HAFCI Fellows

The HAFCI (Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, Inc.) Fellows program was founded in 2006 by HAFCI CEO John Eckstrom as a way to honor and promote creativity and continued innovation among the organizations “most exceptional” clinical professionals.

A HAFCI Fellow is an appointed position at Haight Ashbury Free Clinics made by the CEO. A HAFCI Fellow is selected for sustained and distinguished clinical achievements. This is the highest honor anyone at HAFCI can achieve.

The criteria for appointment are stringent and take into account only the most significant clinical achievements. In addition to a history of extraordinary accomplishments, a candidate must also be considered to have the potential to make continued contributions within or outside of HAFCI.

HAFCI Fellows that are on staff are given broad latitude and granted a wide sphere of independence to identify and pursue projects in their area of expertise and in the pursuit of their research.

HAFCI Fellow - 2007

George "Skip" Gay, M.D.

Skip Gay founded Rock Medicine in 1973 at the behest of Bill Graham. Skip, along with fellow staff and volunteers from Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, set up an emergency care tent at a Grateful Dead concert in San Francisco's Kezar Stadium. This concert, and a subsequent Led Zeppelin show, became models for the later Days on the Green that Bill, who was the first patron and major donor of HAFCI, went on to produce. These "DOGS" were the prototype for the outdoor concerts that have evolved into contemporary rock 'n roll tours. Today, Rock Medicine continues to provide stabilization services for "errors in judgment" and medical services for those in need.

Rock 'n roll by its very nature is an emotional form of entertainment and people have a tendency to over-indulge, especially the young, the inexperienced, and the damn foolish. Rock Medicine founder and pioneer Dr. George "Skip" Gay expresses the Rock Med philosophy well: "Take care of individuals right now and return them to their friends and family; do away with the necessity of either hospitalizing them or getting them involved with the law." For most people, a substance-related encounter with Rock Medicine is a one-time occurrence; for others referrals are offered to long-term recovery programs.

On its 35th year of providing event-based medical care, Rock Medicine continues to follow the ideals initially established by Skip Gay.

HAFCI Fellow - 2006

Darryl Inaba, Doctor of Pharmacy

The first appointment of a HAFCI Fellow was founding Haight Ashbury Free Clinics employee and former CEO Darryl Inaba, Pharm. D.  Dr. Inaba has devoted his working career to researching and treating individuals suffering from addiction. He is an internationally recognized pharmacologist, is the author of multiple texts that are used in teaching programs throughout the world, has appeared in numerous documentaries, and is frequently called upon as an authority on drugs and addiction. The nation's foremost expert on drugs and addition, Inaba has been with the Clinics from the start. He's a scientist and a master at creating programs that really work. An incessant worker, his warm smile lets you know he cares very much about people. Author of hundreds of technical articles, scientific writer of several dozen award-winning films and videos, government advisor and popular speaker, Inaba has written the definitive book on drugs: Uppers, Downers, All Arounders─which has saved thousands of lives nationwide. His other significant books are The New Drugs: Look-Alikes, Drugs of Deception and Designer Drugs (with Richard Seymour, Dave Smith and Mim Landry, 1989) and Psychoactive: The Physiological Effects of Psychoactive Drugs (with William Cohen, Paul Steinbroner and Craig Whitehead, 1977). After completing undergraduate work at California State University, Fresno, Inaba earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of California, San Francisco. He has served on numerous boards and commissions and has earned more than 50 individual commendations, awards and honors for his work. Inaba has retained the position of associate clinic professor at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center since 1971 and has served as special consultant and instructor at the University of Utah School on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse since 1983. Inaba has worked at HAFCI since it first opened and served as director of its substance abuse treatments activities for some 30 years before moving into the CEO position. He has brought honor, distinction and recognition to the Clinics his entire career.