David Kirby(2)

David Kirby has been a professional journalist for over 15 years, and has written for The New York Times for the past eight years. Kirby was a contracted writer with the weekly City Section at The Times, where he covered public health, local politics, art and culture, film and theater, architecture, zoning and land use, among many other subjects. Currently, Kirby has contributed to The Magazine, Arts & Leisure, Personal Health, Men’s Health, Science Times, Escapes, Travel, Weekend and other sections of the paper. Kirby has also written for a number of national magazines, including Glamour, Redbook, Marie Claire, Mademoiselle, Self, Art News, and others. In addition, Kirby was a foreign correspondent in Mexico and Central America from 1986-1990, where he covered the wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and covered politics, corruption and natural disasters in Mexico. From Latin America, he reported for UPI, the San Francisco Examiner, Newsday, The Arizona Republic, Houston Chronicle and the NBC Radio Network.

Kirby has also worked in politics, medical research and public relations. He worked for New York City Council President Carol Bellamy as a special assistant for healthcare, cultural affairs and civil rights, followed by employment as chief scheduler to Manhattan Borough President David N. Dinkins. He also was a senior staff adviser to Dinkins’ successful 1989 run for Mayor of New York City. From 1990-1993, Kirby was Director of Public Information at the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), where he acted as press spokesman for Chairwoman Elizabeth Taylor, and witnessed first-hand the inner workings of Congress, the White House and powerful Federal agencies like the FDA, CDC and NIH. Kirby also ran his own public relations agency in New York for four years, from 1993 through 1996, with clients that included the National Cancer Institute, AmFAR, ABC, BBC, Absolut Vodka, Dean Witter Discover & Co., and others.