Models and Mentors
Luther C. Brock, Sr.
Luther C. Brock, Sr., served as Director of Programs for the AIDS Community Research Consortium, one of Northern California’s leading community-based nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving people living with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C (HCV) until August 2003. Mr. Brock oversaw ACRC’s case management, food services, education and outreach, and advocacy programs, including a Spanish and English HIV peer education program. He is now President of ACRC's Community Advisory Board.
In 2003, Mr. Brock served as community advisor to first year medical student Jenny Dorth. Supported by a Valley Foundation grant , Jenny partnered with ACRC to develop a peer-education curriculum for community members with HIV/AIDS and/or Hepatitis C. At her invitation, Mr. Brock spoke at the 2003 Fall Forum on Community Health and Public Service, bringing the community perspective to the wide range of student projects presented at the event.
Prior to his position with ACRC, Luther Brock coordinated education and outreach activities for the Stanford ACTG where he forged a link between ethnic minority communities and Stanford’s university-based HIV/AIDS clinical trials unit. Mr. Brock is well known for his expertise in HIV/AIDS and HCV, and extensive knowledge in the effective use of cross-cultural education and outreach strategies. As someone living openly and honestly with HCV, his career path was also inspired by the loss of countless friends and loved ones who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS, HCV, addiction, and a life of crime.
Mr. Brock serves at tables where decisions are made about the health care of marginalized and under-served communities. He has given powerful presentations at local, state, national, and international conferences, including the International Conference on AIDS in Durban South Africa. He has been featured in newspaper articles, educational videos, screensavers and websites on HIV and HCV. He is a co-founding staff member of Free At Last, a drug and alcohol recovery center in East Palo Alto, where he worked with the homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics, dual and triple diagnosed clients and the incarcerated. Mr. Brock’s life experiences as a Vietnam War Veteran and former convict have given a voice to many who seek his advocacy.
Among the boards and committees he represents are the East Palo Alto AIDS Task Force, Leadership Mid-Peninsula, Brothers in Recovery, San Mateo County AIDS Program Community Advisory Board and the San Mateo County HCV Task Force. He was a member of the Program Committee of the Annual Conference of Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, a prestigious appointment given no other Afro-American community member in California. He was recently invited to serve as a co-founding member of the AIDS Treatment Advocacy Committee, where he co-developed a national mentoring program for ethnic minorities to serve as advocates in their own communities.
