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Home » Tribute for Dennis deLeon

Dennis deLeon in one of his many appearances demanding for more funds for HIV/AIDS.

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon as part of a teamwork to develop a national agenda to fight AIDS in the Latino community.

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Dennis deLeon and Bruce Kiernan, his lifetime partner for 32 years.

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon in a community forum with hundred of health educators that serve the Latino community nationwide.

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Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008 and Dennis deLeon in a public appearance to promote HIV testing in the Latino communities.

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon with some of the staff of the Latino Commission on AIDS posing in front of boxes of Oraquick ready for distribution during the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day on 2008.

Yanira Arias

Guillermo Chacón, Dennis deLeon, and the Speaker of the New York City Council Christine Quinn at the City Hall in New York receiving a proclamation in behalf of the Latino Commission on AIDS.

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon in one of his last public appearances to demand "More HIV Prevention"

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon and Commission's employee Leandro Rodriguez.

Yanira Arias

Guillermo Chacón, Daniel Leyva, and Dennis deLeon.

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon demanding a transparent administration of AIDS funds in Puerto Rico.

Yanira Arias

Karlo, Guillermo Chacon, Wilmer Valderrama, Rosie Perez, Dayana Mendoza- Miss Universe 2008, Lupe Ontiveros, Carmen Dominicci, and Dennis deLeon during Cielo Latino.

Chad Smith

Dennis deLeon in Reunion Latina, a conference lead by the Commission that happens every year in Albany and gather people living with AIDS.

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon posing for the lenses of Katie Bleacher and Dean Everard for the making of and advertising for the Commission's fundraiser.

Bleacher+Everard

Dennis deLeon introducing the Commission to a visitor and explaining the alarming statistics of the HIV within Latinos.

Yanira Arias

Ofelia Barrios, Dennis deLeon, Elys Vasquez, and Guillermo Chacon after a work gathering at the Commission.

Yanira Arias

Dennis deLeon celebrating his birthday at the Commission on 2008. The last one that he celebrated with his colleagues.

Yanira Arias

Emotional reaction of Dennis deLeon whose leadership is an inspiration to continue the fight.

Yanira Arias

The Latino Commission on AIDS mourns the passing of its founder, Dennis deLeon, a tireless advocate for social justice and one of the first openly HIV-positive Latino leaders in the country. He was a pioneer and a visionary, and in his lifetime he sought to curb and eliminate health disparities among marginalized communities. As a lawyer and later a non-profit executive, deLeon believed in bridging cultural differences to effect progressive social change. He pushed lawmakers to consider community-based approaches to public health, and stressed increased accountability and responsiveness on the parts of government agencies. Throughout his career he maintained a vibrant concern for all people of color, especially those communities ravaged by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. His loss is the cause of great grief and sadness, yet his legacy is worthy of celebration. Our thoughts and prayers are with his partner of 32 years, Bruce Kiernan.

Dennis deLeon was born in Los Angeles, California in 1948. He earned his B.A. from Occidental College in 1970, and became a lawyer in 1974 after attending Stanford Law School. His time in school was marked by leadership in undergraduate and law school organizations, including the Stanford Law Review. After clerking for a California appellate court judge, Dennis joined the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. as a trial attorney. During his tenure there he inaugurated one of the largest Latino employee organizations in the Department of Justice. Later, Dennis returned to California to work as Regional Counsel for California Rural Legal Assistance, where he provided legal services for migrant farmworkers in California's agricultural communities. more [+]

It was in the early 1980s that Dennis sought to draw attention to the health disparities facing minority populations. In 1982, he was appointed to serve as Senior Assistant Corporation Counsel in the New York City Law Department. Four years later, deLeon was appointed by Mayor Edward I. Koch to serve as Executive Director for the Mayor's Commission on Hispanic Concerns. The Hispanic Commission issued a report with far ranging recommendations for Latino New Yorkers. Worked with hundreds of Hispanic organizations in receiving testimony and recording numerous recommendations, Dennis drove a significant and unprecedented engine of social change in New York City, the ramifications of which are felt to this day. His visibility in the community lent credence and weight to his recommendations to elected leaders.

In 1988, deLeon was appointed to serve as Deputy Borough President for Manhattan, where he presided over land use and civil rights¹ issues. When David Dinkins was elected New York City¹s Mayor in 1990, he charged Deleon to serve as Director of Transition for a two month period, after which he served as Chair of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Under deLeon¹s leadership, the Commission on Human Rights assumed a new level of public advocacy for the rights of minority groups, spurring the creation of the Youth Commission on Human Rights, the Office of Mediation and Conflict Resolution, the Civil Rights Training Institute and the Bias Strike Force and Hotline. deLeon also intervened to address disputes in several communities, including those between Hasidic leaders and African-Americans in Crown Heights and Williamsburg, between Dominican-Americans and the police in Washington Heights, and between gays and Irish leaders in the St. Patrick¹s Day March.

Dennis¹ decades of civic work revealed a profound need for HIV prevention and education services for New York City¹s emerging and diverse Latino population. In September 1994, deLeon became President of the Latino Commission on AIDS, where he headed a broad-based community effort to respond to the needs of Latinos infected with, and affected by, HIV. Dennis greatly expanded the relevance of the Commission, growing the organization from a one-person operation to a million dollar multi-service agency. Under his leadership the Commission developed a national clearinghouse for AIDS treatment information in Spanish, the first and largest network of religious leaders offering HIV prevention programs in Spanish-speaking congregations, and the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day which has been adopted by over 200 organizations in 38 states.

Dennis was the heart and soul of the Commission. Seeking to increase awareness on the wide-ranging impact of HIV, Dennis served on a variety of boards, including the New York City HIV/AIDS Planning Bodies, Gay Men¹s Health Crisis, Housing Works, the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership, and the People of Color Coalition. Today, the Commission is a primary resource for elected officials, community-based organizations, government agencies, media, and religious groups looking at health disparities and interventions across racial and ethnic groups.

It is difficult to capture or summarize the breadth of Dennis¹ impact on the HIV epidemic. It is impossible to measure or quantify his contributions to minority health. The Commission is devastated by Dennis¹ loss, and yet will forge on in the direction of his vision, where someday we will all see an end to HIV.

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Media Coverage about Dennis deLeon

	"Dennis deLeon, AIDS Activist, Dies at 61" read article
	"AIDS activist Dennis deLeon dies at 61" read article
	"Dennis deLeon, ex-city Human Rights commish who fought for gays, people with AIDS, dies1" read article
	"Muere de León: luchador feroz contra VIH/SIDA" read article
	"AIDS Activist Dennis deLeon Laid To Rest" read article "En entrevista: El legado del activista hispano Dennis deLeón" read article "Rinden último adiós a reconocido activista hispano" read article
	"Longtime Civic Leader Dennis deLeon Succumbs to Illness" read article
	"Statement of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Passing of Dennis deLeon" read article
	"The loss of our friend and colleague, Dennis deLeon" read article
	"Dennis deLeon, Longtime AIDS Advocate, Dies at 61" read article
	"The loss of our friend and colleague, Dennis deLeon" read article
	"Latino Commission on AIDS head deLeon dies in NYC" read article
	"Dennis deLeon, Founder of Latino Commission on AIDS, Passes On" read article
	"Latino Commission On AIDS Head DeLeon Dies In NYC" read article
	"Dennis deLeon Dies at 61" read article

Dennis deLeon, AIDS Activist

Background Information

Name:	Dennis Lawrence deLeon
Born:	July 16, 1948 Los Angeles, California
Died:	December 14, 2009 (aged 61) New York, New York
Heritage:	Mexican descent
Education:	Law degree from Stanford University (1974)
Work:	New York City Human Rights Commissioner; President of the Latino Commission on AIDS.
Survived by:	Bruce Kiernan, his partner of 32 years