About NMAC
Launched in 1987 during the early years of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States, NMAC is a national HIV organization that offers capacity building, leadership development, policy education, and public engagement to end the HIV epidemic among communities most impacted in the United States. We convene the Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit – the nation’s largest gathering of the HIV/STI workforce focused on enhancing access to HIV prevention including Treatment as Prevention and the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS – the nation’s largest gathering for community mobilization and public health education for a whole-person health approach.
NMAC’s Value Proposition
Leading the HIV movement: In May 1981, the Center for Disease Control released their now-historic Mortality and Morbidity Report (MMWR) that officially announced the discovery of the AIDS virus. Mapped over four decades of the epidemic, NMAC has led the HIV movement by offering pathbreaking services to people affected by HIV and those who serve them: access to technical education, individual and organizational skill development, political representation and advocacy training, as well as safe spaces to gather and grow.
Rooted in communities of color: Launched just six years after the AIDS crisis began, as a direct response to the ignored needs of people of color, NMAC’s approach to ending the HIV epidemic is a blueprint for how to unapologetically represent communities that remain under-served by healthcare systems. While focused on all people of color, NMAC’s data-informed programming prioritizes those communities with the highest HIV cases: Black same-gender loving men, Black transgender and cisgender women, Latine same-gender loving men, and Latine transgender and cisgender women.
Evolving to address systemic challenges: In 2026, we mark 45 years of the HIV movement. NMAC continues to pivot to center the needs of people of color impacted by HIV by responding to political challenges that threaten federal funding and programs that have provided an essential survival safety net. Simultaneously, as HIV treatment allows people to age with HIV, our whole-person approach extends to achieving optimal quality of life beyond attaining viral suppression.
Convening spaces for cross-collaborations: In 2026, NMAC’s 2 flagship convenings will reach milestone moments; the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS as the largest national conference focused on community mobilization will turn 30 in Anaheim, CA and the Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit as the largest prevention conference for workforce strengthening will turn 10 in Chicago, IL.
Over the decades, these two gatherings have become a cross-pollination ground for community, workforce, industry, government, and policymakers to advance public health practices to end the HIV epidemic.
Strategic Vision
Strategic Priorities
Our Work to End the HIV Epidemic
Community Leadership Development
NMAC develops grassroots leaders from within communities who are impacted by the HIV epidemic by offering programs, networks, mentorships, and digital platform visibility. Our initiatives are designed by the communities they are designed for, and our graduating cohorts consistently show up in positions of influence, demonstrating the sustained effect of growing leaders of color.
Meet our GLOW, NextGen, Gay Men of Color Fellowship, 50+ Strong and Healthy Program, and National HIV And Aging Network.
Workforce Capacity Building
NMAC invests in strengthening organizational capacity by engaging direct service/frontline workers and clinical providers to improve healthcare delivery to people impacted by HIV. In addition to technical capacity building, biomedical science education and translation, cultural competence training, and mentorships, our workforce offerings also build community to grow networks and leadership support.
Meet our Center for Capacity Building and join our Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit.
Policy and Advocacy
NMAC educates policymakers to protect HIV funding and programs, translates policy to communities affected by complex legislation, trains community leaders to bring their voices to Capitol Hill, and collaborates with national organizations to collectively advocate for public health policies that are intersectional and whole-person centered.
Convenings
Serving as platforms that integrate and encompass the spectrum of NMAC’s programmatic and policy offerings, the U.S.Conference on HIV/AIDS that focuses on community skill development and mobilization, the Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit which strengthens the public health and clinical workforce, and the Hill Champions Reception which unites policymakers and community, are convenings where people and partners from across public health areas can collaborate.
NMAC Leadership
Harold J. Phillips, MRP
Chief Executive Officer, NMAC
Harold J. Phillips is a nationally recognized HIV policy leader and public health strategist with over 30 years of experience advancing equity, access, and innovation in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In 2025, he was appointed CEO of NMAC, where he leads efforts to center racial justice and community leadership in the national response to HIV.
Previously, Phillips served as Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (2021–2024), overseeing the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and shaping federal policy to accelerate progress toward ending the epidemic. He also held senior roles at the Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, where he managed key programs including the Ryan White HIV AIDS Programs Parts A and B, the AIDS Education and Training Centers, Special Projects of National Significance and PEPFAR-funded initiatives.
