James L. Arnone
Chair, Board of Directors

Jim Arnone is a partner of the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP where he practices environmental and land use law and is an adjunct professor of environmental law at USC law school. Arnone's practice focuses on high-controversy real estate developments and local government-related disputes. He advises clients and litigates highly controversial matters implicating a wide range of state and federal environmental and land use laws, and he has extensive courtroom experience in the trial courts and the appellate courts.

Arnone is also an adjunct professor of environmental law at USC Law School, where he has taught since 1997. Jim has served on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section, where he served as Chair of its Land Use Committee, Chair of its Litigation and Insurance Committee and Chair of its Legislation Review Committee. Arnone is a board member of the Ketchum-Downtown YMCA where he has served as chair of its Board Development Committee, is a past board member of the Western Center on Law and Poverty and is a past recipient of the Wiley W. Manuel Pro Bono Legal Services Award presented by the State Bar of California. He graduated from Harvard Law School with a J.D. in 1990 and from UCLA with a B.A. in 1987.

Arnone was elected to APLA’s Board of Directors in 2005 and as its chair in 2008.

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.

Sona Chandwani
Chief Financial Officer

Sona Chandwani joined APLA in 2003 as Chief Financial Officer. She oversees the financial activities of the organization.

Prior to joining APLA, Chandwani worked in a strategic planning capacity with various non-profits, including the Austin Museum of Art and most recently, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

From 1992 to 1996, she worked at Arthur Andersen in the Assurance and Business Advisory Services Group specializing in financial services.

Chandwani earned a master’s degree in business administration from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. She received a bachelor's degree from UCLA in business and economics, with a minor in accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

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.

Joel Safranek
Director of Development

Joel Safranek joined APLA in 2008, where he serves as Director of Development. The Development Department is responsible for APLA’s fundraising programs, including individual giving, foundation and corporate support, events and estate planned giving.

Prior to joining APLA, Joel held leadership and consulting positions with a number of prominent organizations, including USC, Children’s Institute International, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, the California Community Foundation, the UCLA AIDS Institute, Being Alive, the Los Angeles Festival, CalArts and the Peregrine Fund, an international conservation organization.

Most recently, Joel has served as director of development for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and as a consultant, managed the growth of its planned giving and endowment programs. Immediately prior to joining APLA, Joel served as a consultant to the No on Prop. 8 campaign, working with the Los Angeles leadership committee.

Joel is a native of Wisconsin and graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin, where he went on to earn two advanced degrees, an M.A. in economics and an M.F.A. in fine arts. He moved to Los Angeles in 1978, where he began his career in fund development.

George Ayala, Psy.D.
Consultant

Dr. George Ayala is a consultant to AIDS Project Los Angeles on topics in HIV prevention and education. Previously the Director of Education at AIDS Project Los Angeles, a position he assumed in 2002, Dr. Ayala oversaw the development and implementation of nationally coordinated and locally driven prevention, education and evaluation activities at the agency.

He previously served as director of The Institute for Gay Men’s Health, a collaboration between APLA and Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) in New York City. Ayala has nearly 20 years of experience in HIV/AIDS prevention education with a focus on working with youth, people of color and gay communities.

As a nationally recognized prevention expert, Ayala is a resource to several universities and national prevention efforts. In his role at APLA, he worked with the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors to develop policy recommendations for AIDS directors concerned about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latino communities within their states or local jurisdictions. Ayala has also served as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health, where he conducted a quality assurance audit of an HIV prevention research project in six countries: China, India, Peru, Russia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Ayala has worked as a researcher for the University of California Los Angeles’ Center for Community Health and University of California San Francisco’s Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. He is currently the Principal Investigator on a project studying technology transfer processes with Latino community-based organizations and the Co-Principal Investigator of a CDC-funded, three-city epidemiologic study of black and Latino men who have sex with men.

From 1999 to 2000, he served as a Deputy Director at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy (OAPP). At OAPP, Ayala managed the overall operations of the office, including administration of program funds totaling over $80 million. Ayala earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology at Rutgers University and undergraduate degree at Cornell University.