Down by Wall Street, on a discreet floor in an anonymous building by the water, I meet Kyle Clifford, the new CEO of amfAR, the powerful organization that for 40 years has been at the forefront of research to find a cure for AIDS and is celebrating its fifth Palm Beach Gala on March 28 at the residence of Anne and Chris Flowers. AmfAR’s American headquarters have open views of the New York bridges and downtown skyscrapers, promising a luminous future. But the walls of every corridor and office, inscribed with an installation by Joseph Kosuth, tell a different story. They recall the history of AIDS, from the dark years when millions did not survive, to today, when resilience and hope are finally the words on those walls.
STEFANO TONCHI: You took a position at this organization in 2020 because you had been personally affected by HIV. Becoming the CEO of amfAR must mean a lot, given that it has been part of your history.
KYLE CLIFFORD: I’d like to think it would mean a lot to our two founders if they were alive now. I am amfAR’s first HIV-positive CEO, so for me it’s incredibly personal. But it’s not only personal: there’s a real purpose to what I do here every day. I’ve been with amfAR for over five years and I just stepped into my new role. We were founded in 1985 by two visionary female leaders. Elizabeth Taylor on the West Coast and Dr. Mathilde Krim in the East came together through conversations with Joseph Sonnabend and Michael Gottlieb to form amfAR. Their impact still shapes the organization today. The concept was simple but high impact: raise as much money as possible for researchers trying to understand this virus. At the same time, we advocated for funding, addressed stigma, and focused on education and treatment. We’ve evolved as the virus has evolved.
Twenty years later, amfAR was among the first organizations to insist that a cure was possible and worth pursuing. We’ve seen tremendous progress and played a direct role in most of the drugs currently on the market. N ow we are at a critical junction. We know how to cure HIV. There are currently 10 people considered cured. Scientifically, we understand the mechanisms. The focus now is a cure at scale, which is a matter of resources. We have funded over 3,900 researchers globally, working on HIV and other viral diseases. What we’ve learned from HIV research is also advancing discoveries in other infectious diseases. HIV-positive communities are aging thanks to life-saving drugs, but they are now facing comorbidities such as heart disease, cancers, and Alzheimer’s. So, amfAR made a strategic decision to use our unique funding model to advance discoveries in autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders, cancers, immunotherapy, and HIV, focusing particularly on where they intersect.
ST: The biggest problem for HIV patients was life expectancy. Now the central issue in modern medicine is longevity. Many of the lifestyle changes adopted by HIV-positive people are ones everyone should follow. There is a blueprint there.
KC: Absolutely. Today, you have a greater risk of dying from diabetes than HIV. For me, it’s about acceleration. I want to bring us closer to a cure, and motivation matters. I sit here as an HIV-positive man. When amfAR met me five and a half years ago, they did not know I was gay or HIV-positive. When I was diagnosed with AIDS, it was a tremendous shock. I became 100 percent focused on a cure and life expectancy. I had been following amfAR’s research long before I joined. Today, I take one pill a day thanks to the innovations in medications supported by amfAR. I owe it to the HIV-positive community and to those we lost to finish this job. But a real cure must be accessible to all, easy to administer, and economical to distribute. That defines success for us today. People often don’t realize the fiscal burden of lifetime HIV treatment. A cure makes fiscal sense. It’s also a question of social justice, as communities of color are the most disenfranchised when it comes to HIV.
ST: I also believe that amfAR’s omnipresence, from the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals to the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, has helped normalize the conversation about AIDS. The association with celebrities has mattered.
KC: It elevates the conversation by bringing culture and science together in a high-impact way. The creative arts were decimated by AIDS, and amfAR uniquely unites culture to drive scientific change.
ST: You go back to the founders—an actress and a researcher.
KC: And I stand on their shoulders. I also stand on the shoulders of people who worked here and died of AIDS. We can see the finish line now. This is not the time to give up. What amfAR does differently is provide seed funding to bold ideas in labs worldwide. We hold rigorous grant reviews, on par with NIH standards, but we fund quickly. We believe in the idea and the individual and we make it happen. We are 100 percent dependent on private philanthropy and therefore independent in our decision-making.
ST: Some critics say galas cost too much and serve only their guests.
KC: The events amplify hope. When I was diagnosed, reading about amfAR gave me hope. Hope has huge currency. Doing this work in Palm Beach sends a powerful message. Not only do the events raise lots of money, but they also keep AIDS and the goal in the national conversation. Culture and science together create impact.
ST: What are your most meaningful gala memories?
KC: Each market has its own DNA. Cannes is our biggest event, but seeing Palm Beach grow from one conversation with Amy Phelan to raising $15 million in four years is extraordinary. Standing on the red carpet in Cannes with my husband this year was deeply personal. I was a man with an AIDS diagnosis standing there as CEO. It shows what’s possible. My plan is to be visible and engage broader and more diverse audiences. The more we tell amfAR’s story, the more support we attract.
ST: The more personal the story, the more effective.
KC: And it’s real. What we do is real. I’m lucky in that regard.
