Effective leader, strong advocate, consensus builder, astute administrator. Janice Hand is all of these and so much more.

With a combination of sophisticated business savvy and a caring heart, Hand has developed programs, administered services and been a constant advocate for people living with HIV and AIDS for over 20 years.

Hand was the Executive Director of the Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation when the AIDS epidemic emerged. She provided early leadership for people who were living a crisis within a crisis.

"People with hemophilia already had a complicated disease, and they were getting sick with a treatment for a disease they thought they had under control."

While at the Hemophilia Foundation, Hand became the Program Director for the Wisconsin HIV Primary Care Support Network, now a program of the Medical College of Wisconsin. Through the Network, Hand leads statewide programs to help women and children with HIV access health care and adhere to difficult treatment regimens.

As chair of the Milwaukee Ryan White Consortium, Hand directed federal AIDS funding to the greatest needs of people with HIV. Always a staunch advocate for consumer involvement, Hand made sure that people with HIV had a strong voice in AIDS funding decisions.

"It’s hard to think about the people you knew who aren’t here any more. There are a lot who have gone. That fact never leaves you. They remind you in very personal ways that you still have to keep fighting back against this disease."