Pedro Arista, MPH, is the Chronic Diseases Program Manager at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), a national health justice organization which influences policy, mobilizes communities, and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Prior to joining APIAHF, Pedro was the Director of Community Programs at the San Francisco Department of Public Health – HIV Research Section. While at the Department of Public Health, he led a team to develop health education strategies aimed to intentionally reach underserved communities to increase their understanding about clinical trials. He also worked with other sites throughout the country to prioritize recruitment efforts across the organization’s studies including low risk randomized controlled trials and an HIV vaccine efficacy trial. During his tenure, the organization became one of the leading recruitment sites for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. While serving in this role, he was a member of the San Francisco HIV Prevention Planning Council, working with other stakeholders to develop a plan to inform the City’s HIV prevention efforts.
Pedro had also previously been at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for 7 years working with several Principal Investigators to plan and implement HIV behavioral studies reaching different populations in the San Francisco Bay Area including heterosexual youth, Latino gay men and transfemales. While at UCSF, he led efforts to bring underrepresented communities together to share their insights and guide the implementation of research studies.
Pedro received a Masters in Public Health with Honors from San Francisco State University (SFSU). He also received a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from SFSU. He has also taught a public health course (HED 315) at SFSU aimed at analyzing the evolution of U.S. drug policy, drug use prevention and treatment throughout the last century.