It Takes a Village to Stop HIV

 The Visionary

A former television producer and assistant to President Gerald Ford, Mary Fisher travels the globe promoting awareness and compassion in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The daughter of a wealthy GOP power broker, Fisher made news in 1992 with a historic speech at the Republican National Convention in which she aimed “to lift the shroud of silence which has been draped over the issue of HIV/AIDS.” Of that landmark address, Norman Mailer wrote “When Mary Fisher spoke like an angel that night, the floor was in tears, and conceivably the nation as well.” HIV-positive for two decades now, the Arizona-based artist “fuses artistry to advocacy and passion to purpose” in her creation of powerful works and has tirelessly rallied people around the world with her messages of hope and urgency. She has served as an ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS as well as on the Leadership Council of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. In addition, she founded the Mary Fisher CARE (Clinical AIDS Research and Education) Fund.