March 2002

Three New Board Members Elected

At its January meeting, the NEAC board elected three new members:

Scott BarnetteScott Barnette, a native of Wyoming, is a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Denver, where he is an acolyte and a member of the Altar Guild. Scott also chairs the Colorado Diocesan AIDS Commission.

Scott is currently a project manager with the Ryan White Title II Program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, where he works with AIDS service organizations, providers, and clients throughout the state. He is also a member of the Denver Ryan White Title I Planning Council and the Metro Denver AIDS Service Coalition. Besides helping NEAC during the General Convention in Denver, Scott also co-chaired the U.S. Conference on AIDS held recently in Denver. “The AIDS epidemic is far from over,” he says, and the Church must continue to be involved.

Christopher M. Haley-WaldenChristopher M. Haley-Walden, M.S.S.W., is director of development for the Minnesota AIDS Project, the state’s largest and oldest AIDS service organization. He came to that job from Episcopal Community Services, a state-wide agency, after also working with Minnesota FoodShare and with Jewish Family and Career Services in Atlanta. He is a very active member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, where he is president of the Wells Memorial Foundation, the principal philanthropic outreach arm of the cathedral. Chris also serves as chalice bearer, lector, lay pastoral associate, and confirmation class instructor. Like Scott, he is also active in the Diocese, as a member of the Diocesan Leadership Network and co-chair of the GLBT Ministry Committee. A native of Tennessee, Chris now lives in Minneapolis with his partner, Brent Haley-Walden. He has been active in the AIDS community for more than a decade, working as a Red Cross HIV instructor and support group leader; he has also planned a large retreat for people living with and affected by HIV.

Alfredo MacayaAlfredo Macaya was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, and raised between there and Miami, where he now lives, although his work as an interior designer, primarily for hotels, takes him throughout the world. He was received into the Episcopal Church in Miami and is very active in many aspects of church life at Trinity Cathedral.

Alfredo was a founding board member of the Episcopal AIDS Ministry for the Diocese of Southeast Florida. He is also on the board of D.I.F.F.A., an AIDS awareness and fundraising group for the design profession. Both of these groups, he says, have given him the opportunity to practice ministry to people affected by HIV—a ministry he looks forward to continuing through work on the NEAC board.