After a long silence, the Board of San Diego LGBT Pride (Pride) today released a statement announcing changes to how the organization will be run. This comes after months of friction between Pride and a significant number of local LGBT community members operating under the name of Save S.D. Pride which resulted in an overwhelming vote of no-confidence at a Save S.D. Pride town hall, Nov. 13.
In its statement, Pride said it had been “… focused on strategic planning, and has spent the last two months meeting with key community stakeholders, community members and elected officials.” During this period, however, the Pride Board has consistently maintained media silence.
Pride has made various changes in line with Save S.D. Pride’s demands including leadership changes with the newest addition to the board being Martha Henderson.
Pride will be relaunching the Community Advisory Council which will be co-chaired by San Diego Human Relations Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez and former AIDS Walk Executive Director and current Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) CEO, Barbra Blake.
“The community concern was that the Pride Board was not listening to the community and did not have a good relationship with the community it was meant to serve,” Murray-Ramirez told San Diego LGBT Weekly.
“Now they have responded to the community’s requests and concerns and I believe they are going in the right direction,” continued Murray Ramirez.
One area where the Pride Board continues to be noticeably silent, however, is on the firing of former executive director, Stephen Whitburn, which Pride’s statement made no mention of.
Commenting on this omission Murray Ramirez said, “I still believe Pride owes Stephen Whitburn an apology on how he was dismissed and I hope that will be forthcoming.”
In response to Pride’s statement the moderator of Save S.D. Pride’s Town Hall Forum, Will Rodriguez-Kennedy told San Diego LGBT Weekly, “In September many members of the community came together to address concerns that we had with recent actions by the San Diego LGBT Pride Board of Directors. Since then, we have worked with the board’s leadership to urge implementation of the several corrective actions we suggested. The board’s statement includes several of those suggestions including changes in board leadership, addressing board conduct through the creation of a code of conduct and the reinstatement of a community advisory council led by Nicole Murray-Ramirez and Barbra Blake. Further the board released their minutes and financials and recommitted to transparency.
“We still have concerns that we would like to see addressed. We also encourage the board to appoint more of the candidates we suggested in September and we are told they will consider that in the near future.
“For those who came together in September through November to address their concerns with our community’s pride thank you for your support and for helping move toward greater unity. We must still be vigilant but today marks great progress for our community.”
Stay tuned to San Diego LGBT Weekly and LGBTweekly.com as this story develops.
The full Pride statement is below:
San Diego Pride has the challenging responsibility to represent the complex nature of the full diversity within San Diego’s LGBTQ community. While the board, staff, and volunteers are diverse in expertise, age, race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith, and ability, we strive to listen, reflect, and respond to the ever-evolving needs and concerns presented to the organization. We want everyone to know that we have heard them and will continue our efforts to best support the diverse community that we all share.
Our board has been focused on strategic planning, and has spent the last two months meeting with key community stakeholders, community members, and elected officials. Additionally, the board has implemented and adhered to a code of conduct, and will continue to work under this code. It is our plan that in addition to our signature events, we will drive our energy and resources to continue and expand our advocacy, education, and community organizing that are so clearly needed in this post-election world.
Our board has undergone other leadership changes, and will be continually working to improve our representation of the community. Our board is currently in the process of welcoming new members. The newest addition to the board is Martha Henderson, whose years of community service, volunteerism, and efforts to coordinate a wide range of organizations and events are well known in San Diego’s LGBTQ community.
In January, San Diego Pride will be relaunching our Community Advisory Council. One of Pride’s founders, San Diego Human Relations Commissioner Nicole Murray-Ramirez, will be leading this effort to bring together community change makers and advisors to connect the board with the community. Co-chairing the Council along with Nicole Murray-Ramirez will be former AIDS Walk Executive Director and current Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) CEO, Barbra Blake. The co-chairs will invite community organizations to nominate representatives to serve on the council.
We are committed to work in collaboration with our partners to see that our efforts continue to impact not just our San Diego LGBTQ community, but our global community as well. As we do every year, we will hold a town hall meeting which will be announced soon. We always welcome your ideas and suggestions; please send them to info@sdpride.org. As an organization founded on advocacy for the LGBTQ community, the San Diego LGBT Pride Board of Directors would like to extend our gratitude to the community for sharing their voice and support in moving forward with our mission to foster pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, locally, nationally, and internationally.
Bianca Burt, Co-Chair
Jim Seal, Co-Chair
Matthew Verdeflor, Treasurer
Phyllis Jackson, Secretary
Martha Henderson, Board Member
Nenette Agulto, Board Member
Lynn Barnes-Wallace, Board Member
Judi Schaim, Board Emeritus
Joe Mayer, Board Emeritus
Jeri Dilno, Board Emeritus
Doug Moore, Board Emeritus
