Pride and Prescriptions: Why My Work in Healthcare is Central to My Identity

As LGBTQ pride celebrations in the U.S. reach a crescendo this month, I’ve been reflecting on my life as a gay man—and I can’t help but be reminded that this summer marks 20 years since I embarked on a then-unlikely career in healthcare communications.

These two strands of my life are connected: I wouldn’t have the privilege of spending my days communicating the latest advances in healthcare and science if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m gay. I came out of the closet after arriving for college at the University of Texas at Austin from my small hometown in East Texas. In the tolerant environment of Austin, I was unreservedly honest about who I was for the first time in my life.

One of my more seminal experiences while attending UT-Austin was working as an intern at the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of Texas, where I cut my teeth writing press releases and crafting media strategies for both mainstream media outlets and gay community publications. Shortly thereafter, when I began pursuing entry-level positions at PR agencies in New York, a focus on the healthcare industry seemed much less exciting than other possibilities.

But interviewing with members of a leading agency’s healthcare practice, I was intrigued by the opportunity to work on a client account focused on HIV treatments. And the people with whom I interviewed saw my experience working with the gay press as an asset. They made me an offer, which I didn’t hesitate to accept, and I moved to New York.

I settled into the job—and big city life—and loved both. I found that supporting the work of scientists and physicians was thrilling, as was the opportunity to interact with some of the legendary HIV activists who had lived through the epidemic long enough to benefit from highly effective treatments. And I felt that I was contributing in some way to a healthier world.

I continue to believe that the advances in HIV treatment demonstrate the best of what is possible when the biopharmaceutical industry focuses on big problems and innovates relentlessly. Today, we have multiple drug regimens for HIV that work remarkably well and are both very tolerable and easy to take. A number of different strategies to provide a functional cure for HIV are in development. And we even have medicines that stop the transmission of the virus.

Because we’ve been living in this golden era of HIV treatment for over two decades, it’s easy to take this incredible medical progress for granted. But it’s only through the focused efforts of the biopharma industry—coupled with the trailblazing work of the pioneering HIV activists, who created the modern paradigm for patient advocacy—that HIV-positive people now can expect to live a normal lifespan.

Since the day I started my first job in healthcare communications, I’ve always been open in a matter-of-fact way about my sexuality. I feel lucky that I’ve found a line of work in which I’ve never had to hide who I am, and in three important ways it has facilitated my success:

1) It’s helped me create more authentic connections with people. Business is built on relationships, but nowhere is that more true than in the communications field. When you can forge relationships with colleagues based on a depth of openness and respect, it creates a well of trust that can last the course of a career.

2) I’m able to view healthcare from a place of empathy for people who are vulnerable. Although society has made rapid social progress when it comes to recognition and rights for gay people, our community still suffers from marginalization and discrimination. As a gay man, I’m able to put myself in the shoes of people who find themselves on the outside looking in.

3) I understand how impactful the patient voice can be. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work in many disease areas other than HIV/AIDS, and I continue to most enjoy the opportunities to work in areas in which the patient voice is strong and to determine how to most effectively speak to and engage patients in their own care.

For me, being proud means having an integrated life in which I can be exactly who I am at all times. I'm grateful that it's led me on a career path of which I am similarly proud.