L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Announces Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

Los Angeles, March 5, 2003—The Board of Directors of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center announced today that Lorri L. Jean has been hired to head the nation's largest organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

"We are thrilled that Lorri will be bringing her talents, experience and energy back to L.A. and to the organization that she so successfully led for six years," said Dean Hansell, board co-chair for the Gay & Lesbian Center. "We have been searching for the appropriate leader for some time, and we are happy to say that the results have been worth the wait."

"I could not be more excited about any professional opportunity in our community," Jean said. "I am the Center's #1 fan. I admire its work tremendously, just as I do the vision and dedication of the entire Los Angeles community whose support allows this work to continue. I will dedicate all of my experience, ability and heart to this organization in an effort to help it more fully and effectively serve the needs of the L.A. LGBT community."

Jean will assume the helm of the Gay & Lesbian Center in mid-June following a successful tenure as Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, where in two years she led the turn-around of an organization with massive debt to one with the largest annual budget in its organizational history. As former executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Center, Jean led this organization through a period of unprecedented accomplishment, growing the annual budget from $8 to $32 million, increasing services, launching new programs and opening The Village at Ed Gould Plaza.

"There is not a more experienced and accomplished leader anywhere in our community nor one who understands the needs of the Gay & Lesbian Center and its constituents better than Lorri," said Interim Executive Director Rebecca Isaacs. "We're all very excited that Lorri will be rejoining our incredible team of staff, and I'm looking forward to working with her."

Jean will be joined at the Gay & Lesbian Center by Darrel Cummings, current deputy executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and longtime professional colleague.

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center provides a broad array of services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, welcoming nearly a quarter-million client visits from ethnically diverse youth and adults each year. Through its Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic, on-site pharmacy, and many other programs designed specifically for the community, the Gay & Lesbian Center is home to a spectrum of free and low-cost health, mental health, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, advocacy, legal, social, cultural, and educational services, including unique programs for youth and seniors.