Dr. John B. Chittick, Harvard University, Ed.D.
P.O. Box 7114, Fitchburg, MA 01420 USA
email: chittick@post.harvard.edu

Curricula Vitae


Education:

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1994
Doctor of Education in Human Development and Psychology
Dissertation: Adolescents and AIDS: The Third Wave

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1989
Master of Education: School-based AIDS Prevention Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 1980
Master of Science in Visual Studies: Visual Technology and Education

Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 1970
Bachelor of Arts (Major: History; Minor: Government - Community Action)

Deerfield Academy, Old Deerfield, MA, 1966

Applewild School, Fitchburg, MA, 1963
Grades 6 - 9

Edgerly School, Fitchburg, MA, Who remembers?
Grades 1 - 6

** I was very lucky that my parents always encouraged me to be inquisitive and learn. And I did. I loved every school I attended. Because I believe that all these experiences contributed to my persona, I have included my elementary years at a fine public school because it was the teaching lab for a state teacher's college. We had experts coming into the school regularly to observe the student teachers assisting in each class. It seems to me that I owe a lot to these early years. Perhaps we should credit them on our CVs. All my school experiences helped shape me do what I do best... educating teens about a deadly threat that can be prevented.


Work Experience:

Executive Director, TeenAIDS-PeerCorps, Inc. (International AIDS Prevention)	1995 to Present
World's First Global Walk to Prevent Teen HIV/AIDS (Part 1, Walk of a Lifetime part 2, Walk For Our Lives); combined total: 55 Countries, 120,000 trainees	1999 to 2003
Wrote and designed the internet's first website for teens and HIV/AIDS	1994
Creator of PeerCorps, volunteer youth movement to spread medical facts on the streets and in cyberspace	1992 to Present
Lecturer, HIV/AIDS Prevention Education, Harvard, schools, universities and on the streets worldwide	1992 to Present
Consultant, AIDS Prevention Education to UNAIDS, NGOs, governments	1993 to Present
President/Owner, Paté Poste Adcards, Inc., Fine Arts and Advertising Publisher (first with 100% recycled stock)	1986 to 1992
Interactive, Educational Videodisc Designer, Missile Division, Raytheon Service Company	1982 to 1984
Video/Film Teacher: MIT, Art Institute of Boston, Cambridge Adult, Massachusetts Department of Youth Services	1978 to 1981
Ethnographer and Filmmaker, Solo travel to South Pacific (Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia)	1975 to 1977
Legal assistant, Governor's Intern, Idaho Public Utilities Commission, law studies	1974 to 1975
Director, Friendship Village (Community after school home for inner-city children)	1970 to 1973
Political Consulting, U.S. Congressional elections (Massachusetts)	1970 and 1972
Youngest Elected Official in Massachusetts (Fitchburg City Council)	1969 to 1971
Foreign Exchange Student in Austria	1966

Interests in teen years: Politics, jitter bug dancing, '50s/'60s rock 'n roll, travel, swimming, volunteer social work, drawing, skiing, movies, sweets, and driving in my Mustang.




Dr. John travels much of the year in the U.S. and overseas. However, the bulk of his time in 2005 and 2006 is spent building a better organizational structure with more effective programs that can replicates his work a thousand fold through the creation of the internet's best and most extensive training of volunteer PeerCorps to fight youth HIV/AIDS.

He owns a home in Fitchburg that he might lose if he doesn't receive a salary soon. His savings are depleted after eight years of helping to fund the charitable mission of TeenAIDS-PeerCorps. Dr. John has lived and slept in the homes of many different people of varying nationalities, from abject poverty to wealthy surroundings. He lives modestly. TeenAIDS survives off the private donations it received from Dr. John's wide circle of friends. In more recent years, funding has come from a growing group of believers in his on-going global campaign and his philosophy that stresses individual responsibility and community action.

His elderly mother, Barbara, is in her young 90s and lives with a nurse-caregiver in the family home. Her husband of 62 years, Stanley, was a member of our Board of Directors until his death in 2001 at the age of 97. John's playful Yellow Lab "Jazz" is everyone's compadre in the neighborhood and is Barbara's toss-the-ball friend. When Jazz greets you, he wears a big grin. People can't really believe their eyes. He misses when Dr. John is away on assignment but Jazz knows his role is to protect Barbara. If you want to see more of John's personal life and understand his allegiance to his hometown, please visit: www.chittickdrawings.org. In mid-2006, you can visit Barbara's site of her memoir writings: www.barbarachittick.com.

John considers himself a loyal guy but he also understands that people change. He speaks his mind yet is tolerant of other view points. He is a funny guy (according to most people) and he uses his humor to break the ice during his grassroots' AIDS Attacks. In most places where he walks and teaches, he rarely knows local people, often nobody, when he steps off the plane (boat, train or bus). Almost immediately after clearing customs (he also talks about his mission with these bureaucrats). He approaches any youth in his path with a smile and an out-raised hand. "Hi, I'm Dr. John from America and I'm here to tell you about AIDS. Have you heard about it?" Then he asks their names, guesses their ages (he's uncanny), and asks about their life situation and goals. Using this information, Dr. John delivers a heartfelt message in the context of their personal aspirations, stressing the medical facts while distributing his locally printed business cads translated in each indigenous language. Years later, Dr. John sill receives emails and letters from teens who have saved his prevention cards, often passed on to younger siblings or peers.

Applying the adolescent psychology he learnt at Harvard, he has become one of the world's leading experts on motivating youth to adopt and spread the stop-AIDS message to their friends. He has trained more youth about peer-oriented HIV outreach than any other AIDS educator (in 73 countries and 22 U.S. states as of the beginning of 2006). He considers this accomplishment a sign of his good intentions, luck and faith.

Some people question why he does this kind of direct outreach. Isn't he ever scared? Dr. John says. "I say a prayer every morning that asks for protection and a good workday -- if I am doing right. I must be doing the right thing most days. Yet, sometimes, rarely, my luck runs out in a foreign land where I've been occasionally robbed, injured or arrested. But that's the exception to the rule because I find people will welcome a stranger into their midsts who bears life-saving information and is volunteering his energies for this humanitarian mission.

What role does spirituality play in his work? He has always admired Albert Schweitzer and Mother Theresa for the passion they devoted to their work. Dr, John has been a member of Christ Episcopal Church in his hometown since childhood but regularly visits worship services in other countries of his host families and PeerCorps volunteers. He does this out of respect for their culture and faith. "I'm an equal opportunity kind of guy," he states. "I know what I believe in and what I hold dearly in life. However, I find it difficult to abide rude and intolerant behaviors when it comes to people proselytizing for their faith only. You know the type (I'm right and you're wrong). It's not cool. It's a bit ignorant and a lot arrogant."

Dr. John proclaims, "Every teen has the human right to hear this critical information. I know of no teachings in any holy book in the world that says it is okay to deny maturing adolescents the necessary medical information to protect themselves from HIV and death by AIDS." Yet censorship of medically correct information is gaining a disturbing toehold in some areas. "People who favor censoring this lifesaving information are often well-intentioned but misguided. In truth, they are responsible for ever increasing HIV transmission and death by AIDS among young people. They should be ashamed of themselves but are too righteous and rigid to see the errors of their way."

On a hopeful note, Dr. Chittick tells teens that they must take responsibility to learn the facts and tell their friends. His phrase, "Shy = Die" signifies that if a teen who is undergoing sexual maturation doesn't talk with a friend or partner, they could die out of ignorance. He adds, "If you love your friends, you must tell them about AIDS."

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