Protest planned at San Diego Pride Board Meeting on firing of executive director

Following San Diego LGBT Pride’s sudden dismissal of their executive director Stephen Whitburn, community members are planning a demonstration at tomorrow’s Pride board meeting.

San Diego LGBT Pride is a 501(c)(3) organization that receives much of its revenue from sales from members of the community and a significant sum from taxpayer funded sources and many in the community feel a sense of ownership of the organization and have major concerns about its governance and transparency.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. at the Pride Board office at 3620 30th Street in San Diego volunteers including Pride’s Festival Manager Bob Leyh, Parade Manager Chad Ryan and Medical Director Joe Smith along with several former board members, three of whom were elected co-chairs and several community leaders including Nicole Murray Ramirez are planning on presenting the six-member board with a list of concerns and a list of corrective actions that they believe are necessary to right what are being perceived as unjust actions.

Former San Diego Pride board member and officer, Will Rodriguez-Kennedy told San Diego LGBT Weekly, “San Diego LGBT Pride unceremoniously dismissed their executive director Stephen Whitburn and many in the community are outraged. To make matters worse, the board has failed to operate in a transparent manner. It has not released its minutes in over a year (May 2015) and the records from before May 2015 are missing (March and April 2015). The Board has also disbanded the Pride Community Advisory Council which was a commitment to the community after a scandal shook up the board in 2009.”

Reasons for Whitburn’s dismissal remain unclear as there has been no statement from the Pride board. Unconfirmed community speculation ranges from a lack of communication to Whitburn was simply not liked.  LGBT Weekly reached out to Pride for comment but none of our phone calls were returned. Previously Pride Board member Nenette Agulto  stated on the Pride Web site that the goal of Pride was to represent the diverse community, “As the Board and Diversity Development  Committee Chair, my goal is to ensure we represent the diverse community of San Diego. I also look for training opportunities to keep our board aware of current events and issues. We are always looking for committed individuals willing to volunteer to help make a difference. There’s more than our parade and music festival that SD Pride Staff and Board members spend time on.”

Nicole Murray Ramirez, co-founder of Gay Pride (which later became LGBT Pride) with Tom Homann and Jess Jessop in 1974 expressed disappointment at the board’s actions. “I have been involved with San Diego Pride since the beginning in 1974,” Murray Ramirez told LGBT Weekly. “Throughout the decades I’ve seen Pride go through many changes. I’m very disappointed in the board of Pride because they made commitments to the community including setting up a Community Advisory Board which they have now disbanded. It is not their right to disband it. It was a commitment and obligation that they made to the community.

“If they would have had the Advisory Board and talked to them about Stephen (Whitburn) they would have gotten a widespread reaction of how Steve Whitburn has done an outstanding job and has great standing and a lot of support in the community.”

Murray Ramirez continued, “It is also my understanding that last year Pride made $200,000 and they were only able to give out around $20,000. I hope they will be able to give out a lot more to our community. Yes, I’m very disappointed in Pride and the current board.”

LGBT Weekly has learned that the list of concerns being presented to the Pride board tomorrow include:

1.The unceremonious termination of Stephen Whitburn, an executive director and community leader, who presided over the most financially successful Pride events in the organization’s history

2. The Board’s failure to post minutes in over a year and the inaccessibility of minutes from previous years

3. The Board’s failure to post financials for 2015

4. The Board’s perceived lack of connection with San Diego’s LGBT community

5. The Board’s decision to disband the Pride Community Advisory Council

6. The Board’s refusal to listen to a united staff’s plea that they not terminate their executive director

7. The Board’s refusal to let volunteer leaders including the festival manager, parade manager and medical director address their concerns with the executive committee

8. Individual Board members being intoxicated at their Rally and VIP areas during the Pride events

9. Individual Board Members who were disrespectful and dismissive of volunteer leadership and staff.

10. The Board’s creation of a culture of fear and divisiveness among their staff, volunteers and the community at large

11. The Board’s dwindling number and growing inexperience in governance and management

12. The Board’s failure to communicate its vision and intent to the community it is dedicated to serve

Among corrective actions that the group will demand are:

 1. The re-instatement of Stephen Whitburn as executive director

2. The resignation of Board Co-Chair Bianca Burt

3. The resignation of Board Secretary Jaime Carillo

4. The immediate appointment of former board members who are connected to their community and experienced in governance

5. That the board embraces transparency and posts its past minutes and financials and recommits to post future minutes and financials in a timely manner

6. The reinstatement of a Community Advisory Council

7. That the board amend its agenda to take on these matters at this meeting

Pride’s Web site states that the San Diego LGBT Pride Board is comprised of an all volunteer group of community members who give of their time and talent to ensure Pride has diverse representation and good governance.

San Diego LGBT Pride Board Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. at San Diego Pride Office, 3620 30th Street, San Diego, CA 92104. More information on San Diego LGBT Pride can be found here.