Today, the Los Angeles LGBT Center announced the start of its search for a successor to CEO Lorri L. Jean, who will retire in July 2022. The search will be led by the Center’s Board of Directors and national search firm Koya Leadership Partners. “We’ve been so fortunate to have a strong leader for so long, and now we must prepare for the next chapter. Our board has literally put years of thought into preparing for this transition to ensure that our next CEO will be a tremendous success, exactly as our beloved organization and community deserve,” said Board Co-Chairs…
Author: Kelly Freter
The Los Angeles LGBT Center announces the addition of two new members to its Senior Management Team: Ricardo DeLeon as Chief Financial Officer and Calen D.B. Ouellette as Chief Development Officer. Both of them have begun their roles at the Center—the world’s largest provider of programs and services to LGBT people—within the past month. DeLeon most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), the nation’s largest non-profit organization that supports Hispanic Americans pursuing higher education. Prior to HSF, he spent more than 25 years with Procter & Gamble in senior finance positions. Born and raised…
In response to the passing of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose progressive values and ideologies earned her the sobriquet “Notorious RBG,” Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Lorri L. Jean issued the following statement: “With millions of Americans, we mourn the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. From her time as director of the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union to her long tenure on the United States Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg has been a mighty defender and beacon of civil rights and justice. She was a powerful champion of LGBT rights, including her most recent opinions in Bostock…
In response to a nurse’s whistleblower complaint alleging forced hysterectomies and other medical neglect at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Georgia privately operated by LaSalle Corrections, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Medical Director of the Audre Lorde Health Program Dr. Kaiyti Duffy issued the following statement: “The Los Angeles LGBT Center commends Registered Nurse Dawn Wooten for her courage to bring into light the accounts of women who reported they were subjected to hysterectomies without their knowledge or consent at ICE detention centers. We stand in solidarity with Ms. Wooten and the immigrant women of color who…
In response to the tragic shooting death of Dijon Kizzee by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies on Monday, the Los Angeles LGBT Center issued the following statement: “Enough is enough. Riding a bike while Black is not a crime and should not result in being shot to death. We call for a full, transparent, and impartial investigation that results in accountability and justice for Dijon Kizzee. “From Louisville and Minneapolis to Kenosha and now Los Angeles, the outcry is the same: stop shooting and killing Black people. Stop terrorizing communities. We all must work to end racial bias in…
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has decided not to file charges in the Aug. 17 robbery and assault of three transgender women on Hollywood Boulevard. Instead, the office released two of the perpetrators and sent the case back to the LAPD for further investigation. In response to that decision, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Director of Policy and Community Building Terra Russell-Slavin issued the following statement: “The Center demands greater transparency and accountability in the recent decision by the Los Angeles County’s District Attorney office to release the perpetrators of a violent attack against three transgender women on Hollywood Boulevard last week. “The District Attorney must be…
In response to the ongoing investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department of the August 17th robbery and assault—all caught on mobile phone cameras and exploited on social media—of three transgender women in Hollywood, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Director of Policy and Community Building Terra Russell-Slavin issued the following statement: “The recent brutal attack in Hollywood of three transgender women is yet another reminder of the pervasive violence facing the trans community, especially trans women of color. These women deserve justice. We call on the LAPD and prosecutors to act quickly to ensure that this case is investigated as…
On Saturday, September 12, from 7–9 p.m. PDT, the Los Angeles LGBT Center will host its first-ever telethon, Love in Action, presented by The Ariadne Getty Foundation, that will air live on television station KTLA 5 benefiting the Center’s vital programs and services. Co-hosted by Emmy Award-winning actress and former member of the Center’s Board of Directors Jane Lynch and KTLA 5 news anchor Cher Calvin, the incredible two-hour fundraising show will include appearances and performances by a roster of A-list entertainers including (to date): Billy Porter, Cyndi Lauper, Sia, Margaret Cho, Jay Leno, Lily Tomlin, Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang,…
In response to the July 29 passing of Dr. Benjamin E. Teller, who was appointed as the Center’s first Medical Director and subsequently served as a member of the Center’s Board of Directors from 1976–1980, Center CEO Lorri L. Jean issued the following statement: “It hurts my heart that the wonderful Dr. Benjamin E. Teller died on July 29, after a battle with cancer. Ben and his partner, Benjamin Britt, have been longtime Center Sustaining Donors and also made a generous gift to the Capital Campaign for the Anita May Rosenstein Campus. Plus, Ben was a member of the Center’s…
In response to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed rule change for shelter providers that attempts to deny access to homeless shelters in the midst of a global pandemic, Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Lorri L. Jean issued the following statement: “The Trump Administration continues its unceasing and inhumane attack on transgender people. Apparently, it’s not enough for the Administration to oppose equal rights for trans people or to take away their healthcare. Now, they want to take away the roofs over their heads. “At a time when COVID-19 is rampant, unemployment is at an all-time…