The New Zealand AIDS Foundation's incoming Executive Director is aware the fact he is straight may raise a few eyebrows, but says he was hired for his skills and experience, not his sexuality. Shaun Robinson Shaun Robinson has an undeniably impressive CV and is well-equipped to lead a strong Non Governmental Organisation focused on the health and wellbeing of an at-risk population. Yet criticism is already mounting of the appointment of a straight man to the helm of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation which has a history deeply-rooted in the GLBT community and when the people most at risk of contracting HIV in New Zealand are overwhelmingly gay and bisexual men. "I can understand it will raise some eyebrows within the gay community," Robinson says. "That's perfectly reasonable. I guess the key thing is that the AIDS Foundation is not a one man band; it's a collective effort of everybody that's involved in it. It's fundamentally an organisation that is driven by those with the greatest stake in the issue of addressing HIV and AIDS, who are gay and bisexual, transgender, MSM and the African community," he says. "I certainly was not employed on the basis of my sexual orientation. Obviously I'm employed on the basis of the contribution I can make from my skills and experience leading non-for-profit organisations so they achieve their goals. "I mean, I feel very privileged to have this opportunity, I'm very passionate about the issue of HIV and AIDS, I am of the age that I remember when AIDS first emerged and how frightening it was. I was living with gay and bisexual flatmates, a rather bizarre flat, you know we had a wide-range of diverse people, prostitutes, intravenous drug-users, those were the sorts of circles I was in at the time. And so I remember it being very frightening and we were all very concerned about it. I regard it was one of the defining issues of my lifetime and I'm really impressed with what the AIDS Foundation has achieved and what Aotearoa New Zealand has achieved, compared to many parts of the world." When asked whether the fact Robinson is straight matters, NZAF Trust Board chair Alastair Cameron says what mattered is that the person who was selected could establish credibility with staff, stakeholders and people in the community that the Foundation serves, "those being the most at-risk communities – gay and bisexual men, MSM and the African communities. And," he says, "it was very clear to us after two interviews and talking to Shaun's referees that he has a track record of working with people from diverse backgrounds and delivering outcomes for those people. And I'm very confident that he can establish that credibility - can understand and relate to those communities – absolutely." Shaun Robinson was selected over five other short-listed candidates after an interview by the NZAF Trust Board and "key external stakeholders," followed by a separate interview by NZAF members, service users, staff and volunteers. "It was really important that we had a process that involved a range of people, not just Trustees," Cameron says. "It had to involve the staff and the stakeholders." Cameron says Robinson was the standout from an impressive group of candidates. "All the candidates were high calibre, I have to say. It was a hard decision, but Shaun demonstrated his capacities over and above the other candidates. "We really are delighted. Shaun is an incredibly exciting appointment. He's going to be a really inspirational leader." On religion Robinson has been the CEO of Presbyterian Support Services on the East Coast and the president of the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services. He says while spirituality is very important to him, he is not a fan of organised religion. He says his spirituality is based on a mystical sense that all life is connected and all life is of value. "I guess some of my sense of social justice comes from when I see things diminishing the value of life ... I become incensed really at the injustice of that. That offends my spirituality," he says. "I come from a Christian background and I guess that's where a lot of that comes from. But that doesn't necessarily have to be labelled Christian. Certainly I am appalled at much of the bigotry that happens in the name of Christianity, particularly the homophobia. Take the position of the Presbyterian Church – it's quite appalling. It's not one that I support or that Presbyterian Support supported. In fact I haven't been an active member of a parish or a church for years, mainly because I find there's far too much bigotry in active Christianity." Robinson says he understands the questions about his beliefs, given what churches have been to the gay community. "There are people who call themselves Christians who have a huge range of beliefs and a huge range of sexual orientations. But I think the institution of the church has been quite despicable in its treatment of the issue of the treatment of homosexuality and gay people generally." "You can call me Christian, or non-Christian, it doesn't matter. I'm not concerned about labels. It's the fundamentals of my spirituality which are important to me." The challenge ahead Robinson says the next phase of the work is going to be really challenging, but he is confident he has the skills to be able to draw together all the experience within the NZAF, its partner organisations and individuals in the community, "to put all that together and address that challenge. And I guess that's my contribution – the skills to facilitate all that and make it happen." He says an enormous amount has already been achieved in terms of safe sex practice, awareness of HIV/AIDS in terms of advocacy to get treatment and services for positive people, "the interesting thing is that the world has changed since the epidemic first emerged in the 80s. We've got a new generation of MSM for whom it's not the sort of terrifying death threat it was perhaps for people who were around when it first began. Advocating for subsidised treatment has actually meant that the base of people with HIV has grown and as a result of that the rate of infection has increased quite dramatically since about 2000. So that's really the very big challenge, is to reverse that trend." Robinson says the NZAF's work encompasses a wide range of activities, from research through to service delivery, advocacy and social marketing, all of which he believes need to be coordinated together to bring the rate of HIV infection down and ensure the services which are available to positive people are really appropriate. "I think we've achieved the 80 percent, the last 20 percent is going to be more challenging and we're going to have to be more sophisticated and work in partnership more with the wider community to be successful." The new Executive Director is entering as a new Strategic Plan has been released and he believes the analysis and thinking behind it is very good. "As I step into the role in the New Year, obviously I'll be on a steep learning curve and I'll be wanting to get around the community and get around the Foundation and absorb and learn as much as I can," he says. "I think the success of that plan will be in the detail. The environment has changed. There are a wider range of behaviours, cultures, sub-cultures within the MSM community and we really need to think about how we can reach people involved in those different sub-cultures, who perhaps are not accessing the information and hearing the messages we've been presenting up till now. "So there's going to be a lot of talking, a lot of listening and a lot of trialling things and being quick on our feet to adapt if things aren't working. There's a very clear agenda of things we have to achieve and I'm very excited about getting stuck in to achieve them." Robinson says he is approachable and looks forward to meeting members of the gay community and hearing their opinions. Apart from meeting people, listening and learning, one of Robinson's first priorities is getting the message across to the NZAF that everyone is working together, "and everything we do reinforces each other's work. So research into the epidemiology and the sociology of HIV and AIDS in New Zealand, that should be really informing service delivery and social marketing. But equally those are points of contact in the community that should be forming the whole research agenda and enriching our picture of what's going on. So they're not separate things, we're all working together on the same issues." Robinson says advocacy against homophobia and discrimination against positive people, whether they be African or MSM, is all part of the picture and part of achieving the NZAF's aim. "So getting that message that we're in the same waka paddling in the same direction is something I'll be presenting right from day one." Looking at how the social marketing aspect of the Foundation's work is going is another area Robinson will look at early. "I'm very keen to build in an outcome measurement evaluation of what we do, from as early as possible within our activities," he says. "Because if we aren't able to see the effect of what we're doing then we won't know if we're being successful and we need to accountable, we need to be accountable to the gay community – and I want to build in some measures to say 'are we being effective or aren't we being effective'. That social marketing is an absolutely key plank of the HIV reduction strategy so that's going to be a priority." Robinson says he feels privileged and is excited to have the opportunity and is open to the community. He starts on Monday 24 January and will be welcomed with a powhiri. There will be an open meeting sometime in late January or early February where the community will be invited to meet him. Shaun Robinson's bio (provided by the NZAF): Shaun Robinson has spent over 25 years working on issues of social justice, social change and effective support for people in distress. “I have two passions” Shaun says, “seeing societies become more just, and seeing not for profit organisations (NFPs) perform to the highest levels”. Shaun's passions come together in his 15 years experience as a senior leader in NFPs. “As a young man I spent time travelling in third world countries and it changed my life. The poverty and injustice made me grow up fast. Then I woke up to the same issues of discrimination, poverty and structural inequality in my own country. Working in social services brought me face to face with this. It propelled me into work for change”. Over his 25 years Shaun has worked in Australia and New Zealand in a variety of roles from: youth and community worker, to counsellor, social issues advocate, policy advisor to politicians, health sector consultant, CEO of social and health services as well as various governance roles. Some key achievements include: Initiating a high profile national social justice campaign though the churches in 1993/4. Drawing media attention to the social impacts of “the mother of all budgets” via a range of research documents and media campaigns during 1992‐1994. Piloting innovative social services including: community development for disadvantaged older people, youth advocacy on marae based courts, social and educational support foryoung people on the verge of being expelled from school. Designing a patient focused structure for public health services. Refocusing Presbyterian Support East Coast's work with older people from institutional care to innovative community based support. Developing Treaty frameworks and cultural responsiveness programmes at service, management and governance level. These have led to many collaborative projects with Iwi organisations. Influencing significant increases in government funding for the NZ family support sector. Achieving significant increases in organisational revenues. Major fundraising and brand developments. Initiating an annual training on governance and management in the no for profit sector. A common feature of Shaun's work has been the measurement of results. "Sometimes in the NFP sector we think that what we do can't be counted, but with a bit of thought our impact can be measured. This is very powerful for improving what we do, keeping us accountable to stakeholders and gaining support for things that work. For the New Zealand AIDS Foundation there are many outcomes we want to achieve but one very big one stands out, reducing the rate of HIV infection!" Shaun has a range of qualifications including an MBA. "I wanted to expose myself to best practise management and strategy ideas so that I could use them for the really important work of social change." Shaun lives with his partner Kelli and their four children aged from five to 11 years old. He is a keen musician, playing guitar and bass in styles from funk to reggae and rock. He claims to surf “just often enough to keep it on my CV". Jacqui Stanford - 16th December 2010