Tony's Diary Package — page 158

Goosby, who was running of one the nation's first AIDS clinics in the late '80s, recalls attending a meeting with Fauci in Washington, D.C. The gathering was attacked by ACT UP activists, who locked the meeting's attendees, there to discuss new drugs to fight HIV, inside the hall with chains. "A lot of us were nervous and scared of possible violence," Goosby recalls. "But Tony looked at us and said, 'This is our chance to learn about the frustrations of the community. It's an opportunity for us to learn and serve.' I'll never forget that." Fauci turned enemies into allies That shift in attitude - away from the rigidity of scientific pursuits and towards an embrace of the human reality - soon turned enemies into lifelong friends, says Matt Sharp, a San Francisco-based AIDS survivor and activist who was part of many ACT UP protests in the nation's capital aimed at calling out Fauci. "What developed was a very interesting mutual respect, where you have a hero who once was an enemy," says Sharp. "Once we got him to relate to us and our reality, trust was established. Today, the AIDS community is glad he's the one leading this effort right now." Over what is now nearly a 50-year career with the NIH, Fauci has worked for presidents as philosophically wide-ranging as Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, helping them through crises that included the post-9/11 anthrax scares, SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009 and Ebola in 2014. Those who know Fauci marvel at how he keeps his political leanings private. "I honestly don't know if he's a Democrat or Republican," says Sharp. "But I know he's got an amazing grace and an ability to cut through the b-----. That's his genius."