Field Placement: AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Preceptor: Shelly Ebbert, the Associate Director of Programming
Student Name: Lee Clarke
Year: 2003

I completed my field placement this summer in Chicago, Illinois at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC). The Foundation was founded in 1985 and has three main functions: advocacy, fundraising, and service coordination of HIV/AIDS service agencies throughout the Chicago area. I worked as the both the research and the training intern for the program department at AFC. The program department oversees program issues and coordinates service in the Chicago metropolitan area. There are several focuses of the program department, including case management, corrections initiatives, housing issues, and prevention. My preceptor for the field placement was Shelly Ebbert, the Associate Director of Programming. Because she was extremely busy, I also had a daily supervisor, one of the program managers, Norma Samame. Throughout the summer, I worked on a variety of projects rather than one main project. Being involved in this mix of projects was a positive and negative experience. Sometimes I felt as though I was working on too many different things and not learning a whole lot. If felt as though I was not given enough responsibility when working on the smaller projects. It did allow me, though, to have a wide variety of experiences. I was able to work on: prevention conferences, an evaluation of case management trainings, housing issues for people who live with HIV/AIDS, an analysis of a two-year long evaluation project that was done at AFC, legislation for AIDS related policies, and agency site visits. Because my field placement was with a large agency that has many ties to the community, I was able to attend many community meetings and trainings. I found this part of my field placement extremely valuable because I was able to learn from a variety of agencies in the Chicago area.

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