Living Hope Clinical Foundation was created in 1996 by doctors Stefan Schneider and Robb Sheneberger with proceeds from individual supporters and their research grants supporting HIV care and treatment. Both Dr. Schneider and Dr. Sheneberger had attended the International AIDS Conference in 2000 held in Durban, South Africa and were overwhelmed with both the devastating impact HIV had in Africa and the need for further investment. After returning from the conference, with the assistance of Kim Hughes and Dr. John Blake, they shifted Living Hope Clinical Foundation’s focus to Africa . While others have served on the Board of Directors, these four individuals have served the Foundation from the onset and remain Board Members today.

Dr. John Blake

President

John is currently the Executive Director and Dental Director of the Children’s Dental Health Clinic (cdhc.org) in Long Beach, CA. This non-profit program and teaching facility helps the comprehensive dental needs of underserved, special needs and medically complex patients in their (main) Long Beach and Catalina island programs. Prior to that, he helped start the C.A.R.E. Dental program at St. Mary’s hospital. This grant funded, non-profit program is specific to patients with H.I.V. His first 12 years were spent in private practice. John is a fellow of the American College of Dentists, a part-time faculty member of the U.S.C. School of Dentistry, a member of the A.D.A council on government affairs and currently the secretary of the California Dental Association.

Dr. Robb Sheneberger

Vice President

Robb Sheneberger graduated from the University of Southern California School of Medicine (Current Keck School of Medicine at USC) in 1982. Some of the first case reports of AIDS were identified in Los Angeles during his training. He then completed a residency in Family Medicine in Long Beach, California. After completing service obligations in a health manpower shortage area in rural United States, he volunteered time in Thailand, and developed an interest in the impact of AIDS globally. He completed additional HIV training at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has been providing HIV clinical care since the early 1990’s. He served as the Medical Director for the CARE Clinic in Long Beach, California until 2004; during this time he co-founded Living Hope Clinical Foundation, to invest financial resources both locally and internationally supporting work for persons living with HIV. He has worked and volunteered time in India, Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, and has been working since 2004 for the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) as the Senior Medical Technical Advisor for Southern Africa based in Zambia serving as the Country Medical Director. His passion is quality patient care that supports long term treatment success. He has spoken extensively both nationally and internationally on HIV care delivery models, treatment options, and HIV resistance. His board certification in Family Medicine has contributed to his ability to provide care in maternal, child, and adult HIV populations. He is an Assistant Professor in Family Medicine at the University of Maryland. Currently in Zambia, Dr. Sheneberger is focused on assisting the Government of the Republic of Zambia by serving on multiple partnership working groups. He is also directed the creation of a Master’s of Science in HIV Medicine at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka to train medical providers in HIV expertise. He leads a team that provides HIV medical technical assistance to over 145,000 patients on ART, and the program has demonstrated viral suppression rates over 90% with low lost to follow up and high retention in care. Dr. Sheneberger’s other interest include developing operational research in Africa and defining sustainable treatment models for HIV care that reduce new HIV infections. He is complimented by a strong team of Zambian professionals focused on pediatrics, family centered care, maternal-child care, community support and adherence. 

Kim Hughes

Secretary/Treasurer

Kim Hughes has worked for over 38 years in the areas of bookkeeping and financial management. She is the owner of Streamline Business Services which focuses on general bookkeeping for small businesses with a specialty on nonprofits. Streamline Business Services offers a range of activities including accounts payable, receivable, payroll, reconciling bank and credit card accounts, budgeting and financial reporting. Kim is a member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and a certified Intuit QuickBooks Pro Advisor and is passionate about providing quality bookkeeping services to her clients. Kim lives in Seal Beach, California, is married with three adult children and loves spending time with her family and friends as well as volunteering with local non-profit organizations. She has visited Africa several times to support the work of Living Hope.

Dr. Stefan Schneider

Member

Dr. Schneider is an infectious disease specialist in Long Beach California. Together with Dr. Sheneberger they founded Living Hope Clinical Foundation in 1996 while working at the CARE Clinic. The Foundation supported various projects related to HIV in both the United States and Africa. Dr. Schneider joined Dr. Sheneberger in Zambia during 2006 where he worked for a year and they together shifted the focus of Living Hope Foundation towards Zambia. Dr. Schneider returned to Zambia regularly for many years teaching medical doctors in HIV and infectious diseases. “As a doctor, my goal is to provide comprehensive high quality medical care, ancillary care and social support services to persons living with HIV/AIDS in order to improve their health status and quality of life.”