Man on Top

Meet new AIDS Service Foundation executive director, Phillip Yaeger

BY JAMES F. MILLS

Phillip Yaeger, the new executive director of Orange County's AIDS Service Foundation, literally worked his way to the top. The 46-year-old, Georgia-born, La Mirada-raised Yaeger started with ASF as a volunteer in 1993 and has held 10 different positions there before moving into the top slot last month.

His involvement started when a family friend died of what appeared to him to be AIDS, but no one spoke of it. “The family had dealt with this in private and because of the stigma we weren't allowed to reach out to them,” Yaeger recalled during a recent phone interview. “That bothered me so much. I wanted to do something to help. So, I picked up the phone and dialed information, asking for an organization that had something to do with AIDS. Through a couple of different phone calls, I was connected with ASF.”

After a few months of volunteering, he came on staff part time as coordinator of their food pantry. And over the years he's tackled many other positions, the most recent being director of support services where he oversaw health education and prevention services as well as auxiliary services (which includes nutrition, transportation, housing, and volunteer services).

With such extensive experience within an agency that has a $6 million annual budget and 55 fulltime employees, one might think he's got lots of ideas for changes, but he doesn't. “I don't know that there is anything particular that I'm going to be doing differently because Alan [Witchey, the previous ASF executive director] did such a great job,” he says. “The community was happy with the work that he did, the staff was happy, the board was happy.”

The only real change he plans is keeping the agency “ahead of the curve” as the HIV/AIDS epidemic evolves. He wants to address substance abuse better since so many new HIV cases are being tied to unsafe sex while using crystal meth. And with more Latinos and people of color getting infected, he hopes to expand prevention efforts into those communities.

Even though the epidemic is evolving, he wants the gay community to stay involved, to continue to advocate for funding and adequate care. “We really need to make sure we're educating young gay men who perhaps haven't seen the devastation that AIDS wreaked on our community. I think sometimes there is an idea that this is a just a simple pill-a-day disease that they can easily manage. There's a lot more that goes [with] being HIV-positive than just a pill a day.”

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Boogie down on roller skates

Skate the night away to retro disco tunes as MPower OC hosts its 2nd annual Roller Disco. “Ever since we did the first one last fall, people have been asking us to do it again,” says MPower outreach coordinator Anthony Malek. “It's a totally free event. We provide the skates and the food. And if people want to wear retro attire, that's even better. We'll have a costume contest if enough people come dressed up.” Roller Boogie is Monday, Aug. 4, 8:30-11:30 p.m. at Holiday Skate Center, 175 N. Wayfield, City of Orange. The Roller Disco, like all MPower events, is aimed at gay and bisexual men ages 18-29. For more information, call 714/327-0273 or log onto www.myspace.com/mpoweroc.

Twyla Tharp's new ballet comes to West Coast

Fresh from its world premiere at New York's Metropolitan Opera House in June, American Ballet Theatre's Rabbit and Rogue has its West Coast debut at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, which co-commissioned the work. A collaboration between legendary, Tony Award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp and Hollywood composer Danny Elfman, Rabbit and Rogue was hailed as “a playful, complex whirl” by the New York Times. It's paired with a revival of the classical ballet Etudes by Danish choreographer Harald Landers. Shows are Aug. 6-10. For more information and tickets, call 714/556-2787 or log onto www.ocpac.org.

Transgender rights workshop

The Center OC hosts a special transgender Know Your Rights workshop focusing on health care on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Facilitated by Danielle Castro of San Francisco's Transgender Law Center, the workshop will address the special concerns transgender patients have and explain their legal rights. “Many transgender people are still apprehensive about disclosing their transgender status or full medical history to health care providers,” says program coordinator Esther Wang. “We hope this workshop will empower them.” The workshop and a buffet luncheon afterwards are both free, but reservations are required. Participants are welcome to bring a friend/partner with them. To RSVP, contact Wang at 714/534-0862, ext. 105, or esther@thecenteroc.org.

Drag queen Tupperware Party

It's an outrageous, laugh-filled party when drag queen Dixie demonstrates all the advantages of Tupperware storage containers. Shanti Orange County is hosting a Tupperware Party featuring the Long Beach-based Dixie in her last local appearance before leaving on a national tour. “Dixie's parties [are] a scream,” says Shanti executive director Sarah Kasman. “She's the top Tupperware salesperson in the county and once you've attended one of her parties, you'll understand why.” The party is Saturday, Aug. 9, from 1-4 p.m. at Tia Juana's Long Bar and Grill, 14988 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine. $10 admission. For tickets, call 949/452-0888 or log onto www.shantioc.org.