, and HCV.
The event is being emceed by sensational performer, choreographer, and TB activist Tamrin Goldberg, who’s also arranging a special musical performance for the evening.
“Our 2024 RIAA honorees have each played an important role in advancing TAG’s mission: the end of HIV, TB, and HCV pandemics through documentation, journalism, biography, history, and community engagement and support,” said Mark Harrington, Executive Director of TAG.
The first Research in Action Awards was held in 1997 with the goal to raise awareness and give visibility to AIDS activism and research, and it’s continued to be an annual spotlight on TAG’s mission since then. Honorees have included Dr. Paul Farmer, the late cofounder of Partners in Health, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, one of the discoverers of the human immunodeficiency virus, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). RIAA plays a key role in sustaining TAG programming and has raised more than $4.6 million since its inception.
Every year at the Research in Action Awards TAG releases a new Limited Art Edition, curated by TAG Board member Joy Episalla and created by a prominent artist. This year’s exclusive is a posthumous work: “Untitled” by David Nelson, an interdisciplinary artist. Nelson was HIV-positive and became involved with ACT UP in the 1980s and 1990s. He died in 2013.
Tickets and sponsorships are available and may be purchased on TAG’s website. For more details email giving@treatmentactiongroup.org.
ABOUT TAG:
Treatment Action Group (TAG) is an independent, activist, and community-based research and policy think tank committed to racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ equity; social justice; and liberation, fighting to end HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). TAG catalyzes open collective action by affected communities, scientists, and policymakers to ensure that all people living with or impacted by HIV, TB, or HCV — especially communities of color and other marginalized communities experiencing inequities — receive life-saving prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care, and information. We are science-based activists working to expand and accelerate vital research and effective community engagement with research and policy institutions for an end to the HIV, TB, and HCV pandemics.
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