Julie Rhoad - Former President and CEO of The NAMES Project & AIDS Memorial Quilt
Julie Rhoad is pictured in front of a panel of The AIDS Quilt in permanent display at The Atlanta History Center.
PhotographeD BY Alex Pirtle (@photoescapades).
This episode features Julie Rhoad, the former president and CEO of the NAMES Project Foundation, which serves as caretaker of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, an ever-evolving memorial to lives lost to HIV/AIDS. Julie led the Foundation during its tenure in Atlanta, connecting Southeastern communities with The Quilt’s powerful stories of love and remembrance. She secured the long-term preservation of the AIDS Quilt by establishing the Library of Congress and the National AIDS Memorial as the permanent homes for the memorial and its priceless archival material.
Julie’s oral history was recorded by Morna Gerrard, lead archivist for the Women, Gender, & Sexuality Collection at Georgia State’s University Archives, she is included in the podcast episode to provide additional context.
Out Down South is brought to you by the Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project and part of the WUSSY Podcast Network.
Hosted by Rachel Garbus (@goodgraciousrachel) and Sam Landis (@iam_samlandis).
Produced by Sam Landis, Rachel Garbus, & Jon Dean (@jondeanphoto).
Episode 8 was edited by Jonathan Thomas Maiocco (@jonathanthomasmaiocco)
Podcast graphics and branding created by Sam Landis
Photographer: Alex Pirtle (@photoescapades).
Julie is pictured in front of a panel of The AIDS Quilt in permanent display at The Atlanta History Center.
Project graphic design & social support: Amanda Killian
Project interns: Alyssa Zhang, Alex Campo, Hunter Buchheit, Kaleb Branch, and Oli Turner.
The podcast is funded by a Georgia Humanities grant and individual gifts from LGBTQ+ history-lovers like you. If you would like to support the project, you can by visiting: atlantalgbtqhistoryproject.org/donate
Stay up to date with the Out Down South Podcast and Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project on social: instagram.com/atllgbtqhisproj/ or @atllgbtqhisproj on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
About the Project:
The Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project is a multimedia initiative to gather, share, and preserve the history and life stories of LGBTQ+ communities in Georgia and across the Southeast. Through oral history, photography, and archival materials, we bring the voices and stories of LGBTQ+ Atlantans to life.
Explore the project through museum exhibitions, the Out Down South podcast, live and virtual panel series, and online materials. All project materials are archived at Georgia State University Library’s Special Collection & Archives.
Learn more by visiting: atlantalgbtqhistoryproject.org
We are grateful for the partners of the podcast and project: Wussy Mag, Out Front Theatre Company, and the special collections and archives at Georgia State University Library where all of the oral histories from this project will be archived.
You can find the full show notes and the podcast transcription at atlantalgbtqhistoryproject.org/out-down-south-episodes/julie-rhoad