Peter Staley#AIDSmeds.com

Peter Staley was born in Sacramento, California, in 1961, the third of four children. His father was a plant manager for Procter & Gamble. Their family moved throughout the US until he was eight when his family moved to Berwyn, Pennsylvania, when his father was hired to run the PQ Corporation, based in Philadelphia.{{cite web|last=Staley |first=Peter |url=http://blogs.poz.com/peter/archives/2008/06/peter_staley_ai.html |title=Peter Staley, AIDS Victim - Peter Staley |date=June 18, 2008 |publisher=Blogs.poz.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}} He attended Oberlin College after first studying classical piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music for a semester. He majored in economics and government, spending his junior year abroad at the London School of Economics before graduating from Oberlin in 1983.{{cite web|author=Ryan Michael Milbrath |url=http://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/31775/Milbrath.pdf?sequence=2 |title=THE EFFECTS OF IDENTITY AND POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE SUCCESS AND FAILURES OF THE ACTIVIST GROUP AIDS COALITION TO UNLEASH POWER (ACT-UP) |publisher=University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire |access-date=August 9, 2013 }} Following his graduation, he went to work for J.P. Morgan, where his brother Jes Staley was working (Jes became the CEO of J.P. Morgan's Investment Bank, before leaving in 2013 to join BlueMountain Capital and then was the CEO of Barclays).{{cite web |author=Sarah Schulman |url=http://www.actuporalhistory.org/interviews/images/staley.pdf |title=ACT UP Oral History Project Interview with Peter Staley |publisher=The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival |date=December 9, 2006 |access-date=August 9, 2013 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803080716/http://www.actuporalhistory.org/interviews/images/staley.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|last=McDonald |first=Duff |url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/04/16/news/companies/jp_morgan_staley.fortune/index.htm |title=The other guy you need to know at J.P. Morgan - Apr. 16, 2010 |publisher=Money.cnn.com |date=April 16, 2010 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web|author=MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/jpmorgans-staley-to-join-bluemountain-capital/ |title=JPMorgan's Staley to Join BlueMountain Capital|publisher=DealBook |date=January 8, 2013 |access-date=August 9, 2013 }}

In October 2021, Staley released his memoir, Never Silent.{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-staley/never-silent/|title=NEVER SILENT {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|language=en}} The foreword was written by Anderson Cooper. Hillary Clinton described the book as a "timely must-read", saying, "For decades, Peter Staley's name has been synonymous with brave, determined activism on behalf of the LGBTQ community."{{Cite book|last1=Staley|first1=Peter|title=Never Silent: ACT UP and My Life in Activism|last2=Cooper|first2=Anderson|date=2021-10-12|publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=978-1641601429 }}

After observing similarities with the symptoms depicted in the made-for-TV drama An Early Frost, Staley consulted with his physician, Dr. Dan William,{{cite web|last=Staley |first=Peter |url=http://blogs.poz.com/peter/archives/2008/06/the_picture.html |title=The Picture - Peter Staley |date=June 9, 2008 |publisher=Blogs.poz.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}} who diagnosed Staley with AIDS-Related Complex (ARC) in 1985. In 1987, after being handed a flyer on his way to work prior to the first demonstration by ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power), he decided to attend the next meeting.{{cite web|url=http://www.documentary.org/magazine/protocols-action-david-frances-how-survive-plague |title=Protocols for Action: David France's 'How to Survive a Plague' | International Documentary Association |date=September 10, 2012 |publisher=Documentary.org |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web|author=The Bowdoin Orient |url=http://bowdoinorient.com/article/8162 |title=AIDS activist Staley speaks at film screening — The Bowdoin Orient |date=April 5, 2013 |publisher=Bowdoinorient.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}} Although he had come out as homosexual to his family, Staley remained closeted at work, working as a bond trader by day and chairing ACT UP's fundraising operations by night, before coming out at work and going on disability leave.{{cite web|url=https://www.vaxreport.org/articles/q-a-with-peter-staley |title=Q & A with Peter Staley |publisher=VAX Report |access-date=August 9, 2013}} On March 24, 1988, he took part in an ACT UP demonstration on Wall Street on the first anniversary of the group.{{cite web|url=http://www.actupny.org/divatv/synopsis75.html |title=Detailed Scenes: Fight Back, Fight AIDS |publisher=Actupny.org |access-date=August 9, 2013}} At that demonstration, he was in one of the first waves of people sitting in the street to block traffic, and was interviewed by a local TV station who broadcast his image with the caption "Peter Staley, AIDS victim."{{cite web |url=http://www.amfar.org/in-the-spotlight/awards-of-courage/2000-honoring-with-pride-peter-staley/ |title=Peter Staley Honoring with Pride 2000 Honoree |publisher=amfAR |access-date=August 9, 2013 |archive-date=November 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108044548/http://amfar.org/In-The-Spotlight/Awards-Of-Courage/2000-Honoring-with-Pride-Peter-Staley/ |url-status=dead }}

On April 25, 1989, Staley and three other activists barricaded themselves in an office at Burroughs Wellcome in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to protest the price of AZT (at the time priced at $8,000–$10,000 per year).{{cite web|last=Emmons |first=Willis M. |url=http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=23070 |title=Burroughs Wellcome and AZT (A) - Case - Harvard Business School |publisher=Hbs.edu |date=November 17, 1995 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19890426&id=K1McAAAAIBAJ&pg=6752,6087718 |title=AIDS Activists Stage Protest |work=The Dispatch, Lexington, NC |date=April 26, 1989 |access-date=August 9, 2013 }} The four protesters used power tools to bolt metal plates to the door of an unoccupied office and had planned to drop a banner that would be visible from the nearby highway, Interstate 40, before authorities cut their way through a wall.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-25-fi-1951-story.html |title=P.M. BRIEFING : 4 Seized Protesting AIDS Drug Cost - Los Angeles Times |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |date=March 21, 1987 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/d25de1e87ba3cfe271673dd3c936462d |title=Activists Occupy Pharmaceutical Office to Protest AZT Price |publisher=Apnewsarchive.com |date=April 25, 1989 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} The protestors then chained themselves together, and were cut apart and charged with trespassing and property damage.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19890426&id=NKceAAAAIBAJ&pg=5517,3541940 |title=Activists Protest AIDS Treatment Cost |publisher=Spartenburg Herald-Journal |date=April 26, 1989 |access-date=August 9, 2013 }} Staley, who at the time had been in talks with AZT developer David Barry to lower the price of the drug, would make peace with the company years later, following their $1 million donation to AIDS clinical trials programs in 1992.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/aids/? |title=Watch The Program - Chapter 7 | The Age Of Aids | FRONTLINE |publisher=PBS |date=May 30, 2006 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-01-mn-1318-story.html |title=AZT Maker Gives $1 Million to Research : Health: The firm seeks to end an estrangement with AIDS activists with a donation to a clinical trials program.|work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 27, 1993 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

On September 14, 1989, Staley and six other activists staged another demonstration to protest the rising cost of AZT, this time in the New York Stock Exchange.{{cite web |last=Newport |first=Josh |url=http://austincut.com/2011/06/austins-sti-habitat/ |title=Austin's STI Habitat |publisher=The Austin Cut |date=June 1, 2011 |access-date=August 9, 2013 |archive-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710063841/http://austincut.com/2011/06/austins-sti-habitat/ |url-status=dead }} Dressed in suits and carrying fake credentials, they chained themselves to a balcony above the trading floor before unfurling a banner that read "Sell Wellcome", drowned out the opening bell with airhorns, and dropped fake $100 bills that read, "Fuck your profiteering. We die while you play business" on the traders below.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dAI7nOe1KfYC&q=peter+staley+demonstration+new+york+stock+exchange&pg=PA196 |title=Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America - John-Manuel Andriote - Google Books |date=September 14, 1989 |isbn=9780226020495 |access-date=August 9, 2013|last1=Andriote |first1=John-Manuel |publisher=University of Chicago Press }} Within days, Burroughs Wellcome lowered the price of AZT by 20%.{{cite web|url=http://i-base.info/simoncollins/2012/07/film-review-how-to-survive-a-plague/ |title=Film review: How to survive a plague – the early years of ACT-UP New York | Simon Collins blog |publisher=I-base.info |date=July 25, 2012 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

In 1989, he was part of a group that stormed the Fifth International AIDS Conference in Montreal, at the time a members-only event for doctors and HIV/AIDS researchers.{{cite web|url=http://www.actupny.org/documents/montreal.html |title=When PWAs first sat at the high table (Montreal AIDS Conference '89) |publisher=Actupny.org |access-date=August 9, 2013}} They took over seats reserved for dignitaries, and released their first Treatment and Data report calling for speedier access to AIDS drugs, although coverage of the demonstration was overshadowed by the events at Tiananmen Square.{{cite web|last=Barr |first=David |url=http://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/tagline/2002/december/enemies-gate |title=Enemies at the Gate |publisher=Treatment Action Group |access-date=August 9, 2013}} The next year, Staley was a featured speaker at the Sixth International Conference on AIDS in 1990, held in San Francisco.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/embed/8YwAoHdv4yQ |title=Peter Staley: 22 Years on, the Ban is Not Over |publisher=YouTube |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2258773/ |title=ABC News Nightline AIDS Conference |publisher=IMDB |access-date=August 9, 2013 }} Staley would be involved in many more demonstrations and protests, ultimately being arrested 10 times, although he does not have a criminal record due to the work of pro bono lawyers.{{cite web |url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/27/1078200/--How-to-Survive-a-Plague-As-ACT-UP-Turns-25-New-Film-Chronicles-History-of-AIDS-Activism-in-U-S |title="How to Survive a Plague": As ACT UP Turns 25, New Film Chronicles History of AIDS Activism in U.S |publisher=Daily Kos |date=March 27, 2012 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

In 1991, Staley founded an ACT UP activist affiliate called TAG (which originally stood for Treatment Action Guerrillas, and later Treatment Action Group).{{cite news|author=Kevin Sessums |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/04/09/awful-middle-class-queens.html |title=Awful Middle-Class Queens |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=April 9, 2009 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} Formed from ACT UP's Treatment and Data Committee, the group was focused on actively working to pursue AIDS treatment solutions through activism, and working with groups that had been targeted by ACT UP, such as pharmaceutical companies.{{cite web|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/mark-allen/why-i-think-how-to-surviv_b_1902193.html |title=Mark Allen: Why I Think How to Survive a Plague Is Going to be Huge |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=September 21, 2012 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} As an event to launch the birth of the group, Staley draped a giant condom over the home of North Carolina Republican Senator Jesse Helms on September 5, 1991, protesting the position the senator had taken on AIDS-related issues.{{cite web|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/sean-strub/condomizing-jesse-helms-h_b_113329.html |title=Sean Strub: Condomizing Jesse Helms' House |date=July 25, 2008 |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}} The side of the giant nylon condom replica read "A condom to stop unsafe politics - Helms is deadlier than a virus." After police arrived, the group stopped the protest, and helped remove the condom.{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/fa9546b795757e2bf47a5457abdd79b2 |title=Protestors Inflate Replica of Giant Condom Atop Senator's Home |publisher=Apnewsarchive.com |date=September 5, 1991 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} No one was arrested, and Helms decided not to press charges.{{cite web|url=http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/01/i_wrapped_a_gia.html |title=I Wrapped a Giant Condom Over Jesse Helms' House - WFMU's Beware of the Blog |publisher=Blog.wfmu.org |date=January 18, 2006 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} Years later, Staley would reveal that the stunt had been funded by David Geffen.{{cite web|last=Staley |first=Peter |url=http://blogs.poz.com/peter/archives/2008/07/in_memory_of_je.html |title=In Memory of Jesse Helms, and The Condom On His House - Peter Staley |date=July 8, 2008 |publisher=Blogs.poz.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

TAG broke away from ACT UP to focus on protesting government agencies on working for faster drug solutions through more coordinated AIDS research efforts.{{cite web|last=Rimmerman |first=Craig A. |url=http://www.thebody.com/content/art14001.html |title=ACT UP |date=January 1998 |publisher=TheBody.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}} At the 1992 International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, the group called for negotiations and more proactive measures than protests in order to achieve those goals.{{cite web|url=http://gaycitynews.com/history-written-by-the-survivors/ |title=History, Written by the Survivors |publisher=gaycitynews.com |date=September 12, 2012 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} Staley later said that he regretted the split, wishing that they had been "able to keep it together as an organization."{{cite web |url=http://aids.harvard.edu/news/Q&A_Staley.html |title=Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative: News & Publications |publisher=Aids.harvard.edu |access-date=August 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001937/http://aids.harvard.edu/news/Q%26A_Staley.html |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

From 1991 to 2004, Staley was on the board of amfAR (the Foundation for AIDS Research).{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2397652/bio |title=Peter Staley |publisher=IMDB |access-date=August 9, 2013 }} A nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and treatment education, the group has invested more than $366 million in its various programs over the course of its history, which have spawned significant advances in the realm of the treatment and prevention of HIV.{{cite web|url=http://www.amfar.org/About-amfAR/Key-Accomplishments/ |title=Key Accomplishments |publisher=amfAR |access-date=August 9, 2013 }} During this time, he was named to President Bill Clinton's AIDS National Task Force on AIDS Drug Development, an 18-member panel of scientists, doctors, and AIDS advocates to work to speed the research for new AIDS drugs.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/07/us/clinton-names-aids-panel-to-speed-drug-search.html |title=Clinton Names AIDS Panel to Speed Drug Search - New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=February 7, 1994 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/1993pres/931130.txt |title=1993.11.30 : National Task Force on AIDS Drug Development |publisher=Department of Health and Human Services |date=November 30, 1993 |access-date=August 13, 2013 |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930182838/http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/1993pres/931130.txt |url-status=dead }} In October 2000, he was honored by the organization as the recipient of their Award of Courage.{{cite web|url=http://www.poz.com/articles/206_1398.shtml |title=October #64 : Upward Mobility - by Denny Lee |date=October 2000 |publisher=Poz.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

In 1999, Staley founded AIDSmeds.com, a site "dedicated to providing people living with HIV the necessary information they need to make empowered treatment decisions."{{cite web|url=http://www.hivpositivemagazine.com/researchhiv.html |title=hivpositivemagazine.com |publisher=hivpositivemagazine.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.aidsmeds.com/AboutUs.htm |title=All About AIDSmeds.com |access-date=August 13, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815082610/http://www.aidsmeds.com/AboutUs.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |df=mdy-all }} It expanded to include topics including gay health, and education and resources related to gay health.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpJgZpat8wsC&q=peter+staley+founds+aidsmeds.com&pg=PA41 |title=Gay Market Guide - Matthew Skallerud - Google Books |publisher=Hyperion Interactive Media |isbn=9780974895734 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} In 2006, AIDSmeds.com merged with POZ, a publication for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.{{cite web|url=http://www.poz.com/articles/471_2960.shtml |title=May #123 : Medicine Men - by Sally Chew |date=May 2006 |publisher=Poz.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}} Staley is still with the merged organization as a blogger and advisory editor.{{cite web|url=http://www.poz.com/staffbios.shtml |title=Staff Bios - Oriol Gutierrez - Sean Strub |publisher=Poz.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Staley |first=Peter |url=http://blogs.poz.com/peter/ |title=Peter Staley |publisher=Blogs.poz.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

In 2004, Staley funded and launched an ad campaign in New York, warning of the link between crystal meth use and HIV in gay and bisexual men.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yvedRnS0LIQC&q=staley+ad+campaign+crystal+meth&pg=PA9 |title=Crystal Meth and Men who Have Sex with Men: What Mental Health Care ... - Google Books |date= October 19, 2006|isbn=9780789032485 |access-date=August 9, 2013|last1=Jack |first1=Drescher |last2=Wainberg |first2=Milton L. |last3=Kolodny |first3=Andrew |publisher=CRC Press }} A former crystal meth addict himself, Staley had ads placed on phone booths along Eighth Avenue in Chelsea that read "Huge Sale! Buy Crystal, Get HIV Free!"{{cite web|author=Jacobs, Andrew |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/12/nyregion/beast-bathhouse-crystal-meth-use-gay-men-threatens-reignite-epidemic.html |title=The Beast in the Bathhouse; Crystal Meth Use by Gay Men Threatens to Reignite an Epidemic |work=The New York Times |date=January 12, 2004 |access-date=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://gaycitynews.com/gcn_249/cleanaddict.html |title=Clean Addict Funds Anti-Drug Ads |work=Gaycitynews.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=21932 |title=Crystal Meth Dealers by Eli Sanders |work=Thestranger.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}} The controversial ads attracted attention from both supporters and detractors.{{cite journal|title=Community Reactions To Campaigns Addressing Crystal Methamphetamine Use Among Gay And Bisexual Men In New York City |pmc=1885400 | pmid=17533803 |volume=36 |year=2006 |journal=J Drug Educ |pages=297–315 | last1 = Nanín | first1 = JE | last2 = Parsons | first2 = JT | last3 = Bimbi | first3 = DS | last4 = Grov | first4 = C | last5 = Brown | first5 = JT |issue=4 | doi=10.2190/9818-1w43-1876-2062}}{{cite web |author=The House of Diabolique |url=http://www.houseofdiabolique.com/genre.htm |title=where robots and dance music collide |publisher=The House of Diabolique |access-date=August 9, 2013 |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223183328/http://www.houseofdiabolique.com/genre.htm |url-status=dead }}

Staley features prominently in the 2012 documentary How to Survive a Plague, which depicts the early years of the AIDS epidemic and the actions of ACT UP and TAG.{{cite web|last=Taylor |first=Ella |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/09/20/161271977/a-modern-plague-and-the-heroes-who-tamed-it |title=Movie Review - 'How To Survive A Plague' - The Heroes Who Tamed AIDS |publisher=NPR |date=September 20, 2012 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} For the film, director David France relied heavily on archival footage, much of it taken from VHS tapes in Staley's personal collection.{{cite web |url=http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2013/03/18/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc51473fa4d9983536262095.txt |title=Peter Staley talks about surviving a plague - Main Line Suburban Life |publisher=Main Line Media News |date=March 18, 2013 |access-date=August 9, 2013 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305083940/http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2013/03/18/main_line_suburban_life/news/doc51473fa4d9983536262095.txt |url-status=dead }} The documentary was nominated for an Oscar.{{cite web|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/oscar-nominated-doc-how-survive-425198 |title=Oscar-Nominated Doc 'How To Survive A Plague' to Become ABC Miniseries (Exclusive) |publisher=Hollywoodreporter.com |date=February 28, 2013 |access-date=August 9, 2013}} It also received awards for the best documentary of 2012 from the Gotham Independent Film Awards and from the Boston Society of Film Critics, and was nominated for best documentary at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.{{cite news|last=Bernstein|first=Jacob|title=A Story of AIDS, From the Beginning|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/fashion/how-to-survive-a-plague-provides-a-silver-lining-on-aids.html|access-date=December 13, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 12, 2012}} In addition, the film was nominated for a Directors Guild Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary.{{cite web|url=http://www.sundanceselects.com/films/how-to-survive-a-plague |title=How to Survive a Plague - film by Sundance Selects |publisher=Sundanceselects.com |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

In 2018, Staley co-founded PrEP4All, an organization dedicated to ending HIV/AIDS through the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis.{{citeweb|url=https://prep4all.org/our-mission/|website=PrEP4All|title=Our Mission|access-date=May 20, 2025}}

Staley divides his time between rural Pennsylvania and an apartment in New York City's West Village, not far from where ACT UP first recruited him.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/2018/08/24/learning-how-overcome-pessimism-key-activism-says-aids-rights-activist-1069099.html|title = Learning how to 'overcome pessimism' is key to activism, says AIDS rights activist| website=Newsweek |date = August 14, 2018}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://aidsmeds.com/ AIDSmeds.com]
• [http://surviveaplague.com/ How to Survive a Plague]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staley, Peter}}

Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:Activists from Pennsylvania

Category:American financial businesspeople

Category:American health activists

Category:American gay men

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Category:JPMorgan Chase employees

Category:Oberlin College alumni

Category:People with HIV/AIDS

Category:LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania

Category:LGBTQ people from California

Category:American LGBTQ rights activists

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Category:American activists with disabilities