Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor is a long-term survivor who has been active in HIV research advocacy since enrolling in the first AZT trials in the late ’80s. He is currently the executive director of the HIV+ Aging Research Project-Palm Springs, which conducts patient-centered, community-based research on aging and HIV in California’s Coachella Valley. 

Jeff has served on the community scientific subcommittee of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and as a community representative to the National Cancer Institute’s AIDS Malignancy Consortium, where he was a part of the HPV Working Group and the ANCHOR Study. 

He previously served on the Department of Health and Human Services Antiretroviral Guidelines Panel. Jeff is currently on community advisory boards for the CARE Collaboratory, the UCSFGladstone amfAR Cure Institute and the UCSF DARE Collaboratory for HIV cure research.  He’s also on the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition's Drug Development Committee, which meets regularly with pharmaceutical and Food and Drug Administration on HIV drug development issues.

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Steven Drew Aurerbach

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Steven Drew Auerbach is a recognized International Business Consultant specializing in Brand Marketing and Management for over 30 years and has brought numerous brands to the U.S. and global markets through his private firm.

Auerbach earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business/Consumer Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and has advanced certificates in international negotiations, importation, and writing. He is a published journalist and public speaker and has been a guest on National Public Radio. 

In 2017 Auerbach transitioned from private business to nonprofit and currently serves on the advisory board of two organizations focused on the health and welfare of the LGBTQ+ community. He has previously been on the Seattle board of The Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA), sat on the marketing committee for Venice Family Clinic/ Common Ground, and was an integral part of creating a non-profit foundation focused on hospice and palliative Care.
 

Christopher Christensen

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Christopher Christensen is a longtime health advocate who participated in a vaccine study during the late 70’s, and became involved with HIV testing, treatment, and educational initiatives since the mid-80’s. He became a member of the AIDS Hotline team, led by Project Inform, and created by Martin Delany.  In 1988, Christopher moved to Los Angeles, where he volunteered with AIDS Research Alliance of America (formerly Search Alliance) to advance the number of HIV treatments available to PLWH, and the National Gay Right Advocates, to help develop fair and equitable access to medical services for the LGBTQ community.

The bulk of Christopher’s career was with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In the ‘70s he was part of the Special Committee on Paperless Entries team (SCOPE), developing operational guidelines for Automated Teller Machines, and ACH payment systems. In the ‘80s, he led his division through the federal deregulation of the U.S. Banking system.

Christopher came to work for HIV+ Aging Research Project, in 2017, when the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), awarded a 2-year capacity building grant to HARP-PS. Currently, he is involved with the Virtual Village Research Project, and the RID HIV (Reversing Immune Deficiencies, which is a Delaney Cure Collaboratory, through the NIH. Christopher also volunteers in the community with PALS in the Desert (Planning Ahead for LGBTQ Seniors), DAP Health, and Palm Canyon Community Theater.

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Jim Ferguson

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Jim began a 28-year career working in the hospitality industry as a Front Desk Clerk in 1984. It did not take him long to develop a passion for hotel management as he quickly became a General Manager. In 2000, Expedia recruited him due to his expertise in revenue management. His first project at Expedia was to facilitate the integration of the Travelscape and Expedia Market Management Teams. Jim drove the creation of the Market Management Concept and built one of the most successful sales teams in the industry. At Expedia Jim co-managed the Lodging Team and lead them to revenue growth of more than 4000%. A defining moment in Jim’s career was when he was asked to lead the integration of Hotels.com into Expedia, creating the industry’s largest Internet Travel Lodging Team.
 

Jim left Expedia in 2005, and consulted with various Travel Industry ventures as well as Zillow, helping to design a best of class sales structure for the real estate company. In 2011 he co-founded Hotelmobi, a mobile app company. As a co-founders of Hotelmobi, he and his business partner created “Roomlia” a patented and industry first mobile application that Yahoo Travel called “The Hotel Booking App That Will Change Everything!”.  They sold the company in 2014 to Remark Media.
 

Jim Retired in 2016 and took on his most rewarding opportunity as guardian of his 70-year-old, sister with Down Syndrome. In 2021, Jim turned over guardianship to one of his siblings and moved to Palm Desert, CA where he lives with his Golden Doodle Ollie.
 

Jim joined HARP-PS in December 2022 as a volunteer seeing it as an opportunity to give back to his community.  Since, Jim has been invaluable to HARP-PS as the editor and creative force behind its newsletter and as a monthly volunteer for the Positive Life Series. He also sits on the subcommittee for Business Development and Fundraising. Jim was appointed to a newly created position as the Program Director the HIV+ Village Palm Springs in January 2024.

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