Kristine Elizabeth Moore Gebbie (June 26, 1943 – May 17, 2022) was an American academic and public health official working as a professor at the Flinders University School of Nursing & Midwifery in Adelaide, Australia.[2] Gebbie previously served as the AIDS Policy Coordinator (or "AIDS Czar") from 1993 to 1994.

Kristine Gebbie
Gebbie with President Bill Clinton in 1993
White House AIDS Policy Coordinator
In office
June 25, 1993 – August 2, 1994
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPatricia Fleming
Secretary of the Washington State Department of Health
In office
1989 – June 25, 1993
GovernorBooth Gardner
Personal details
Born
Kristine Elizabeth Moore

June 26, 1943
Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
DiedMay 17, 2022(2022-05-17) (aged 78)
Adelaide, Australia
Spouses
Neil Gebbie
(divorced)
Lester Nils Wright
(died 2022)
[1]
Children3
Alma materSt. Olaf College (BSN)
University of California, Los Angeles (MSN)
University of Michigan (DPH)

Early life and education

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Gebbie was born in Sioux City, Iowa on June 26, 1943, the daughter of Irene (Stewart), who worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Thomas Moore, a career officer in the Army.[1][3] She was raised in Miles City, Montana and Albuquerque, New Mexico.[4]

Gebbie earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Olaf College and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles. She also held a Doctor of Public Health in Health Policy from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 1995.[5]

Career

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Before joining the White House, Gebbie was the Secretary of the Washington State Department of Health (1989 to 1993)[6] and was previously the director of the Oregon Department of Health.[7]

Gebbie is best known for being the first U.S. AIDS Czar,[8] from 1993 to 1994, during the Clinton Administration. She was a member of the President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic, formed by President Reagan, and an outspoken opponent of the Reagan Administration policies on AIDS testing.[9]

From 2008 to 2010, she was the Joan Hansen Grabe Dean of the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing at Hunter College. Before moving to Hunter College, Gebbie was the Elizabeth Standish Gill Professor at the Columbia University School of Nursing and Director of Columbia's Center for Health Policy.[10]

Gebbie was a founding member of the National Board of Public Health Examiners, an organization that provides the first and only core certification for public health professionals and graduates of CEPH-accredited institutions.

Personal life

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Gebbie had three children with her first husband, Neil Gebbie. Her second marriage was to a physician, Lester Nils Wright, who died in April 2022. Gebbie died in Adelaide, Australia on May 17, 2022, from cancer.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kristine Gebbie, the First U.S. AIDS Czar, Dies at 78
  2. ^ "Professor Kristine Gebbie". Flinders University. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  3. ^ President, United States (1989). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Federal Register Division, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration.
  4. ^ "AIDS Czar's Plan: People Talking With Each Other : Kristine Gebbie will try to develop a more effective national prevention strategy. States would create their own programs". Los Angeles Times. 1993-08-05. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  5. ^ "Kristine Gebbie". WADEM. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  6. ^ "Whatever Happened to AIDS?". The New York Times. November 28, 1993. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  7. ^ "Kristine Gebbie Receives Ruth B. Freeman Award". Columbia University School of Nursing. 15 May 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  8. ^ "Kristine Gebbie, DrPH'95". Alumni Association. Retrieved September 24, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Jehl, Douglas (25 June 1993). "Ex-Washington State Official to Get AIDS Post". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  10. ^ "Under Direction of New Dean, Nursing School Regains its Independent Status" (PDF). Hunter College. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
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