After 40 years experience in 3 different sectors and colleagues in various fields across the nation, I am currently working with colleagues advising on social change through the nonprofit, medical, philanthropic, or for profit lens. It takes all sectors to move society forward to increase community health and the impact of the programs designed to address various needs. Sometimes a little time is all it takes to recalculate anything. Leadership is not stagnate. Contact us and we can determine if we can be helpful.
Randall H. Russell earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Indiana University and began a Master of Music degree at Indiana University in 1981. For two years, he performed professionally with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Then, he migrated to Arts Administration, working for six American Orchestras across the United States, increasing subscription sales and raising contributions through program design and marketing skills. His career started in Louisville, Omaha, Phoenix, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Birmingham, Alabama. He played bassoon and alto saxophone for 20 years. He no longer plays or performs.
HIV began in the United States in the early 1980s, and Russell began volunteering for his community. He became an HIV buddy working with people in those days who were dying in their homes at an unbelievable rate. The first 45 buddies he served died in Phoenix, Buffalo, and Birmingham. His career shifted from the orchestral world to that of HIV. He earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Alabama with High Honors. He created an organization now known as AIDS Alabama, which focused starting in 1993 on housing for people with HIV and provides more HIV housing than any other in the Southeast. Over ten years, he raised more than $100 million for housing across the Southeast. He went on to co-found the Southern AIDS Coalition (also its first Executive Director for three years), the National AIDS Housing Coalition, and AIDS Advocacy networks in seven states across the Southeast. These organizations are still vital and active and have increased federal funding, expanded fairness in the distribution of federal funds, and expanded definitions of special needs housing across the Southeast. With HUD funding, he launched the Supportive Housing Collaborative of the Southeast (SHCS) at the Carter Center in Atlanta, bringing together housing developers, providers, and funders across the Southeast to focus on the South's urban/rural combination of needs. He is also the co-founder of Collaborative Solutions, Inc., which grew out of his consulting firm, R2 Solutions, founded in 2001. He left Collaborative Solutions in 2006 to join Gilead Sciences with the introduction of the first single-pill-once-a-day pill, and he worked to enroll advancing therapeutics on Medicaid formularies across the Southeast to advance access to those with the highest needs. As HIV moved into a chronic manageable disease model and the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act, he moved to Lifelong, one of the oldest and largest HIV organizations in the United States, in the process of adapting to the new health insurance coverages and advancing Medicaid in the State of Washington. His final leadership role was as Founding President and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, where he served for eight years crafting the mission and focus of race equity to achieve health equity as measured in the local community by various indicators. He left that role in 2022.
Russell's career includes deep experience in nonprofit community-based organizations, the corporate and philanthropic sectors, and across local, regional, and national territories. This 'unicorn' type of experience is invaluable to leaders seeking the objective problem-solving support needed to lead an organization in any environment successfully. He is a consummate fundraiser and has a dedicated focus on those with chronic illnesses.
It is interesting to note that being a musician and a social change agent requires similar abilities, such as listening, adjusting to others, and understanding that you are part of a whole. The orchestra is an instrument, just like social change, which requires collaboration and communication among the individuals involved. Russell's work as an HIV activist undoubtedly impacted and significantly brought about social change. His work as a social worker provided a framework for this and allowed him to contribute at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. As a consultant, Russell's problem-solving skills and objectivity allowed him to bring about truth and momentum for change. Today, he is focused on HIV, race equity, and public health and on de-siloing the world that serves those in need. Housing, health, employment, transportation, and legal systems can dramatically change lives with focus and intention. Advising organizational leaders or bio-pharmaceutical companies on program delivery and investments can make a big difference through consulting.
Today, Russell lives in the Adirondacks in Upstate New York, where he consults, writes, and meditates to find balance in work and life.
At R2 Consults LLC, we believe collaboration is key to success. We work closely with our clients to understand their challenges and goals and develop solutions tailored to their unique needs. Our approach is transparent, results-driven, and designed to help businesses thrive.
We also excel in problem-solving, real-time strategic planning, fundraising (over $100 million in grants and $50 million in private sector funds across 40 years), and measuring impact.