Look Who it Was Random video

The Story of Amida Care | Chuck Lief | TEDxWashingtonSquare

888 views · Published 22 March 2017 · 17:50 · Indexed 22 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2017 · Nonprofits & Activism

Watch on YouTube

Chuck Lief shares the story of Amida Care, a community-based HMO that grew out of humble roots in NYC serving HIV/AIDS patients.  Its unique and holistic model treated the full spectrum of patient needs in addition to medical needs including housing, security and poverty.  It was the first insurance company to make available a range of alternative therapies from art and dance to yoga and meditation, resulting in dramatic health care outcomes and a strengthened sense of community.  

CHUCK LIEF is the President of Naropa University, where he previously served as chairman of the board and was a student of Naropa’s founder, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Prior to his current role at Naropa, Chuck led some of the country’s most innovative and successful organizations providing integrated social enterprises and social services, including the Greyston Foundation and Amida Care, which together provided essential housing, health care, and employment to thousands of low-income people in the Northeast.  Chuck has served in leadership capacities on the boards of Shambhala International, the Social Enterprise Alliance, the Intervale Center, the Vermont Community Loan Fund, Vermont Works for Women, the Westchester County Housing Commission, the New York State Governor’s AIDS housing task force, and many others.  He earned a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from the University of Colorado School of Law.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

More from this channel