Meredith Eisberg was one of the most public faces of a woman living with AIDS between 1986 to the time of her passing in 1988. Born in upstate New York and adopted and raised by a middle class Jewish family, Meredith was a strong character. She was attracted to astrology, nature, and poetry and worked as a landscaper as a young adult until right before she became sick.
After taking care of her boyfriend and the biological father of her daughter, her youngest child, Meredith became involved in AIDS work through the Mid-Hudson Valley AIDS Project. When it became clear to her that she, too, was living with the virus Meredith decided to move to San Francisco to get better care via the San Francisco Model. It was in San Francisco that Meredith came into contact with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Shanti Project. At Shanti Project, Meredith began speaking at the volunteer trainings about her experiences and also spoke before congress about the need for AIDS services for women with children affected by AIDS.
You can read Meredith’s Bay Area Reporter obituary here.
To read Pia-Kristina Garde’s reflection about Meredith’s life please click here.
To see The AIDS Memorial Instagram post about Meredith click here.
