Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Program Coordinator Receives Highly Competitive State of Illinois Award for Work in HIV/STD Prevention
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2007
Contact
Jeffrey Erdman, Program Coordinator
(217) 531-5366
Lori A. Holmes, Public Relations
(217) 531-2927
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Program Coordinator Receives Highly Competitive State of Illinois Award for Work in HIV/STD Prevention
CUPHD Program Coordinator Recognized for Many Years of Outstanding Leadership in the Field of HIV/STD Prevention.
Champaign, IL – The Red Ribbon Committee of the 16th Annual HIV/STD Conference presented Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) Program Coordinator, Jeffery Erdman with the “Arlene Valentine Sustained HIV/STD Leadership Award” at the annual award luncheon on October 31, 2007. This award is presented in recognition of over 5 years of outstanding leadership in a community based organization or health department conducting HIV/STD prevention and/or care services.
“I am honored to receive this award”, said Jeffery Erdman. “This award symbolizes not only my personal efforts in the field of HIV/STD prevention, but the efforts of so many that have come before me. I am especially honored that this particular award that I received was named for Arlene Valentine – not only an extraordinary HIV/STD educator in her own right, but also remarkable friend”.
“I am so pleased that Jeffery was chosen to receive this award”, said Candi Crause, Interim Director of Infectious Disease at CUPHD. “Jeffery is truly committed to educating people on HIV/STD prevention. He is passionate that only extensive education can bring about honest acceptance and hopefully a solution to not only the stigmas associated with HIV/STD, but a resolution to the health crisis in the current MSM culture.”
Jeffery Erdman, a recognized evaluation specialist and behavioral researcher, currently serves as the CUPHD’s HIV Prevention Lead Agent for 25 counties in East Central Illinois. Prior to his tenure in Champaign, Mr. Erdman served as the Evaluation Coordinator, a Behavioral Research Specialist, and the Young MSM HIV Prevention Project Officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health’s HIV/Aids Section. Mr. Erdman and staff of the Young MSM HIV Prevention Project at CUPHD have developed a implemented a nationally honored group HIV prevention intervention for young MSM of color, “Very Informed Brothers Engaged for Survival (VIBES),” which has been submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a potential Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions curriculum, and which has been presented at numerous conferences, including the 2005 United States Conference on AIDS in Philadelphia, PA and the 2007 United States Conference on AIDS in Palm Springs, CA.
Besides these honors, Mr. Erdman has been honored with awards from the American Association for World Health and the Society of Professional Journalists, and he has been published in various journals and periodicals for work he completed as a research specialist at IDPH, Northwestern University and the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital.
For more information on Jeffery Erdman or any of the many CUPHD programs including HIV/STD Prevention, please call 217-352-7961 or visit our website at www.c-uphd.org.
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