McCormack+Kristel Leading CEO Search for the San Diego LGBT Community Center
June 26, 2018 – Executive search firm McCormack+Kristel has been retained by the San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center to lead its search for a chief executive officer. Delores Jacobs is stepping down from the role after 17 years. Managing partner Joseph McCormack and partner Michelle Kristel are leading the assignment.
The San Diego LGBT Community Center is one of the oldest and largest LGBT community centers in the nation. It provides direct services to the many different facets of the LGBT community, including men, women, youth, seniors, families, LGBT Latino community members and their families, trans community members and their families, as well as those living with HIV. Last year, the organization provided more than 73,000 direct service visits to San Diego community members, and through its events, activities and advocacy touched the lives of thousands more.
The Position
Reporting to a 13-person board of directors, the San Diego LGBT Community Center’s CEO is responsible for managing an annual budget in excess of $6 million and leading the organization’s 55 staff, said McCormack+Kristel. The CEO and the board of directors partner to annually review and refine the organization’s long and short term strategic goals, build on its foundation of fiscal stability and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization.
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The organization wants a strategic and visionary leader who will leverage the talents of its skilled staff and build on a foundation of fiscal stability to broaden the San Diego LGBT Community Center’s reach and increase its impact. “The incoming leader must have a strong knowledge base regarding public policy issues and best practices for nonprofits providing services for marginalized, at risk, and HIV+ communities impacted by racial, economic, and LGBT justice issues,” the search firm said. “The center is seeking a skilled communicator and effective public speaker capable of engaging with groups and individuals across broadly diverse political and social spectrums.”
The new CEO is expected to have the well-developed active listening skills and high emotional intelligence required to mediate conflict; productively engage with community stakeholders, elected officials, police and government agencies; and to find solutions to complex problems,” the firm said. The successful candidate will be comfortable in a highly visible role and will have the flexibility to attend evening and weekend events and community functions. The individual must be an adept coalition builder dedicated to serving the needs of a broadly diverse community.
McCormack+Kristel
Mr. McCormack recently announced the formation of a new business partnership with Ms. Kristel, a former non-profit executive and an associate with the firm since 2013. The partnership, McCormack+Kristel, provides executive recruiting services for non-profit and philanthropic organizations. The firm’s mission is to ensure that all qualified candidates – especially gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, racial and ethnic minorities and candidates irrespective of age – receive equal opportunity for consideration.
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“McCormack+Kristel will build upon our 23-year reputation for excellent service and continue to expand our national recruiting practice,” said Mr. McCormack. “Michelle’s experience as a non-profit leader is a great value-add for our clients. Because she has served in and managed many of the positions our clients seek to fill, she has great instincts for finding talent and making successful placements.”
McCormack+Kristel clients have included the ACLU, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Planned Parenthood, SAGE and the Tides Foundation, among others.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
