RIAA Honoree Asia Russell

Asia has been a leader in the fight against HIV for over 20 years, first as a community organizer and treatment activist in Philadelphia, and ultimately as part of the group who founded Health Global Access Project (GAP) in 1999, serving as the Director of International Policy until 2014. Asia is a 2008 recipient of the Keith Cylar Courage Award from Housing Works, the 2010 Kiyoshi Kuromiya Award from Philadelphia FIGHT, the 2011 John M. Lloyd Leadership Award, and an award in 2011 from The AIDS Service Organization (TASO), Uganda for her exceptional contribution as an AIDS activist.

As Executive Director of Health GAP, Asia is responsible for strengthening and expanding programmatic work, including in East and Southern Africa, while continuing to lead international policy campaigns that secure real change for communities. She is currently based in Kampala, Uganda, where she works with a coalition of local human rights, HIV, sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBTI organizations and other allies to win bold action by the Ugandan and donor governments on AIDS and health funding and policies, fight homophobic and stigmatizing laws, and to build the capacity of activist and other civil society networks.