As the President/CEO of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( AFC ) , Mark Ishaug has helped establish AFC as the Midwest’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization and Illinois’ leading advocate for people with AIDS and the agencies that serve them.

Ishaug joined AFC in 1991 as a policy analyst and worked as policy director and associate director before being appointed executive director in August 1998. Under his leadership, the scope and reach of AFC has greatly expanded, and its grantmaking, policy, prevention, and service coordination programs serve more people living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS than at any other time in AFC’s history.

Prior to joining AFC, Ishaug studied and taught international economics at the University of Zimbabwe in 1987 as a Rotary Foundation Scholar, and in 1989, was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Scholarship from Northwestern University for research on Mozambique. His work in Africa led him in 1990 to CARE International-Mozambique, where he monitored emergency relief efforts as the Assistant Director of the Emergency Relief Program. Ishaug has also worked in the program department of New York’s Africa-America Institute, the nation’s premier non-governmental organization committed to improving relations between the United States and Africa.

Actively involved in local politics, Ishaug served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1996 and currently works on several campaigns for progressive candidates. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his leadership on HIV issues, including the Hearts Foundation’s “Biggest Heart” award in 2004, the South Side Help Center’s “Leadership Award” in 2002, and AIDS Legal Council’s “Advocate of the Year” award in 1996.

Ishaug received an MA in political science from Northwestern University and a BA in government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame.