On June 30, Ron Nunziato will serve his last day of a 10-year stretch as board chair of local HIV/AIDS agency Vital Bridges, which was formed several years ago as the result of a merger between Open Hand Chicago, Community Response and HIVCO. Windy City Times recently spoke with Nunziato about his tenure, Vital Bridges and future prospects.
Windy City Times: I understand that your tenure was supposed to be seven years.
Ron Nunziato: According to the Vital Bridges board bylaws, there is a seven-year tenure; it provides the opportunities for new blood. The problem with my tenure is that I came from the Open Hand side, and when Open Hand, Community Response and HIVCO merged, I was in my third year. When we merged into Vital Bridges, the clock went back to zeroso it was three years with Open Hand and Vital Bridges with seven.
WCT: So what are your feelings as your tenure ends? Are they bittersweet? Is there some feeling of relief?
RN: It's sadnot for the organization, because I feel that's in good hands with focused people like [ President/CEO ] Debbie Hindebecause it's been a big part of my life for the past 10 years. But there's also some relief. I feel like I can do something different now; I don't have the challenges that exist with that type of position in this type of environment, meaning AIDS.
WCT: Will you be connected with Vital Bridges in any way?
RN: I'm not sure what I'll do. Some part of my brain says that I've been working in the AIDS arena for 25 years now, even though my tenure at Howard Brown [ which was before Open Hand/Vital Bridges ] wasn't just about AIDS, although AIDS had just hit Chicago. I feel that I want to do something different. I feel that I want to do something ... gay. [ Both laugh. ] We'll see.
WCT: Did you think 25 years ago that we'd still be talking about AIDS this wayno cure, etc.?
RN: [ Shakes head ] No. It's sad; it really is. The disease has progressed and it's no longer a front-burner issue. When you talk with people in their teens or 20s about AIDS, it's almost as though it's a chronic disease, like diabetes. People feel like it's much more manageable and it's not the death sentence it was. But it's still a debilitating illness that can rise and fall at different levels.
So 25 years later, we're looking at decreased funding, from the government and privately. You look at the gay community, which was Open Hand's primary source of funding; now you have human rights, marriage equality, the Center on Halstedall sorts of different avenues pulling for dollars. It challenges an agency like Vital Bridges.
WCT: Do you see more HIV/AIDS agencies merging in the future?
RN: I do. I think the merger that we did was a great process for the industry as well as the three organizations, and I think there will probably be more mergers coming forth. That said, I also think that there are avenues that some AIDS organizations need to pursue. For instance, with Vital Bridges, we're looking at our client base and other co-morbidity issues and diseases [ thinking ] we might need to create a different service menu of programs. And I want to be clear on this: We won't be taking dollars raised for AIDS and using them for something else. We could find money out there to support us looking at a hypertension study for our clients, for example. Could we take what we've learned over the years of serving this population and spin it into other chronic disease states? Would that provide our clients with more services?
WCT: You've no doubt heard about the situation at Howard Brown, especially concerning the alleged lack of transparency. Are you concerned that it will affect other HIV/AIDS agencies?
RN: The transparency is a different issue for me because I understand the responsibilityand I think most people doof a board of directors. Sometimes, in these matters, they can't be as forthcoming as they'd like to be; there are legal issues, human-resources issuesa whole host of issues.
What I will say is that Vital Bridges has worked really hard over the last 10 years to ensure that there are checks and balances on what the organization is doing, what the staff are doing and how it interrelates to services. In the early days, for instance, the CFO signed off on the CEO's credit-card statementsand that didn't really set up a system of checks and balances, for me.
WCT: Also related to Howard Brown is the question of donors, and how they may react to giving to similar agencies/organizations.
RN: I think some donors are put off by things that come up like this, but I think it's fair to say that everyone who supports the mission really has to look at what they're supportingthe mission of these organizations to continue to provide their services and meeting the needs of the clients.
WCT: What will you miss most and least about being board chair?
RN: What I'll miss most is probably the involvement. That may sound silly, but I have a sense of a calling. I like to be involved. I originally got involved with Howard Brown and Vital Bridges because of the gay issue as it related to AIDS. Coming from a healthcare background, I felt that it was there that I could make the biggest impact.
What I will miss least is probably the fundraising aspect of being on a board. I have been incredibly blessed by peoplefriends, co-workerswho have been so supportive. But after a while you wonder, "How much more can I ask? How many times a year can I ask?" You just hope that [ the donors ] are getting something out of it as well.
WCT: What do you think is the most important thing Vital Bridges has done during your tenure?
RN: I think the merger was a very important thing; we learned so much from that. It was important not only because it served the sector but because it also served our clients. In the old days, you'd go to Open Hand for food, Community Response for housing and HIVCO if you lived in the suburban areas. So [ the merger ] made Vital Bridges one-stop shopping, if you will. It worked on the client level; it also worked on the sector level because it consolidated three into one; and, on the financial level, there weren't three CEOs, executive directors, development teams, etc.
Also, when I was treasurer, I created a board reserve fund; subsequently, we also created an operational reserve fund. We took money that was unbudgeted ( funds that came into the agency ) and put them in a reserve fund. We weren't taking away services and programs, but we put [ these funds ] aside so that in more difficult financial/economic times we'd still be able to support those services and programs. We did that as a [ response ] to a situation when [ one agency ] closed down and there was no notice; that resonated with me. If something did happen and Vital Bridges did need to exit the sector for any reason, Vital Bridges would have the money to transition well; our clients would be able to wind it down professionally and honorably.
For more about Vital Bridges, see www.vitalbridges.org .