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 Texas, DeLeon received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. He has served on a number of boards primarily of youth-serving nonprofits and spent three years as president of the Association of Latino Princeton Alumni. DeLeon succeeds the Center’s longtime CFO Mike Holtzman who is retiring at the end of the year.
“Working at the Center allows me to be part of the solution in ensuring that we, as an organization, continue to evolve and meet our community’s needs—and be the voice to create change and progress,” said DeLeon. “I embrace the Center’s mission to help LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete because greater acceptance of us in the world is a worthy outcome.”
Ouellette came to the Center after 15 years of fundraising for the University of Southern California’s Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, where he began as the school’s Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations and rose to become its Chief Administrative Officer. Prior to USC, Ouellette worked in several firms specializing in public relations, communications, and marketing. He has served on the Board of Directors of The Point Foundation, the national LGBTQ scholarship fund. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Ouellette received his undergraduate degree in Public Relations/Communication from Washington State University and his M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
“I chose to work at the Center to pursue my passion for advocacy and support for the LGBTQ population. For more than 50 years, the Center has advocated for equality, care, and access for many members of our community yet our work is far from over,” said Ouellette. “I aim to unite our life-saving and life-enhancing programs and services with pivotal philanthropists and investors who believe in what we do. Together, we can advance and strengthen the Center’s mission for generations to come.”
As members of the Center’s Senior Executive Team, DeLeon and Ouellette join CEO Lorri L. Jean; Chief of Staff Darrel Cummings; Health Services Co-Director Kari Pacheco; Chief Human Resources Officer Sharon-Franklin Brown; Director of Policy and Community Building Terra Russell-Slavin; and Director of Strategic Initiatives Alan Acosta.
“I couldn’t be happier about our newest members of the Center’s senior management team! Ricardo and Calen each have extremely impressive records of success which, I am sure, will be of great benefit to the Center,” said Jean. “Even better, each of them feels great passion for the Center’s work. I am confident that they are exactly the right leaders to help the Center thrive long into the future.”
Since its founding in 1969, the Center has grown to a workforce of nearly 800 people—from among 10 facilities spanning Hollywood, West Hollywood, and South Los Angeles to Koreatown and the eastside neighborhood of Boyle Heights—who offer programs, services, and global advocacy across four broad categories: Health; Social Services and Housing; Culture and Education; and Leadership and Advocacy. Welcoming approximately 50,000 client visits each month, the Center continues to provide vital programs and services to those who need it the most during the COVID-19 pandemic.