World AIDS Institute Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Johnson, Chad (co-founder)
label: Creator
content: Purdy, David (co-founder)
topic: label: Topic
content: Homosexuality
label: Topic
content: Medicine -- Communication system
label: Topic
content: HIV/AIDS awareness
label: Topic
content: Medicine -- 1970-2000
label: Topic
content: Medical care
label: Topic
content: Medicine -- Research
label: Topic
content: Medical education
label: Topic
content: Medical innovations
label: Topic
content: Medical sciences
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, by the World AIDS Institute in February 2012.
creator: label: Creator
content: Johnson, Chad (co-founder)
label: Creator
content: Purdy, David (co-founder)
setName: label: See more items in
content: World AIDS Institute Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: The World AIDS Institute (WAI) Collection contains correspondence and publicity material of the WAI as well as educational materials, pamphlets, publications, and ephemera collected by them, "to document and preserve the global history of AIDS."
accruals: label: Accruals
content: The World AIDS Institute continues to add to this collection.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The World AIDS Institute (WAI) provides direction to AIDS organizations, assisting them in securing their own AIDS history.  One of their core missions is preserving the history of the HIV and AIDS epidemic and the lives it has touched. The WAI motto is "Behind every statistic is a story."

From the WAI website: "The Mission of the World AIDS Institute is to document and preserve the global history of AIDS. As each day passes, establishing a comprehensive record of the fight against AIDS becomes more difficult, and more individual stories of personal devastation and triumphs of the human spirit are lost to us forever. The World AIDS Institute is dedicated to creating innovative projects designed to preserve that history. A substantial part of our commitment is to ensure the stories of those who led the fight against AIDS and the stories of those who we lost are never forgotten." 

The World AIDS Institute (WAI) was founded by David Purdy and Chad Johnson.  WAI's corporate entity, originally called the Friends of the AIDS Museum received it's 501(c)(3) status on June 5, 2001. WAI was re-launched on June 7, 2011--commemorating 30 years of AIDS (June 5, 1981 was the first government publication).  Purdy, co-founder and chief executive officer dedicated over twenty years to educating about and destigmatizing AIDS. Purdy successfully fought his own battle with HIV while championing new science and technology protocols. During the 1980's Purdy led the global campaign to encourage the acceptance of anabolic steroids as treatment for the AIDS-Wasting Syndrome along with Dr. Walter Jekot,  with a focus on hormone therapies using anabolic steroids. Hormone testing and treatment is now standard care for all patients living with HIV. Purdy also created the magazine NUMEDX covering nutrition, medicine, exercise and alternative therapies. The magazine circulated to more than a half a million subscribers worldwide.

Chad Johnson, co-founder, chief operating officer and general counsel of WAI during the past 22 years, worked in a variety of capacities, including work for not-for-profit, political, and legal organizations, to promote social justice. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Johnson served as a federal law clerk and later as an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLC. He served as co-chair of the board of directors of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN); acted as national general counsel for the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and AIDS PAC. In the 1990s, he volunteered at the Legal Aid Society of D.C. and the Whitman-Walker Clinic, Washington D.C..  Johnson served as the deputy national director for business leader outreach and deputy national director for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues for the presidential campaign of Vice President Al Gore.  He was the executive director of the national LGBT Democrats organization, National Stonewall Democrats.

Reference: WAI website, accessed February and March 2012
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cubic foot (3 boxes)
phystech: label: Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
content: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. This collection is currently located off-site at Building 19, Garber Facility, Suitland, Maryland.
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1986 - 2012
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1266
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Audiovisual materials
label: Type
content: Ephemera
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Memorabilia
label: Type
content: Magazines (periodicals)
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged into five series.

Series 1, Correspondence, 2001, undated

Series 2, World AIDS Institute Publicity Materials, 2012, undated

Series 3, Teaching Materials, 1987-1993, undated

Series 4, Publications, 1986-1996

Series 5, Audiovisual, 1999
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archives specialist, February 2012; supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Audiovisual materials
label: Genre/Form
content: Ephemera -- 21st century
label: Genre/Form
content: Ephemera -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Memorabilia -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The World AIDS Institute Collection contains correspondence and publicity material of the WAI as well as their collection of educational material, pamphlets, publications, and ephemera.

This collection is arranged into five series.

Series 1, Correspondence, 2001, undated, contains correspondence related to WAI as well as the HIV and AIDS community. It includes correspondence between the White House and  DECAIDS, a committee created to fund a proposed AIDS Museum. It also includes a copy of a 2001 letter from George W. Bush to the HIV and AIDS community that was published in Numedx.

Series 2, World AIDS Institute Publicity Materials, 2012, undated, contains materials generated by WAI in support of their mission.  These include programs, fundraising materials, bookmarks, and a publicity brochure for the AIDS 2012 Reunion.

Series 3, Teaching Materials, 1987-1993, undated, contains material expressly developed to teach about HIV and AIDS, including teaching aids for junior high and high school from a variety of sources.

Series 4, Publications, 1986-1996

Series 5, Audiovisual, 1999
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center

John Manuel Andriotte Victory Deferred Collection, 1901-2008, undated (AC1128)

Division of Science, Medicine, and Society, HIV and AIDS Reference Collection, 1979-2006, undated (AC1134)

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Collection, 1942-2012, undated (AC1146)

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Records, 1877-2009, undated (AC1282)

Helping People with AIDS Records, 1989-2004, undated (AC1283)