The LGBTQ Center Long Beach Taps McCormack+Kristel to Find New Leader

November 30, 2020 – LGBTQ-focused search firm McCormack+Kristel has been retained by the LGBTQ Center Long Beach to lead its search for a new executive director. Founding partner Joseph McCormack is spearheading the assignment along with senior associate Catie DiFelice.

The executive director provides executive leadership, vision, motivation, inspiration and direction to the organization’s staff and volunteers. Reporting to a nine-member board of directors, the leader is responsible for ensuring the efficient and successful operation of the center including execution of board’s strategic vision, the fulfillment of contractual obligations and the practice of sound fiscal management. This position is responsible for proposing policy direction and furthering the strategic direction, goals and mission of the center. The executive director is the organization’s senior representative and must exhibit excellent communication and highly developed interpersonal skills.

The successful candidate for this position will be a self-motivated, visionary leader desirous of creating services, opportunities and community for the LGBTQ people of the greater Long Beach and surrounding areas.

“The ideal candidate will be a collaborative leader and skillful  manager who exudes passion for the center’s work and mission,” said McCormack+Kristel. “They will be empathetic, people-centered, and will bring the professional skills and rigor to lead the organization to new levels of growth and success. The candidate will have exceptional interpersonal skills and will understand the intersectionality of racial equity, gender equity, and economic justice issues and their impact on LGBTQ affected communities. This person will have a strong commitment to the values of diversity, equity and inclusion, and a commitment to advancing social justice.”

The LGBTQ Center Long Beach began in 1977 as living room gatherings to discuss issues important to the LGBTQ community. The center was officially incorporated in 1980 and has been providing a variety of health, social, advocacy, legal and service programs to the LGBTQ community in the Greater Long Beach area for four decades.

Veteran Search Consultants

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 AIDS pandemic. Diversity recruiting has long been on the firm’s agenda.


McCormack+Kristel and WB&B Recruit CEO for Lambda Legal
McCormack+Kristel and WB&B, an executive recruitment firm focused on diversity and inclusion, have together led in the placement of Kevin Jennings as the new CEO of New York-based Lambda Legal, a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.


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.

Four years ago, founding partner Mr. McCormack formed a new business partnership with Michelle Kristel, a former non-profit executive and an associate with the firm since 2013. 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.

Bringing more than five years of retained executive search experience, Ms. DiFelice’s primary focus is non-profit and higher education assignments. She has also worked in the technology, healthcare and consumer markets. Although she has helped recruit C-suite and other senior executives in many markets and sectors, she said she feels most connected to her work on behalf of mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations. Her broad non-profit search experience cuts across the healthcare, civil rights and social justice, education and arts and culture sectors. Ms. DiFelice also serves as a senior associate with Kevin Chase Executive Search Group.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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