By Greg Hernandez Joe Hollendoner knew the enormity and the symbolism of the moment. Last November, more than 300 sustaining donors had been invited to the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Anita May Rosenstein Campus for a celebratory appreciation event to thank them for their ongoing and impactful support during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Longtime Center Chief Executive Officer Lorri L. Jean introduced Hollendoner — for the first time at an in-person, public event—as the man who would be taking the reigns of the organization upon her retirement in July 2022. “Here I am today, standing on this Campus…
Author: Greg Hernandez
By Lorri L. Jean (Published in Spring 2022 Issue of Center’s Vanguard Magazine) This is the last time you will hear from me in the Vanguard as your Center’s CEO. Even though I’m quite aware (and excited) that I’m retiring on July 1, I was surprised that the realization of this as my final column brought a lump to my throat. Over the decades I have used this space to relay important Center news, to share my take on what’s happening in our larger movement, to rail against injustice and to try to inspire my readers to continue to do…
By Greg Hernandez Soon after Lorri L. Jean accepted the job of executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center in 1993, she asked her close friend and fellow Washington D.C. activist Darrel Cummings to come for a visit. He knew darn-well she was trying to recruit him, and he was determined to resist. “I’m an East Coaster, and I thought, ‘You must be kidding. I’m not coming to California,’” Cummings recalls. “But I thought it would be a nice trip, I’d get to see old friends, have a glass of wine, and hang out.” He…
By Gil Diaz There’s one Center staff person who can claim a longer relationship with the organization than CEO Lorri L. Jean and Chief of Staff Darrel Cummings: Alan Acosta. He joined the Center’s Board of Directors in 1991. Already experienced as a board member for other organizations, such as the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, and the University of California–Santa Cruz Alumni Council, Acosta felt it was a natural progression to add the Center—a social services organization—to his career portfolio. “I was a journalist by profession working as an editor at the…
By Greg Hernandez If the walls in the front lobby of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre could talk, they most certainly would have the voice of Jon Imparato. The rich theatrical legacy built by the Center’s charismatic director of Cultural Arts is literally hanging on the walls of the Renberg lobby where framed posters of shows starring the likes of Billy Porter, Carol Channing, Leslie Jordan, Kathy Griffin, Jenifer Lewis, Margaret Cho, and Alec Mapa are strategically on display. “I rotate them sometimes,” Imparato jokes. “If Jenifer comes here and she’s not on that wall, she’d cuss me out. How…
For nearly 24 years, Jon Imparato has brought an array of famous faces to the stages of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg and Davidson/Valentini theirs in his role as Cultural Arts Director. With his June 2022 retirement approaching, Imparato decide to share some memories of some of the famous headliners over the years. Tony winner Carol Channing: “I gave her a note on how to sing the title song to Hello, Dolly! I said, ‘Carol, when you sing “Wow, wow, wow fellas, look at the old gal now fellas,” that’s a big, big moment. You are the old gal now.’…
By Greg Hernandez Lorri L. Jean and Darrel Cummings don’t officially retire from the Los Angeles LGBT Center until July 1, but their decades of leadership were celebrated by more than 400 guests at an often emotional and sometimes funny tribute dinner last weekend. The Legacy Celebration in honor of the Center’s longtime Chief Executive Officer and Chief of Staff took place April 9 at the California Science Center’s Wallis Annenberg Building and raised more than $700,000 for Center programs and services. “I truly stand in awe of what they have given to the movement,” guest Peter Paige told LGBT…
I wanted to be a part of an organization dedicated to helping people and that’s why I decided to apply for a job at the Center. Working here in an environment that encourages you to be true to yourself has turned out to be one of the best professional experiences of my life! My job in Youth Services involves overseeing the emergency shelter programs that provide a safe, low-barrier, and supportive 24-hour residence to persons experiencing homelessness while they are working on getting connected to housing resources. I started at the Center in the entry level job of Resident Assistant four years ago. Every…
By Greg Hernandez RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Mayhem Miller looked out at the crowd during the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Models of Pride Festival for LGBTQ+ youth last Saturday and spoke from the heart. “You are all being your authentic selves and that is something that is beautiful,” Miller said from an outdoor stage at Los Angeles City College. “When I was young, we didn’t have anything like this. You are going to change our future and I love every single one of you.” Miller hosted the live entertainment portion of the festival attended by nearly 400 LGBTQ+ youth, allies,…
I believe the Center is an oasis of humanity. It has consistently provided me with the opportunity to develop progressive mental health approaches while walking the path of healing with members of the LGBTQ+ community. My job involves providing individual therapy that focuses on trauma resolution while discovering meaning in an individuals’ life experiences. It previously worked on Skid Row in Los Angeles where I had the opportunity to develop protocols for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.…