McCormack+Kristel Leading CEO Search for Resource Center
March 16, 2026 – McCormack+Kristel has been retained by Resource Center to lead in its search for a new CEO. After more than four decades influencing legal change and shaping Dallas’ civic community — including 16 years as CEO of Resource Center — Cece Cox has announced she will retire in early 2027. McCormack + Kristel will conduct a national search for her successor, marking a carefully planned, thoughtful leadership transition for one of the nation’s largest LGBTQIA+ community centers, which now serves more than 60,000 North Texans each year. “For more than 40 years, Dallas has been my home, and equity for the LGBTQIA+ community has been my pursuit,” Ms. Cox said. “Caring for friends during the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and witnessing the community response to government indifference motivated me to build upon that foundation of advocacy and perseverance and to help create institutions and services for future generations.”
Founded in Dallas in 1983, Resource Center (originally named the Foundation for Human Understanding) is the nation’s second largest center providing a wide range of programs and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual and more (LGBTQIA+) community members and critical assistance to people living with HIV and AIDS and for their families. More than 60,000 people each year benefit from services including medical, dental, nutritional, legal, mental health, housing and financial support through multiple clinics and facilities throughout the Dallas area.
McCormack+Kristel was started in 1993 as McCormack & Associates with the mission of recruiting senior leadership for the many research, advocacy and human services organizations growing exponentially in response to the AIDS pandemic. Diversity recruiting has long been on the firm’s agenda.
With the advent of effective treatments for HIV/AIDS, and the diminishing needs of many of these organizations, the firm broadened its client base into areas like social justice; healthcare; women’s issues; higher education; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender; civil rights; and more.
Related: McCormack+Kristel Recruits CEO for Equality Illinois
Five years ago, founding partner Joseph A. McCormack formed a new business partnership with Michelle Kristel, who joined the firm in 2013 as an associate. The firm has offices in New York City and Palm Springs, CA. McCormack+Kristel clients have included the ACLU, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, TransForm, Planned Parenthood, SAGE, and the Tides Foundation, among others.
In 2022, Mr. McCormack retired. Ms. Kristel continues to run the firm’s national practice. She is the former executive director of In The Life Media (ITLM), a non-profit organization producing social change media to raise awareness of issues related to gender, HIV/AIDS, and LGBT rights.
Independent Film & Television Alliance Search
McCormack+Kristel has placed Jackie Brenneman as president and CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA). She succeeds Jean Prewitt, who is stepping down at the end of the month after 25 years leading the organization. “Jackie brings industry insight, legal and lobbying expertise, and a proven record of guiding complex membership organizations,” said Paul Bales, chairperson, IFTA and partner and COO of The Asylum. “Her deep appreciation of how business, public affairs, and creative communities intersect, and her experience navigating the fast pace of evolution in our industry and the challenges it presents, especially for independent companies, make her uniquely qualified to lead IFTA into their next chapter. We look forward to working closely with her.”
Ms. Brenneman joins IFTA with a career spanning organizational leadership, government relations, legal practice, and nonprofit oversight. She spent nearly a decade at NATO, rising through the organization to executive vice president and general counsel, where she served as a strategic leader for the exhibition community and the organization’s membership during periods of significant change and disruption.
Related: McCormack+Kristel Helps Recruit New Leader for Project HOME
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
