Christopher Hucks-Ortiz, MPH, is the Director of HIV and Clinical Services for the Black AIDS Institute (BAI), the nation’s only uniquely and unapologetically Black, “Think and Do Tank” located in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Hucks-Ortiz is responsible for implementing and expanding BAI’s direct service work and ensuring that all clinics, HIV prevention and linkage to care programming, and partnerships run efficiently and effectively. In this role Mr. Hucks-Ortiz continues to use his expertise in community-based HIV prevention and treatment research to support the development of culturally relevant and evidence-based services and protocols.

Mr. Hucks-Ortiz is the former Manager over the Social Services Division at the Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center CARE Clinic where he managed all of the social services programming to help address many of the structural and social determinants of health that impact the lives of people living with HIV or vulnerable to HIV acquisition. He has several years of experience in evaluating HIV prevention, treatment, and substance abuse programming. He also has a very strong background in the ethical conduct of HIV clinical trials for racial, ethnic, and sexual minority populations.

Mr. Hucks-Ortiz received a BS from California State University, Los Angeles in Health Sciences with an emphasis in Community Health Education, and an MPH from the University of California, Los Angeles. Within the HIV Prevention Trials Network, he serves as current Chair of the HPTN Black Caucus, a member of the Steering Committee of the HPTN Community Working Group, an active member of the HPTN Community Working Group, and is the Community Representative to the HPTN Science Review Committee. He also serves as a member of the HIV/AIDS Network Coordination (HANC) Legacy Project Working Group. In addition, Mr. Hucks-Ortiz also consults with other researchers to ensure cultural capacity of community-based research protocols for African American and Hispanic/Latino populations.