AFC Staff Welcomes Two Accomplished Service Providers

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is pleased to announce the hiring of Alicia Bunton as its new Director of Care Programs and Quality Improvement, and Melanie Paul as its Supportive Housing Program Coordinator.    In her new role, Alicia Bunton will supervise AFC’s case management efforts, most significantly in treatment coordination and medical case management. She is looking forward to advancing the care of those severely affected by HIV/AIDS in Chicago.

Alicia Bunton comes to AFC from Jackson Park Hospital, a 326 bed acute short-term care facility and ambulatory center in Chicago’s South Shore community, where she was the HIV/STD & School Based Health Director. Bunton has been a direct service provider for people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as an administrator overseeing HIV prevention, care ,and education programs since 1997. Her most recent success is piloting an Intergenerational HIV prevention program for African-American women through their lifespan, funded by the Office of Women’s Health.

Alicia received her undergraduate degrees in English and Communication Arts from Villanova University. She completed her graduate studies at University of Illinois in Communication Arts. Alicia is a trainer of trainers for HIV Counseling & Testing and Partner Counselor Referral Services recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the Supportive Housing Coordinator, Melanie will oversee and work with service groups providing housing, specifically for formerly incarcerated men. She hopes to expand these efforts to include funding for formerly-incarcerated women in need of housing as well.

Melanie Paul comes to AFC after working ten years with the Christian Community Health Center (CCHC), a Federally Qualified Health Center and multi-pronged social service agency on the South side of Chicago. Initially drawn to HIV/AIDS advocacy and care as a result of her own diagnosis, Paul came to the Health Center as a patient and then decided to get involved as a volunteer. She then grew into a Peer Coordinator, working with other patients in making sure they were able to access the services they needed without difficulty.

Melanie has served on the Chicago Area HIV/AIDS Services Planning Council for five years and is a  frequent participant in AIDS Watch, the annualconstituent-based Federal HIV/AIDS advocacy and education event in D.C.