Whitman-Walker Institute

It is dedicated to the left-of-center concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and is particularly concerned with discrimination against LGBT individuals in the healthcare system, which was its founding issue. ² As of 2026, the Whitman-Walker Institute was an official member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), a civil-rights-focused left-of-center organization based in Washington, D.C. ^{3 4}

Background

The Whitman-Walker Institute is a medical research organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts clinical trials and investigations to offer public policy recommendations. It is part of a broader consortium of nonprofit entities dedicated to the same project, including the Whitman-Walker Foundation and Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings. ^{1 2 5}

Whitman-Walker was founded to become a care provider and first responder to HIV patients. It claims to have opened the first clinics in the United States that focused on the healthcare of LGBT people and people with HIV. ^{2 1}

Activities

In 2024, the Whitman-Walker Institute expended roughly $4 million on research in cooperation with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a federal government agency.  ⁶ Whitman-Walker claims to be actively engaged in researching “breakthroughs” in HIV treatments and prevention. ²

In 2024, Whitman-Walker expended $980,267 on clinical trials and similar contract-based initiatives. ⁷

In 2024, Whitman-Walker allocated $711,176 on its public policy advocacy and recommendations, which were principally concerned with LGBT interests in Washington, D.C. ⁸ Whitman-Walker boasts that it is a “leader in care and policy advocacy”; ² one of its main points of advocacy is to expand access to high-quality health insurance. ¹

DEI

The Whitman-Walker Institute is dedicated to the left-of-center concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and is particularly concerned with discrimination against LGBT individuals in the health-care system. It states that its core goal is for people to be able to “live healthily,” “love openly,” and “to feel true equality and inclusion in all aspects of their lives.” ²

Whitman-Walker is informed by left-of-center views on the health-care system: it describes its partnerships with governments and politicians as ways to “foster healthier communities by dismantling” alleged “barriers” to quality health care. ¹

Leadership Conference Membership

As of 2026, the Whitman-Walker Institute was an official member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a civil-rights-focused left-of-center organization based in Washington, D.C. that serves as an umbrella organization for over 240 mostly left-of-center organizations which lobby and advocate before the U.S. Congress and other federal agencies on legislation and presidential appointments to the executive departments and judiciary. ^{3 4}

Funding

The Whitman-Walker Institute routinely receives government funding. In 2024, it reported receiving $4.8 million in government grants. The total grants it received that year from all other sources amounted to $1.3 million. ⁹

Whitman-Walker has received many government grants to research transgender people and their interests in the health system. ¹⁰

Leadership

As of 2026, the Whitman-Walker Institute was led by co-CEOs Naseema Shafi and Heather Aaron. ¹¹

Shafi has held the role of CEO since 2019. As of 2026, she was also working as the president of the group and was sitting on the boards of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, the DC Primary Care Association, and the Connected Care Network. She has been with Whitman-Walker since 2007. ¹²

Aaron presides over the Institute for Health Research and Policy at Whitman-Walker, the Whitman-Walker Foundation, and Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings. Prior to Whitman-Walker, Aaron worked as the Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health and led a community care initiative for HIV and AIDS patients. She explicitly works to “develop diversity, equity, and inclusion in all her work.” ⁵