Allies for Health + Wellbeing is pleased to announce that Michael Hellman will be presented with the 2025 Kerry Stoner Award.

Hellman began volunteering with the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force in the early 2000s, when there were still very few people who were willing to share their stories about living with HIV and AIDS. As part of PATF’s speakers’ bureau, Hellman went to local schools to present “HIV 101” sessions and talked about his own experience with the disease. 

“Not many people were doing that openly at that time,” Hellman said.  

Now, Hellman is being presented with the Kerry Stoner Award for his work with people living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS. Stoner was one of the founders of the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and died of complications of AIDS in 1993. The Kerry Stoner Award is presented annually by Allies for Health + Wellbeing to someone who has shown commitment to Stoner’s legacy and vision. The award will be presented at a luncheon in Hellman’s honor on Sunday, March 2, and he will be recognized at Allies’ 40TH Birthday Party on Friday, April 11. 

“It is a true pleasure to honor Mike Hellman with the Kerry Stoner Award,” said Mary Bockovich, Allies CEO. “Hundreds of students in our community have a better understanding of HIV because of his willingness to share his story and experiences, and he has made a lasting impact with his advocacy work.” 

Today, Hellman, who worked for 30 years with PNC Bank, writes for H-I-V.net and is a certified patient health leader who does speaking engagements about HIV on behalf of pharmaceutical companies. He published his first book, “A Journey of Acceptance: When Some Days Are Best Forgotten,” in 2024.  

Hellman met Stoner in the early 1990s after moving to Pittsburgh and said he is honored to be recognized for carrying on Stoner’s work. 

“I tend to look back at all the other recipients and say, ‘Wow. I’m a part of that group?’” he said. “I still can’t believe I’m a part of that group, because they have been exceptional people through the years who have been honored through his legacy.”