This September marked 10 years since John Peller became President & CEO of AIDS Foundation Chicago. A dynamic and compassionate leader, John was inducted to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame last week on October 1, recognized for his career in advocacy and striving to end the HIV epidemic and homelessness. His leadership at AFC has been characterized by fierce advocacy, sustainable growth, a commitment to racial and social justice, and lifting the voices of people with lived experience of HIV, chronic illness, and homelessness. His approach is grounded in community-building through partnerships and engagement with diverse stakeholders and perspectives.
“I was honored to nominate John for induction into the LGBT Hall of Fame,” said Kim Hunt, Vice President for Special Projects and Innovation with AFC Policy and Advocacy, and Executive Director of Pride Action Tank. “I knew John for several years before I came to AFC nine years ago, and have seen him grow into his leadership during tumultuous social unrest and public health crises. John invests in people, and his leadership is evident in AFC’s relationship-building with partners and its growth.”
John began his career with AFC in 2005 as the organization’s Springfield lobbyist, and he achieved many transformative policy changes alongside coalition partners during his years in advocacy. Nadeen Israel, the current Vice President of Policy & Advocacy at AFC, reflected on John’s achievements: “One of John’s most impactful state policy accomplishments was leading a coalition that successfully advocated for legislation allowing expedited partner therapy, a CDC-recommended STI treatment method,” Nadeen said. “This policy change alone has allowed hundreds, if not thousands, of Illinoisans to access vital HIV and STI prevention and treatment services.”
John’s time with AFC coincided with some revolutionary medical breakthroughs in the field of HIV prevention and treatment. “When I started at AFC in 2005, the first one pill, once-a-day HIV treatment had just been introduced, and now we just take that for granted,” John said. In 2014, when John became President & CEO of AFC, the HIV prevention medication PrEP had just become available. “Today, we have three different forms of PrEP,” John said. “We now know on the HIV treatment side, that U=U...and that was new information in 2014.”
During this time of rapid medical advancement, John was guiding AFC through remarkable growth. During his tenure, the budget of AIDS Foundation Chicago has grown by over 60%. Since John started with AFC in 2005, the number of staff has increased from 35 to 180 employees. But's not just about growth, John said.
“[I]t’s not just about the money, it’s not just about the people - it’s about what we can do with those people and that money, and it's about the community partners we’ve been able to bring on who have been new contributors to our efforts to end the HIV epidemic and homelessness. New people, new energy, new ideas, and new resources that are helping us to end the HIV epidemic and end homelessness.”
When asked about his achievements as President & CEO of AIDS Foundation Chicago, John was quick to share credit for his work with the many others who have supported him and the cause over the years. In particular, the visionary, statewide Getting To Zero Illinois plan is one of his proudest accomplishments. “In 2016, that was just a glimmer in a lot of our eyes and an idea that a lot of us here in Chicago had,” he said.
“I pulled people together, leaders in the sector, and most importantly our community partners and people living with HIV, who have been in the room since day one, because it’s so critical to center the voices and experiences of people living with HIV as we work to end the HIV epidemic.”
Getting to Zero Illinois recently debuted a next phase called GTZ-IL Plan 2.0, which outlines the roadmap through 2027. The refreshed plan centers people living with HIV and draws on the support of elected officials, leaders in the public health field, corporate, foundation and individual donors, and community-based organizations.
John credits its success to “all of our partners and leaders across Chicago, probably 50 organizations across the state, and hundreds of advocates, who believe like we do that we can end the HIV epidemic by 2030.”
John also reflected on the growth of AFC's housing footprint during his time as President & CEO. AFC now houses over 2,000 Chicagoans living with HIV, chronic conditions, and past experience of homelessness. When John started in his role, the organization housed only about 500 people. “It’s in some ways a well-kept secret that AFC is as much an HIV organization as it is a housing organization...it astounds me every day that we’re providing stable, secure housing to over 2,000 people a year, most of whom were formerly homeless, most of them literally living on the streets and unable to manage their health.”
Peter Toepfer, Executive Director of AFC subsidiary the Center for Housing and Health (CHH), said “under John’s leadership, AFC ambitiously embraced addressing the social determinants of health as central to our work of ending the HIV epidemic. He formalized ending homelessness as part of AFC’s core mission and promoted housing within the Getting to Zero Illinois plan because he understood there is no ending the HIV epidemic if people do not have a safe place to call home.”
During John’s period as President & CEO, Toepfer said, “AFC and CHH added over twelve hundred units of housing to their portfolio while also accelerating the creation of housing across the state. This has ended the experience of homelessness for thousands of our neighbors, helped our communities be healthier, and moved us closer to ending HIV as we know it.”
When asked about his legacy of service, John said he hopes he leaves behind not just a stronger and better-resourced organization, but also a more racially equitable organization. He describes the work toward racial equity at AFC as ongoing, imperfect, and challenging, but also essential. “I recognize that as a white cis male it’s my role as a leader to set the tone for this work, and to say that it’s a priority,” John said. “If we can become more racially equitable here at AFC, that paves the road to confronting the racist systems that are driving the HIV epidemic and driving homelessness.”
Dr. Cynthia Tucker, Vice President for Community Partnerships and Special Projects at AFC, recalled how John worked with AFC leadership and local consulting firm the Morten Group to develop a customized Racial Equity Action Plan for the organization in 2021. “He recognized the need and stepped up as a leader, ensuring that we weren’t just drafting a plan, but actively implementing one with the preparedness to transform AFC into a better workplace and a stronger partner organization, leading the way in shaping equitable policies.”
“What hasn’t changed, that is just so frustrating to all of us in the HIV sector, are the racial disparities that we see,” said John. It is “deeply, deeply frustrating to me, and that’s the work that we do every day at AFC, to level the playing field and put in place programmatic interventions, but also policy interventions and policy change, and advocate for funding, that’s going to change that narrative. And that’s how we’re going to end the HIV epidemic and get to zero.”
John confronted challenges at AFC in leading the organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He described finding joy and inspiration in the efforts of so many to implement responsive services to save lives and support people living with and vulnerable to HIV, chronic conditions, and homelessness during the crisis. Community partners, advocates, staff, and leaders across the sector came together to put into place lifesaving initiatives to ensure stability, connection to care and access to essential resources. “We had just days to turn everything around...Truly, we were talking about helping people to survive,” said John. “We had just launched the HIV HUB, our partnership with Center on Halsted, and the HUB was able to really quickly put together emergency financial assistance for people who were struggling.” The HUB, an inherently flexible and responsive community resource designed for people living with and vulnerable to HIV to navigate care and services, distributed funds to help people pay rent, keep their lights on, and have groceries delivered if they were immunocompromised and afraid to risk a trip to the store.
For those who know John and have the pleasure of working with him, it is known that he has a compassionate, hardworking, and uplifting style. Simone Koehlinger, AFC’s Chief Program Officer, said, “John is a leader who walks the walk - he has tremendous integrity and works side by side with others to make a difference. So many times, I’ve seen him jump in to help, never too busy to lend a hand and support. John is very thoughtful, kind, and truly believes the best in people and our shared work.”
When asked to describe what motivates him as he continues each day moving forward in the work, John did not hesitate.
“It's the people around me,” he said. “I’m so grateful to former AFC CEOs Mark Ishaug and David Munar, who handed me such a strong organization, and to the Board chairs and board members who have entrusted me with the honor of leading AFC.”
Hear John reflect on his years of leadership here.
