David Lopez has been passionate about HIV and AIDS work from a young age. He started working as a volunteer at LYRIC in San Francisco at age 15. Later, he continued his AIDS education work at Project Bienestar when he moved to Los Angeles a few years later. When he came to New York City—after being inspired by a class trip to the city—he had only $1,000 in his pocket.
Quickly, he found a job at AIDS Service Center as a health educator, and then as a program manager for outreach and testing. Finally, he finally found his calling in program design, an area where he knew he could make a big impact.
While working in Hep-C research at Mt. Sinai, David decided to pursue his BA in Behavioral Health, gaining experience in a clinical setting. He came to Harlem United in 2009 as a program director tasked with implementing testing programs and climbed the ranks to Managing Director of the mobile-based testing initiative and finally to AVP Prevention, Education, and Support Services. Currently, David oversees the ATC, Harm Reduction, and Testing programs.
Fun fact about David?
He played football in High School. He was a running back.
