By Eduardo Morales, Ph.D.–
In my over 28 years at AGUILAS—a community-based nonprofit serving Latinx LGBTQ+ persons—I have had the pleasure of working with wonderful, dedicated staff. Throughout this nearly three-decades-long time, four of them died with the most recent being Israel Nieves-Rivera.
When I first met Israel in the mid 1990s, he was a Program Director working to help youths in San Francisco. With his striking, youthful good looks and salt and pepper hair, he was a warm, approachable, and friendly person who was dedicated to his career in public service. Outside of work, he frequently spent time at Café Flore on the corner of Market and 16th Streets talking with friends. As we got to know each other, I was impressed with his interests and great sense of humor.
Since we were both raised in New York and from Puerto Rican families, we had much to share. In 1992, he obtained a B.S. degree from the State University of New York College at Oneonta and majored in social science and secondary education. While in New York, he was a high school history teacher and became active in HIV/AIDS work.
Given my academic position and research interests in HIV/AIDS, I obtained two research grants to compare strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention designed for Latinx and African American gay/bisexual men. I invited Israel to apply for the Research Coordinator position at the California School of Professional Psychology, where I was a member of the faculty. Luckily, he applied and was offered the position. There, we developed a warm and collegial relationship.
When the research project ended, a position at AGUILAS became available for Director of Programs and Operations through another grant I obtained from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC). We were able to work together implementing various HIV prevention interventions, training interns, and conducting many outreach efforts to engage Latinx gay/bisexual men with our program. His suitability was extraordinary in that he had knowledge concerning both administration and policy development. He was a member of the New York State Prevention Planning Council and Co-Chaired the Stimulant Prevention Task Force for the San Francisco Community Substance Abuse Services. While at AGUILAS, he was a member of the San Francisco HIV Prevention Planning Council and was twice elected Co-Chair of this Council.
In 2005, he left AGUILAS and accepted the position of Director of HIV Prevention Policy for the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), where he provided ongoing input for framing a National HIV/AIDS strategy. As part of the management team in the HIV Prevention Section, he helped to complete several comprehensive HIV prevention plans ensuring alignment with national goals. He was instrumental in managing the implementation of key CDC-funded initiatives for the SFDPH, including the Program Collaboration and Service Integration (PCSI) grant, Project Pride, and the Maven Project.
He was promoted to serve as the Policy Director for the SFDPH Population Health Division. In that role, he was the principal advisor and coordinator of Division-wide efforts to inform local, state, and national policy and improve the population’s health, with a key focus on reducing disparities and improving health equity. He collaborated closely with the SFDPH Office of Policy and Planning in this important work.
He also worked on cannabis policy and implementation with the SFDPH Environmental Health Branch when the cannabis business became legal. In March of this year, he championed policy work for the Environmental Health Branch and fostered the Health Commission to pass a resolution regarding refuse and garbage laws. On August 1 of this year, I received a call from one of my previous coworkers at AGUILAS that Israel had just passed away. I was shocked and deeply saddened since he was in his midlife and at the prime of his career.
At AGUILAS, we have lost several talented staff persons whose lives were similarly cut short during midlife. Jorge Sanchez, M.A., unexpectedly passed away over a year ago after working for many years as the Group Facilitator and Program Evaluation Manager. Jorge was a skilled ethnographer at the SF State César Chávez Institute and worked for many years developing HIV prevention plans for the city. Roberto Coto, M.A., was a Program Coordinator and later became a consultant who facilitated groups at AGUILAS. Julian Olivas, MSW, was a Clinical Intern who later became a member of the staff at AGUILAS providing individual and group interventions.
The contributions of these men are very significant. Their passings are tremendous losses for our community. We were extremely lucky at AGUILAS to have had them work with us. They were all dedicated, exceptional role models and collaborators. I cherish having known and worked with them throughout my career. May they rest in peace and remain in our memories.
Eduardo Morales, PhD, is one of the founders of AGUILAS, where he serves as Executive Director. He is also a Professor Emeritus and retired Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Alliant International University and is the current Past President of the National Latinx Psychological Association.
Published on August 25, 2022
Recent Comments