From the tribute to Ron Rosenes by Brian Shackleton, Chair of The Casey Award Committee:
On behalf of the Casey Awards Committee, I’m very pleased to announce and congratulate Ron Rosenes as this year’s recipient of The Casey Award.
The Casey Award was was named in tribute to June Callwood, a founder of Casey House who said, and I quote: “If any of you happen to see an injustice, you are no longer a spectator, you are a participant and you have an obligation to do something.”
When our committee considered who should receive this year’s award, it was extraordinarily evident that Ron Rosenes truly qualifies – he lives and breathes June’s wise statement.
Recently appointed to the Order of Canada, Ron Rosenes is a long-time community volunteer, HIV activist and social justice advocate.
Ron bravely came out publicly about his HIV status over 25 years ago, at a time when the fear and stigma around AIDS were immense.
He has remained a stalwart volunteer in the community ever since, fighting inequality, and most particularly advocating for the inclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS in planning and delivering care across Canada and the world.
Ron’s involvement and accomplishments in the HIV /AIDS community are truly extraordinary.
To read a list of those many, many accomplishments would take a very long time, so I will skip to only the highlights: From chairing the AIDS Walk in the early 1990s, Ron went on to serve as Board Chair of the AIDS Committee of Toronto from 1995 to 1998, and was appointed as ACT’s first Honorary Director. He is a long-time member of AIDS ACTION NOW and a founding Board Member of the Sherbourne Health Centre, and has served in various leading roles at the International AIDS Society Conferences world-wide since serving as Toronto’s vice-chair in 2006. He conducts pioneering research with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, and with the HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. And if that’s not enough, Ron holds an appointment to the Ontario Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS to the Ontario Minister of Health. He also spent 14 years as Vice Chair of the Canadian Treatment Action Council, advancing treatment both in Canada and internationally, and continues as a member of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network’s Advocates Circle.
Ron continues his work with several research teams advancing understanding of diverse issues affecting people with HIV, including aging, the justice system, co-infections, the social determinants of health, and the ongoing search for a cure.
Ron has been a longstanding member of the Casey House family, and follows in a long line of exceptional Casey Award recipients. I invite you to please join me in congratulating Ron for this well-earned and most deserved award.
[Photo, L-R: Ron Rosenes, Brian Shackleton]