We mourn the death of Dr. Stephaun Elite Wallace, who passed away on August 5 , 2023. Dr. Wallace leaves behind a brother, Jeremiah, a sister, Krystal, and a large and extended chosen family with children from many houses, including the House of Marc Jacobs that he founded in 2021.

Stephaun was a research epidemiologist and public health and social justice leader. He was the Director of External Relations for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s (Fred Hutch) HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), and had faculty appointments at Fred Hutch, the University of Washington (UW) and Yale as a staff scientist, clinical assistant professor, and affiliate professor, respectively. In addition, he launched the inaugural Office of Community Engagement for the University of Washington /Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Wallace’s interests sat at the intersection of public health and social justice with a particular and intentional focus on increasing the positive health outcomes among members of racial/ethnic and gender/sexual minority groups in the United States and internationally.

While his lifelong work was on health disparities of HIV, the COVID-19 epidemic saw him utilize his skills in this arena to lead the CoVPN’s efforts in overcoming health disparities for COVID vaccination through highly successful programs called COVID in Black and linking the CoVPN with BlackDoctor.org, the National Medical Association, and the 4 Historically Black medical colleges to work collaboratively on the COVID vaccine effort. This work brought him widespread attention, including a profile on these activities by Bill Gates in his book How to Prevent the Next Pandemic. In an interview with Mr. Gates, Dr. Wallace noted that, “Acts of racism in the medical establishment are not just historical. People still actively experience the very same sorts of abuses and traumas today.” Mr. Gates designated him a Hero in the Field.

At the age of 23, he co-founded and became the director of the Atlanta-based My Brothaz Keeper (MBK), a volunteer-run nonprofit focusing on HIV/AIDS and STI prevention among young, Black, gay, bisexual, and queer men. In 2007, during his tenure as Board Chairman of the House of Blahnik , Stephaun threw a ball on World AIDS Day at the Georgia World Congress Center, the first of many balls that he organized and curated over the next fifteen years. His goals for these events were education, affirmation, and celebration. To foster efforts in HIV prevention and to achieve these goals, he created specific HIV/AIDS prevention ball categories and encouraged HIV/AIDS and STI testing among the competing houses to win significant cash prizes. 

Stephaun entered the HIV vaccine field when he moved to Rochester, NY. During this time, he partnered with the HIV vaccine research team led by Mike Keefer at the University of Rochester, and began his advocacy efforts in support of research for biomedical HIV prevention strategies.

In 2013, Stephaun moved to Seattle and joined the staff of The Legacy Project, a program within the Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination, housed at Fred Hutch. He subsequently joined the staff of the HVTN’s Social and Behavioral Science and Community Engagement Unit (SBS-CEU) in 2016 as a Senior Project Manager, received his PhD in 2019, and became the Director of External Relations for the HVTN in 2020 when Steve Wakefield, one of his mentors, retired.

Dr. Wallace was honored in May 2023 by Dr. Beti Thompson, founder of Fred Hutch’s Health Disparities Research Center, with the inaugural Health Equity Staff Champion Award. He built bridges, made connections, and lifted people up. He was an incredible source of information, wisdom, and insight. He championed the lives of those in the transgender and non-binary communities, always calling attention to the pervasive violence and victimization they experience, especially among Black and Latino/a/x community members. Within the House and Ballroom community, there are many who called him “father” and looked to him for his steady presence, mentorship, and the life lessons he shared. Stephaun gave so much to those around him, including his dedication and commitment to the HVTN and CoVPN. He was an extraordinary man and his premature death from Stage 4 lung cancer is painful for all of us at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. It is a palpable reminder of the medical advances that still need to be conquered for all communities. He was a giant of a spokesperson for the HVTN who conveyed a conviction, an optimism, a way of problem solving that was a model to all of us. He had extraordinary presence and while those memories of his advocacy and his voice will always be with us, his death and his absence will be felt by all who knew him. We will mourn now and celebrate his life at the upcoming HVTN meeting in October.  

Information regarding opportunities to honor Stephaun will be shared as soon as it is available.