APLA elects new
board members

AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the largest AIDS service organizations in the country, has elected two new members to its 22-member board of directors: Microsoft executive Michael Strand and event producer Tom Whitman. Strand also will serve as cochair of the organization's development committee, which is charged with guiding fund-raising activities to support the agency's $17.8 million budget.

"We are pleased to have two exceptional leaders and exceptional people join us as board members," said Craig E. Thompson, APLA executive director, in a press statement. "Both Michael and Tom have demonstrated major support for our work in the past, and we are pleased to welcome them to the board. We are confident that their skills, knowledge, and ties to their community will be great assets for this organization."

Strand is the U.S. enterprise sales director for the Microsoft Business Solutions division. Whitman worked as a producer and director in television and film for nearly a decade, predominantly with MTV Networks and Nickelodeon. In 2000, Whitman started his own company, Tom Whitman Presents, which produces more than 150 events a year. (The Advocate)