Michael Harney, a HIV/AIDS/STD/Hepatitis and Alcohol/Substance Abuse prevention educator in the Western North Carolina region since 1993, is employed full-time by the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) in Asheville. He is Coordinator of the Needle Exchange Program of Asheville (NEPA), Secretary of North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, Inc., and teaches Spanish at both A-B Tech Community College and Blue Ridge Community College.

Within the community, Michael is known as the "Rubberman" because he distributed the majority of the 132,000 condoms distributed last year in Asheville. His column, "What the Rubberman Wrote," can be found in the monthly Out In Asheville newspaper, or online at www.outinasheville.com

Michael also assists in the weekly HIV testing program at the Buncombe County Dentention Center, a service provided by the Western North Carolina Community Health Services organization. His interest is in harm reduction and health betterment.