Chris Collins, M.P.P.
Vice President and Director, Public Policy
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research

Chris Collins joined amfAR as vice president and director of public policy in April 2009. He is based in amfAR’s Washington, D.C., office.

Collins has spent more than 18 years working in HIV/AIDS policy and advocacy. He is the author of Improving Outcomes: Blueprint for a National AIDS Plan for the United States, which was published by the Open Society Institute in 2007 and, most recently, was a consultant on policy and communications efforts for organizations including the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he helped coordinate the Foundation’s Global HIV Prevention Working Group and reviewed grant proposals.

Additionally, Collins co-founded the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) in 2002 and served as its executive director for two years, leading the organization’s advocacy and development efforts. He continues to serve on the board of AVAC. He also served as chief adviser to U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on HIV/AIDS and health policy, a role in which he developed the first Congressional legislation designed to provide incentives for the development and delivery of vaccines against AIDS, malaria, and TB.

Collins is the author of dozens of publications about HIV/AIDS prevention, policy, education, and outreach. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and graduated from the University of California-Berkeley with highest honors.

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