Lee Storrow is the Executive Director for the North Carolina AIDS Action Network. Previously, Lee was the managing director of the North Carolina Alliance for Health, and he now serves on the board of directors of the National AIDS Housing Coalition. Lee’s work as an advocate for people living with HIV puts him at the center of LGBTQ health and rights advocacy – since so many people who live with HIV are a part of the LGBTQ community. A disproportionate number of new cases of HIV are concentrated in the Southeast, including many in North Carolina.

Lee knows that fighting for LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections is one critical component of protecting people living with HIV. “When someone living with HIV loses their job, it can mean losing health insurance they need for critical treatment of the disease,” he said. “Treatments exist now that are able to suppress the virus to the extent that it is un-transmittable to others. This means that people who are HIV positive can date and have long-term relationships with people who are HIV negative without fear of transmitting the virus. This is a significant public health benefit that depends on people having consistent daily access to medication. When someone with HIV is fired from their job and stripped of health insurance, the consequences are severe and far reaching.”