McCormack+Kristel Recruits CEO for Equality Illinois
September 16, 2025 – Executive search firm McCormack+Kristel has placed Channyn Lynne Parker as the new CEO of Equality Illinois. Her selection follows a thorough and competitive process led by McCormack + Kristel. All candidates were evaluated equitably through the same fair and transparent process, and Ms. Parker emerged as the clear choice based on her experience, leadership, deep ties to Illinois’ most impacted communities, and vision for the future of LGBTQ+ advocacy in Illinois. Ms. Parker is the first Black transgender woman to lead Equality Illinois in its 34-year history. Her appointment comes at a pivotal time for LGBTQ+ rights in Illinois and across the country. As a transformational leader with an unwavering commitment to equity and justice, she is uniquely prepared to guide the organization forward and expand its reach, impact, and visibility in the years to come. Ms. Parker will begin her role as full time CEO on November 17, 2025.
“Channyn is a visionary leader whose career has been dedicated to building power and advancing LGBTQ+ people and communities in our state,” said Equality Illinois board chair Justin DeJong and Equality Illinois Institute board chair Kelly Emery. “Her depth of experience, her authentic connection to the work, and her ability to lead through our current political environment made her the clear choice to guide Equality Illinois into its next chapter.”
A nationally recognized human rights advocate, movement builder, and executive leader, Ms. Parker brings more than two decades of experience advancing LGBTQ+ justice, racial equity, and community-based solutions across Illinois. She currently serves as CEO of Brave Space Alliance (BSA), where she led a powerful organizational turnaround—restoring stability, rebuilding trust, and launching new services including behavioral health programming, transitional housing, and onsite access to third-party healthcare service. Her commitment to health equity and community-centered policy leadership is rooted in her earliest professional work at The University of Chicago, where she worked directly with youth living with HIV.
Following her tenure at The University of Chicago, Ms. Parker went on to serve in nearly a decade of community leadership roles at Howard Brown Health, Broadway Youth Center, and Chicago House, where she advanced youth housing, healthcare access, and reentry services for LGBTQ+ communities. She is a longtime board member of Equality Illinois and currently serves on several statewide commissions, including those focused on poverty elimination, addressing hate crimes, and protecting reproductive rights. Ms. Parker was previously honored with Equality Illinois’ Humanitarian Freedom Award for her advocacy.
“Equality Illinois has long been a beacon for justice, and I am honored to step into this role at such a critical time for our communities,” said Ms. Parker. “This is more than a professional transition for me—it’s deeply personal. I’m committed to leading with courage, compassion, and collaboration as we build a future where every LGBTQ+ person in Illinois is seen, valued, and protected.”
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Equality Illinois is the state’s leading LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, working to make Illinois the most affirming and equitable state for LGBTQ+ people. Founded in 1991 as the Illinois Federation for Human Rights to fight discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in housing, employment, and public accommodations, Equality Illinois has evolved into a nationally recognized advocacy organization. Through decades of strategic work, it helped secure transformational victories, including the Human Rights Act amendment of 2005, which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act of 2013, which legalized same-sex marriage.
Diversity Recruiting
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.
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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.
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.
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
