Jamila Shipp Appointed New Executive Director of CALPEP

OAKLAND, Calif., April 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of the Californian Prostitutes Education Project (CALPEP) announces that Jamila Shipp has been appointed Executive Director of the agency. She will succeed CALPEP's co-founder, Gloria Lockett, who is retiring after 35 years of service at the end of May 2019.

Jamila Shipp is Oakland born and bred, and is a highly respected leader in the field of public health, particularly on issues related to HIV and community capacity-building, both in the Bay Area and across the United States. She began her public health career at CALPEP and comes to the agency from the Asian Pacific Islander Health Forum. Gloria Lockett will support Jamila's transition over the coming months.

Professor Ben Bowser, Chair of CALPEP, said, "After an extensive search process that began last September, we are excited to announce Jamila's appointment. She is an exceptional leader, and the entire Board looks forward to supporting her as she leads CALPEP in providing urgently-needed HIV services to marginalized communities of color in the East Bay."

Jamilla Shipp, incoming Executive Director of CALPEP, said, "I am honored to be appointed Executive Director of CALPEP. I am dedicated to working with CALPEP's Board and its outstanding, professional staff to build on the legacy of Gloria Lockett, one of nation's greatest AIDS leaders. We will be unwavering in our continued commitment to one-on-one outreach with hard-to-reach African American and Latino women, youth and men who have sex with men, communities that continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV."

Gloria Lockett, retiring Executive Director of CALPEP, said, "I am absolutely thrilled that Jamila has been appointed to be the new Executive Director of CALPEP. She is one of our own, began her career in the community here, and is going to lead CALPEP as it addresses the related issues of HIV, health access and social justice into the next decade and beyond."

www.calpep.org

Notes for Editors

About CALPEP
Founded in 1984, The California Prostitutes Education Project was one of the first HIV education, prevention and street outreach organizations in the country. Its initial focus was prostitutes and their sexual partners including transgender individuals. Since 1990, it evolved with HIV science to a high impact approach, including:

• Street based/mobile and rapid HIV and other testing and specimen collection
• Evidence Based Approach through research, evaluation and quality assurance
• Focus on Getting HIV Positive Individuals into treatment and reduce transmission from HIV positive to HIV negative partners
• Shift to Prevention with HIV positive individuals through Linkage to Care and Drug Treatment
• Expand information and access to biomedical and behavioral prevention strategies, particularly Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

CALPEP's philosophy is "Each one, teach one" - provide accessible health education to reduce sexual risk, prevent disease, link individuals to health care, treatment and support services. We respect both language and culture of those we serve.

About Jamila Shipp
Jamila is a visionary leader bringing over 17 years of experience in establishing operational optimization HIV and care in local and national programs with social justice framework. Recognized for talents in strategy development and providing forward?thinking particularly in the African American and other underserved communities. She comes to CALPEP from the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum. She began her career at the Alameda Health Consortium working with Ryan White Part B grantees in Alameda County.  She was the first youth Co-Chair for the California Planning Group. From 2006 to 2014, she worked at CALPEP as program manager, HIV testing counsellor and youth advocate.  She holds a Master of Public Health degree from San Francisco State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

About Gloria Lockett
Gloria is one of the original co-founders of CALPEP, and is an internationally respected figure in the AIDS response in the US and internationally. She has been Executive Director for 35 years. She is retiring at the end of May 2019. She is co-host and a regular contributor to the health and human rights podcast www.ashotinthearmpodcast.com

About CALPEP's Board and Executive Search Committee
The Board of CALPEP is chaired by Professor Ben Bowser, Professor Emeritus, Cal State East Bay, Department of Sociology and Social Services. He led the Search Committee for the new Executive Director, with Dr. Barbara Green-Ajufo, (Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco), Ben Plumley (Founder, Hunuvat Global), and Gloria Lockett, CALPEP Executive Director.

SOURCE CAL-PEP