Dr. Stephaun Wallace is an expert in developing, implementing and evaluating major public health and human service programs in the areas of prevention, care and treatment of HIV/ AIDS and other infectious diseases. He is the Director of External Relations of both the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and the COVID-19 Prevention Network. These international clinical trials networks, whose operations are based at Fred Hutch, conduct studies of investigational vaccines and other agents intended to protect people from these diseases. Dr. Wallace leads the networks’ external relations strategies and efforts globally, with a focus on building long-term relationships with key stakeholders.

His strategies create opportunities for consultation with stakeholder communities to inform the design and implementation of the networks’ studies and to optimize the participation of those who bear the greatest burdens of HIV and of COVID-19. An internationally recognized leader and speaker in public health and social justice, Dr. Wallace has more than two decades of experience in sexual and public health, social justice, and community mobilization within diverse populations globally. He views public health work through a social justice lens to understand how population-level health is affected by structural and social factors like stigma, racism, sexism, historical trauma and inequalities in education and income.