Executive Director - Gem P. Daus, MA

Arlington, VA

Tel: (202) 596-2436

gdaus@ncihc.org

Gem has 20 years experience in health policy, cultural competence and community-based organization development.  In September 2006, Gem was honored to receive the National Leadership Award from the Center for the Study of Asian American Health which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to improving Asian American health at the national level.  In April 2003, Gem was honored as a healthcare hero by the Congressional Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian and Pacific American Caucuses.  He is the author of two chapters on Asian American health (2009).

From 2000-2007, Gem staffed the Washington, DC office of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF).  In 2000, Gem was part of the team that organized Pacific Islander public health and community advocates into the Pacific Islander Jurisdictions AIDS Action Group (PIJAAG), which led to increased funding and technical assistance for the islands.  Gem also worked in collaboration with various health, immigrant and multicultural coalitions around the country.  He regularly testified at Congressional briefings and federal advisory committees, including Unequal Treatment, the Institute of Medicine’s landmark study on racial and ethnic disparities in health.  Gem managed the APIAHF Census Information Center, which provided data, technical assistance and training to community advocates.

Prior to APIAHF, Gem worked at the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), where he provided organizational development consultation to AIDS service organizations and state HIV prevention planning groups throughout the U.S. and territories.  He also worked with the American Red Cross as the lead writer of the National Faculty training for their national HIV/AIDS education program.  His volunteer work included serving as president of the Asian and Pacific Islander Partnership for Health, a local health promotion and advocacy organization.

Gem is also currently the Filipino American Studies professor for the University of Maryland-College Park, Asian American Studies Program.  He developed two courses which allow students to explore history and identity in connection with story-telling, community building and political advocacy.  The courses also promote documentation of east coast Filipino American experiences. 

Gem has a Master of Arts in Organization Development from Marymount University (Arlington, Virginia) and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Virginia.  He was born in the Philippines, grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and currently resides in Arlington, Virginia.  In his spare time, he plays soccer, dances hula and reads science fiction.