Tom Whitman
Chair, Board of Directors

Tom Whitman, one of OUT Magazine’s “100 People of the Year 2008,” is the premiere Los Angeles promoter in the gay community, producing more than 200 events a year. His promotions range from weekly events at some of West Hollywood’s hottest spots to some of the largest annual gay events in the country.

Prior to starting his own company, Tom was a producer and director in television and film for nine years, largely at MTV and Nickelodeon.

In addition to Tom Whitman’s highly polished, party-filled events, Tom has started a philanthropic side to Tom Whitman Presents (TWP) with his Gang of 100. The Gang of 100 is a group of 100 committed members who utilize their social connections to make a difference through various fundraising events for a variety of Los Angeles-based non-profits. The Gang has raised more than $600,000 in the past five years, benefiting organizations such as AIDS Walk Los Angeles, APLA, The Trevor Project, and many others. Tom has produced events for APLA as well as other local non-profit organizations, including HRC, The Trevor Project, The LA Gay & Lesbian Center.

Tom has been awarded the Heart of APLA Award and the Trevor Project’s Community Service Award, among others.

Tom graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA with a BA in Communications in 1993.

Craig E. Thompson
Executive Director

Craig E. Thompson joined APLA as Chief Operating Officer in 1997 and became the Executive Director in July 1998. As the leader of one of the largest HIV/AIDS service organizations in the United States, he oversees all APLA operations, including health education and HIV prevention, government affairs, client and community services, fund development, finance and communications.

Prior to joining APLA, Thompson was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) from 1992 to 1997. While at AHF, he played a lead role in establishing and operating Positive Healthcare, the first Medicaid managed care program in the U.S. for persons with AIDS.

From 1988 to 1992, Thompson was employed by Security Pacific Burns Fry, an investment banking firm, working as part of the advisory team in mergers and acquisitions.

Thompson received a bachelor's degree in political science from Washington State University and graduate degrees from the University of Washington School of Law and New York University School of Law. He also earned a master's degree in business administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Robyn Goldman
Chief Financial Officer

Robyn Goldman joined APLA in 2010 as the Chief Financial Officer. She is responsible for the financial operations of the organization, as well as its information technology resources.

Prior to joining APLA, Goldman spent five years at non-profits, including most recently as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania and as Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Montgomery County in Pennsylvania. From 1997 to 2002, she was the Executive Director of Ventures at WHYY, Philadelphia’s public broadcaster. From 1991 to 1996, she was the co-founder, COO, and CFO of NYT Video News International, which was sold to the New York Times in 1996. Goldman began her career at the CPA firm of Goldfarb, Whitman and Cohen in West Los Angeles.

Goldman received a bachelor’s degree in business economics at UC Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in business administration at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a certified public accountant in the state of California, inactive.

Jeff Bailey
Director of Client Services

As Director of Client Services, Jeff Bailey oversees the coordination of APLA’s Client Services Division.

Prior to joining APLA, Bailey served as the Director of Health Education & Prevention at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, overseeing a variety of evidence-based HIV health education and risk reduction services targeting men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women and persons living with HIV, as well as tobacco control and substance use prevention programs.

Recognized for his leadership in community planning, Bailey served as one of the community co-chairs of the Los Angeles County HIV Planning Committee from 2001 to 2005 and presently participates as a member of the Urban Coalition of HIV/AIDS Prevention Services (UCHAPS). Bailey is also a part-time professor at Cal State University Los Angeles in the Health Sciences Department.

Bailey received a masters degree in public health from California State University Northridge and an undergraduate degree in history from the UCLA. He also has a degree in physical education and a secondary teaching credential in social sciences.

Vallerie D. Wagner
Director of Education

Vallerie D. Wagner, M.S. joined APLA in 2007 as the Director of Health and Wellness Programs for the Education Division at AIDS Project Los Angeles, and became Director of Education in July 2008. She oversees prevention education and national programs and publications, and is leading the agency’s efforts to establish a sexual health center for African American and Latino gay men in south Los Angeles.

Prior to joining APLA, she served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Black AIDS Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Wagner was the Director of Education and Social Services at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, where she provided management for the Community Outreach and Education Department, Legal Services Department, Youth Services Department, Health Education and Prevention Department and the California AIDS Clearinghouse.

Before entering the world of nonprofit management, Ms. Wagner worked as an engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a member of Technical Team for the Voyager and Galileo Projects for 15 years. Ms. Wagner received her B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern University in Baton Rouge in 1981. She received her M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tuskegee Institute in 1983 and was the first woman to receive a master’s degree in engineering from that institution.

Ms. Wagner has been a strong advocate for the human rights of the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS for more than 20 years. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Jordan Rustin Coalition and the National Black Justice Coalition. She is also a member of Amnesty International’s OUTfront National Steering Committee.

Phil Curtis
Director of Government Affairs

Phil Curtis oversees the policy and advocacy activities of APLA’s Government Affairs Division.

Curtis is a longtime employee of AIDS Project Los Angeles. He joined the agency as a case manager in 1989, later worked as APLA's benefits coordinator, managed the agency's first return-to-work program, and joined the Government Affairs Division in 2000.

Previously, Curtis had a long career as a journalist, writing for a variety of newspapers, newsmagazines and wire services. For several years, he worked for PBS flagship station WNET-TV in New York City, where he was an on-air producer/reporter for the station's first nightly newsmagazine, The 51st State. He later served as executive producer of PBS's national weekly media review, Behind the Lines.

Curtis is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Madria Marshall
Director of Human Resources

Madria Marshall joined APLA in 2005 as Director of Human Resources. A seasoned executive with 25 years of experience in the field, she has worked in the health care, transportation, finance and consumer products industries.

For nearly 20 years, Ms. Marshall worked at UHP Healthcare/Watts Health Foundation in Inglewood, most recently as Director, Human Resources / Vice President, Personnel Services, where she managed a $2,000,000 budget and oversaw more than 1,000 employees.

Ms. Marshall has broad experience with union negotiations, recruitment and referral programs, compliance audits and management training. She began her career at Mattel Incorporated in El Segundo.

Ms. Marshall holds a bachelor of science from California State University, Long Beach, and a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix. She is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management and Human Resources Executive Networking.

George Ayala, Psy.D.
Executive Officer, MSMGF

George Ayala, PsyD, is the Executive Officer of the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (for which APLA provides administrative and fiscal support). He also holds a part-time appointment as a Research Psychologist/Public Health Analyst at RTI International's Urban Health Program in San Francisco, California.

A clinical psychologist by training, Dr. Ayala has conducted social science and community-based intervention research since 1996. His research has mainly focused on understanding the mechanisms through which social discrimination impacts health among gay and bisexual men of color.

Dr. Ayala is the former Director of Education at APLA, where he managed HIV prevention; capacity building assistance; community-based research; and print, video and web-based media programs for six years.

In his capacity as Education Director, Ayala helped bolster the agency’s HIV prevention portfolio, launch a series of provocative, community-based, award-winning publications and establish its nationally renowned capacity-building assistance program. He has worked in the nonprofit HIV/AIDS sector for 20 years.

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Gabriel McGowan
Director of Communications

As Director of Communications, Gabriel McGowan oversees APLA’s marketing, media outreach, public relations, messaging, and strategic communications activities.

He joined APLA in 2005 as a member of its Development team.

With the Communications Department staff, McGowan works to humanize and raise the profile of HIV/AIDS-related issues in local, national, and global media; leads the agency’s marketing efforts; oversees messaging and branding; manages its online content; and writes and edits a range of APLA publications and statements. During his tenure at APLA, he has secured prominent media placements with major outlets and news services including the Los Angeles Times, La Opinión, NPR, The Associated Press, Thomson-Reuters, and each of the region’s broadcast television networks.

Prior to joining APLA, McGowan worked as an English writing and syntax instructor at California State University, Fullerton and as a freelance journalist. He holds an undergraduate degree in race, class, and gender studies and is a member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.