AIDS Action
Committee of Massachusetts founder retires

Larry Kessler, who founded the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts in 1983, announced this week that he will retire after 23 years as director of the organization. "It is time for me to get back to my roots and work on the social justice issues that continue to drive this epidemic: poverty, violence, racism, and homophobia," Kessler said in a written statement. In 1989 the U.S. Senate nominated Kessler to serve on the National Commission on AIDS. He also served on the Washington, D.C.-based AIDS Action Council, the National AIDS Network, and the Harvard AIDS Institute. He will retire on April 30. The committee will dedicate its June 4 AIDS walk to Kessler. (AP)