Back in January we shone the Progressive Lawyer spotlight on the The Center for HIV Law & Policy and chatted with Legal Director Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal. With news that Ivan has moved on to head the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in Boston (of which we hope to do a feature on soon) we thought it appropriate to revisit this post in case you missed it. Catherine Hanssens is the current Executive Director and Founder, Tosh Anderson is the Program Manager and Mayo Schreiber is the Senior Criminal Law and Managing Consultant.
This week we talk to Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal of The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) on the work they do to reduce the impact of HIV on vulnerable and marginalized communities and to secure the human rights of people affected by HIV
Progressive Lawyer: Please introduce yourself and describe your role in The Center for HIV Law & Policy.
Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal: My name is Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, and I am a civil rights lawyer advocating for racial justice, immigration and LGBT/HIV equality. I am the Legal Director of The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP). As Legal Director, I set legal and policy strategy, guide CHLP’s work, and supervise the organization’s lawyers and staff. I oversee CHLP’s legal and policy efforts across the country. CHLP’s website contains more information about our work (http://www.hivlawandpolicy.org/).
PL: Why was CHLP started? What issues does it confront?
IE-M: CHLP is a national legal and policy resource and strategy center working to reduce the impact of HIV on vulnerable and marginalized communities and to secure the human rights of people affected by HIV. CHLP is a national leader on policy development. We advise policy makers, lawyers, and community advocates.