The LGBT organization Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) repositions Aundaray Guess to the newly developed role of Director of Communications and Development. Formally the Director of the HIV Anti-Stigma Interventions, Mr. Guess will coordinate GMAD’s marketing, media outreach, public relations, messaging, and strategic communications activities.
As the Director of Communications and Development, Mr. Guess works to humanize and raise the profile of HIV/AIDS-related issues in local, national, and global media; he leads the agency’s marketing efforts; oversees messaging and branding; manages its online content; and continues to blog in national publications discussing HIV/AIDS. In addition, he will be responsible for overseeing the private fundraising efforts for the agency. During his previous role, Mr. Guess has lead the agency’s social marketing ad campaigns addressing HIV stigma. These print ads have been placed on a local and national scale and modeled by health agencies across the nation. Mr. Guess will champion the current fundraising initiatives ‘Gimme Five’, Charles Angel Awards and the NYC AIDS Walk, just to name a few, as well as cultivate relationships with current and new donors.
In previous works, Mr. Guess founded Flayva Cabaret, a theatre focusing on LGBT people of color. He was one of the core founders of the Minnesota Black Pride. He writes articles for POZ Magazine and contributes blog entries for the national Huffington Post. And he currently sits on the board of two local HIV agencies, LAI Foundations and Haitian Community Council, and has recently obtained his Masters in Business Administration in Marketing at New York University. Lastly, he has worked in the nonprofit HIV/AIDS sector for over 10 years.
