Adrian Shanker (he/him) is a seasoned policy leader with specialized expertise in LGBTQI+ health policy, data equity, and access to care strategies. Adrian has worked at the federal, state, and municipal levels to advance policy for LGBTQI+ equity.
In the Biden-Harris Administration, he serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He previously served as Senior Advisor on LGBTQI+ Health Equity and as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Prior to his federal service, Adrian served as Commissioner on the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the state’s civil rights enforcement agency where he served from 2018-2022, at the appointment of Gov. Tom Wolf and with unanimous confirmation by the Pennsylvania Senate. He also served the Wolf Administration as Commissioner and Health Committee Co-chair on the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQI+ Affairs.
The majority of Adrian’s career was in non-profit leadership. He served as executive director of LGBTQI+ community centers in Pennsylvania and California and served as board president of Pennsylvania’s state equality organization during the marriage equality fight. In Pennsylvania, he founded and developed Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center to a 1.6M agency with 24 FTEs, a 13,000 SF mortgage-free facility, and robust programs in community health, original research, positive youth development, fine art galleries, and a community archive. In that role, he created and broadly implemented the biannual Pennsylvania LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment in 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2022. In California, he led a 2.9M Ryan White agency where he implemented an organizational rebrand, enterprise-wide technology upgrades, and launched a Training Institute as well executive leadership of programs including HIV case management, harm reduction, mental health, and supportive services for LGBTQI+ older adults.
Adrian earned a Graduate Certificate in LGBT Health Policy & Practice from The George Washington University and a B.A., cum laude, in Political Science and Religion Studies from Muhlenberg College. City and State PA included Adrian in their inaugural Pennsylvania Healthcare Power 100 list, he has been named a ‘Healthcare Hero’ by Lehigh Valley Business and twice named ‘Person of the Year’ by Philadelphia Gay News. Adrian has edited two anthologies, Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health and Crisis and Care: Queer Activist Responses to a Global Pandemic.
Photo credit: Libby Reyff
Image description: professional headshot of Adrian, a white man wearing a blue suit, white shirt, and wooden bowtie. He is standing in front of a redwood trees.