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Author: McCormack+Kristel

RECRUITER.COM: When Recruiters and Clients Share a Common Goal, Everyone Does a Happy Dance

by McCormack+Kristelon 5 January 2021in Articles

By Joe McCormack

A successful search for an executive director requires an effective partnership between a search consultant and the client. That’s a statement so obviously true it hardly seems worth saying.

The problem is that such partnerships seldom work out successfully.

I know this from experience. I’m Joe McCormack, founding partner of McCormack+Kristel, the first openly gay-owned retained search firm in the US. We’ve been assisting our clients for almost 30 years, and in that time, we’ve been fortunate to be involved with a wide range of searches.

Some clients think the search consultant should shoulder the entire burden of the search, from the identification of sources and prospects through final reference checks. In their minds, that is what we are paid to do.

Other clients lack confidence in the partnership. They often compete with the search firm and conduct their own independent outreach efforts to identify and evaluate candidates. This leads to unnecessary confusion on the part of all prospects.

What follows, however, is a story about a partnership that did work — and why.

Gearing Up for a Challenging Search

A year ago, we were retained by TransForm, a progressive advocacy organization in the San Francisco Bay Area, to recruit an executive director. We were excited to work with TransForm; we loved its mission and its long history of impact in advocating for walkable communities with excellent transportation choices for people of all incomes. But we also recognized the search for a new executive director posed several challenges.

First, we were seeking a successor to the organization’s long-serving and beloved founder. The organization was being led at the time by interim co-directors, which could add some complexity to the process if adopted as a permanent leadership structure (some organizations do that). The organization was in its last year of several multi-year grants that would have to be renewed or replaced, which would be a daunting task for the new executive director. The client, which views its mission through an equity and inclusion lens, was determined to hire an executive director (or directors) with a deep commitment to those values. Add to these factors the regional cost of living — among the highest in the country — and this was not going to be easy search.

However, what distinguished this partnership from other client relationships was the wholehearted involvement of TransForm’s board and staff — including the staff representative on the search committee — in leveraging their relationships to provide valuable sources and possible candidates for us. There were no hidden agendas, nor was there any distrust of our capabilities — only the desire to achieve a common goal of finding the best person for the job, without regard for who would get the credit for success.

When Recruiters and Clients Work Together, Everyone Wins

A mentor once told me a search consultant’s experience is “a mile wide and an inch deep,” meaning we know what to look for in a candidate, but we also know the client is the expert in its program area and strategic goals. We recognized that TransForm’s board and executive team had long-lasting relationships with funders, advocates, and sector leaders, whose recommendations were worth countless hours of the data mining we could engage in for a search. Indeed, some candidates could only be persuaded to apply with a direct approach from TansForm’s leadership, which they were happy to supply. When we needed a quick informal reference, our client could speak candidly and confidentially to a trusted source, who would likely be more open with them than with us. As a result, we decided the best course of action was to initiate open weekly communications with the client that helped us refine our focus at every stage of the process.

With the arrival of COVID-19, the work-from-home directives, and the racial justice uprisings, TransForm experienced financial and morale challenges, like many organizations. Could TransForm’s work be continued remotely? Was the organization effectively serving low-income communities? Was it practicing equity and inclusion internally? These pressing questions weighed on the client and threw a wrench into the process.

We were also being outbid for talent by wealthier organizations, like consulting firms. Our client drafted talking points to respond to the issue and distributed them to everyone on the board and staff and those involved in the search. This enabled all of us as a team to deliver a consistent and credible message to prospects and candidates. When we worked as one, we all worked more effectively.

Everyone on the board and staff played an important and constructive role in the recruiting and evaluation process. Once we were able to narrow the search down to five very capable candidate, the final round of assessment was conducted via several Zoom interviews: one with each of three staff teams, one with the board of directors, and one “ask me anything” session with the outgoing interim executive director. I was happy to see that the extra time and effort it took to set up multiple meetings with each of the finalists ensured buy-in from everyone before reaching a final decision.

When the final candidate was selected and the offer accepted, TransForm’s staff made a video recording, which they shared with us, where they cheered the hard-working search committee and welcomed their new leader with a happy dance.

It is rare to see such a joyous outcome to a lengthy search. We always do our best to add value to the search process for our clients, and we are well paid for our work. But the happy dance was a heart-warming reward and a tribute to the success of one of the best executive search partnerships I’ve experienced.

What made this partnership so different from the rest? If I had to summarize, I’d say there was a healthy distribution of work, enormous patience, acknowledgement of expertise on behalf of both partners, and an approach to problem-solving that was never finger-pointing and only constructive.

If you want to do your own happy dance the next time you hire, take a lesson from TransForm: Be clear about your intentions and goals, trust the search consultants working with you, create a collaborative environment that draws on the strengths of all parties, regularly and openly communicate with the entire search team, and welcome your new hire warmly.

Oh, and feel free to dance!

Joe McCormack is the founding partner of McCormack+Kristel.

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THE STANDARD: The Era of Saints and Martyrs is Over, by Joe McCormack

by McCormack+Kristelon 6 November 2020in Articles

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Announcing TransForm’s New Leader

by McCormack+Kristelon 21 October 2020in Press Releases

By Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz

This is a joint announcement from the Co-Chairs of TransForm’s Board of Directors, Alice Chen and Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz.

We are so excited to announce that after a thorough and competitive search, TransForm will welcome Darnell Grisby as our new Executive Director beginning October 26. Darnell spent the last nine years as Director of Policy Development and Research at the American Public Transportation Association, where he has become a national thought leader pushing for more equitable and innovative transportation policy.

This is a huge moment for TransForm. We were looking for a leader who could help us meet the urgent transit and housing challenges we face with a strong anti-racist policy agenda. Darnell is ready to lead that effort with his deep knowledge of progressive transportation policy and a bold vision for TransForm’s role in making change. Staff and board alike are looking forward to having Darnell’s leadership and experience for the next steps in our journey.

The urgency has never been stronger for the bold solutions we’re known for — 2020 has made the need for systemic change painfully clear. Our core issues are on the line, yet with vision and determination, we have an opening to transform our communities for the better.

In fact, Darnell said it well in a CityLab piece he wrote in July titled, “To Fight Racism, Transit has a Key Role.”

“We have an opportunity to address the discriminatory systems endemic to our built environment, infrastructure investment decisions, organizations and industries. Our best shot to make progress on these challenges is right now.”

Darnell’s career and his lived experience have prepared him well for this opportunity. He grew up in Southern California, where limited transportation options, under-investment, and over-policing of Black and brown communities shaped his perspectives and centered his life-path. He went on to UCLA and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He served as a legislative director in California’s legislature, and a lobbyist in Sacramento, before working at a think tank devoted to smart growth, and then spending nine years at APTA, where he became a leading transportation industry expert.

At TransForm, Darnell will be able to apply his varied experience and collaborative leadership skills to advancing an intersectional, anti-racist vision and strategy for creating more just, healthy, connected communities.

“TransForm is well-positioned to chart a path towards anti-racist transportation, housing, and land use policies. Together, we can remake our built environment, protect our health, and confront the climate crisis before us. I can’t wait to get to work.”

– Darnell Grisby

We hope you will join us for All Aboard at Home on Wednesday, October 21 at 4pm, where Darnell will share a message with attendees and you’ll get a chance to meet him. After he formally starts on October 26, he’ll be reaching out to many supporters and partners of TransForm to introduce himself, listen and learn about our work in the past, and strategize for the future. He’ll be moving from Washington D.C. to the Bay Area shortly after starting the job.

Lastly, we’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to the many TransForm staff members who have stepped up in amazing ways over the course of a leadership transition that has been longer than we expected. That includes Jo Ann Prompongsatorn Farrant and Ann Cheng, who served as Interim Co-Executive Directors in 2019, and Jeff Hobson, who has been Interim Executive Director in 2020, as well as quite a few others who have taken on new responsibilities and leadership roles during this time. Thank you for keeping TransForm strong through it all. And thank you to Stuart Cohen for building this incredible organization that is now ready for a leader like Darnell!

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Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research Welcomes New Medical Advisor, Stephanie Graff, MD

by McCormack+Kristelon 16 October 2020in Press Releases

Los Angeles, California — Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research is thrilled to announce the appointment of a new Medical Advisor joining the Foundation’s team this October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Joining is Stephanie Graff, MD, an accomplished physician who is board certified in Medical Oncology, Hematology and Internal Medicine. Dr. Graff has a strong background in cancer treatment. She is a director of both Clinical Research and the Breast Program at Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at HCA Midwest, Associate Director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, and National Breast Lead for the Sarah Cannon

Cancer Network’s clinical programs. Dr. Graff received a Graduate Degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine and completed a breast oncology sub-fellowship from the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Dr. Graff plays an integral part in numerous programs committed to ending breast cancer and breast cancer treatment. She leads the BE AWARE & Breast Cancer Prevention Clinics at Sarah Cannon HCA Midwest Health, as well as the High-Risk Women’s Program both at Sarah Cannon HCA Midwest Health and for the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network. She serves on the American Cancer Society Kansas/Kansas City Area Board and The Research Foundation Board. She is active in the American Society of Clinical Oncology, serving on several committees, and is currently participating in the prestigious ASCO Leadership Development Program. She also writes as a contributor of KevinMD, and is a sought-after public speaker. Her clear dedication and success led her to receive the Frist Humanitarian Award for her extensive work in the community.

Dr. Graff is well known for passionately connecting with patients to provide personalized, comprehensive oncology care, advancing breast cancer research, and breast cancer prevention.

“The time that I spend with my patients is my time away from my family, and just like their family is what is most important to them, my family is what is most important to me. They become my family. I know the names of their grandchildren, I know where they’re going on vacation next month, I know when their daughter is getting married… being a part of that and sharing those memories and stories with my patients, and seeing them blossom in their life after cancer, is so powerful. I am thankful every day that that’s what I get to do for a living,” says Dr. Stephanie Graff.

“We’re thrilled to have Dr. Stephanie Graff join the Foundation as a Medical Advisor. With her invaluable experience as a leading national expert on oncology care and breast cancer research, Dr. Graff will play an integral role in continuing to expand our global research programs and getting us closer to discovering an end to breast cancer,” says Susan Love, MD, MBA, Founder & Chief Visionary Officer at Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

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Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research Welcomes New Medical Advisor, Lina Romero, MD

by McCormack+Kristelon 16 October 2020in Press Releases

Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research  
Welcomes New Medical Advisor, Lina Romero, MD  

Los Angeles, California — Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research is pleased to announce the appointment of a new medical advisor joining the Foundation’s team this October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Lina Romero, MD, is a dedicated and collaborative oncoplastic breast surgeon and leader with extensive experience as a clinician, researcher, and medical educator. Dr. Romero is passionate about strategic breast cancer research and optimizing not only patient outcomes, but also the patient care experience.

Lina Romero was born in Michigan and grew up in a multicultural household in the Dominican Republic where she became fluent in Spanish and French. She earned her Medical Doctorate from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1997, where she was honored with the Calvin Fentress Research Fellowship Award. Dr. Romero then went on to complete the General Surgery residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center followed by the Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In 2004, Dr. Romero was recruited to the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in Los Angeles. Appointed Director of the Breast Center, she quickly established herself as a leader and was adept at identifying the needs of the programs she worked with and finding opportunities for innovation and improvement. She opened the first dedicated Breast Center in the Southern California Kaiser Permanente medical system, where breast surgeons, breast radiologists and social workers delivered empathic, patient-centered care together under one roof.  Unsatisfied with the fragmented care that her patients requiring radiologic wire localization of non-palpable lesions received on the day of surgical excision, Dr. Romero validated and incorporated intraoperative ultrasound into her surgical practice, precluding the need for wire placement. She also developed a biopsy notification system that significantly decreased the wait time from biopsy to notification of results with 100% patient satisfaction. Another important contribution was the development of the high-risk multidisciplinary clinic for patients at increased risk for breast cancer in an effort to better engage and empower these patients.  Dr. Romero was also involved in numerous clinical research projects that culminated in published contributions to the medical literature and played an important role in patient care algorithms at her institution.

After practicing breast surgical oncology for over a decade, Dr. Romero was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. Unfortunately, sequelae from her treatment prevented her from resuming her surgical practice. As she recovered from treatment, she dedicated her time to her two young children while remaining engaged with the breast cancer community. The recent social unrest unfolding during the pandemic inspired Dr. Romero to look for ways to apply her skills and experience as a provider and survivor to advance health equity in people of color. Her goals are to eliminate barriers in our health care system to ensure access to quality breast cancer care and support for diverse populations. This brought her to the Foundation, which she is eager to join in prioritizing inclusivity in research as we work towards a future without breast cancer.

“Dr. Lina Romero brings her years of clinical experience, and a level of compassion as a breast cancer survivor herself to the Foundation in her role as Medical Advisor. Joining us during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Romero will make her Foundation debut at our Virtual Afternoon Tea at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena,” says Susan Love, MD, MBA, Founder & Chief Visionary Officer at Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

Dr. Lina Romero will be joining Dr. Stephanie Graff, the Foundation’s other newly appointed Medical Advisor. The Foundation is pleased about the addition of Dr. Romero to the team.

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Linda McFarlane Appointed as the Next Executive Director of Just Detention International

by McCormack+Kristelon 24 September 2020in Press Releases

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., September 15, 2020 — Linda McFarlane, a veteran advocate and JDI’s longtime Deputy Executive Director, will take over next month as the organization’s new Executive Director. McFarlane brings to the role her extensive experience leading JDI’s pathbreaking initiatives to prevent and respond to sexual abuse inside detention facilities, and her expertise from more than three decades of working with survivors of sexual assault.

“I am thrilled to announce that JDI’s Board of Directors has appointed Linda McFarlane as the organization’s next Executive Director,” said Russell Robinson, JDI’s Board Chair. “Linda has a nuanced understanding of JDI’s mission, an unrivaled track record of advocating for incarcerated survivors, and a clear-eyed vision for building on our many accomplishments. I have no doubt that our movement will continue to thrive, and grow even stronger, with her at the helm.”

“It is the honor of a lifetime to be named Executive Director of JDI, an organization that is at the forefront of the movement to end sexual abuse in detention and has long been a bedrock of support for incarcerated survivors,” said McFarlane. “As Executive Director, I look forward to building on JDI’s legacy, which includes human rights legislation, survivor-led awareness-raising campaigns, and policy initiatives to bring trauma-informed programs behind bars.”

McFarlane takes over as JDI celebrates 40 years since its founding as the world’s only organization dedicated exclusively to ending prisoner rape — a distinction that it still holds. JDI has secured many impressive wins for prisoners’ rights, including the landmark Prison Rape Elimination Act standards, which Linda helped shape as one of the experts relied upon by the bipartisan commission that drafted them. At the same time, sexual abuse is still widespread in detention facilities, and prisoners are especially vulnerable right now.

“People in detention are so often ignored and forgotten — a trend that has continued during the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic, and the systemic, state-sanctioned racism that our nation is now reckoning with, affect prisoners acutely. These crises underscore the urgency of our work to protect the dignity and safety of all people in detention, and to ensure that when the government takes away a person’s freedom, it upholds its absolute responsibility to keep that person safe,” said McFarlane.

McFarlane succeeds Lovisa Stannow, who announced in February that she was stepping down after 16 years as Executive Director. When Stannow became Executive Director, JDI had one office with a small handful of part-time staff; today, JDI has 25 staff and offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Johannesburg.

Linda and Lovisa have worked together since 2005, when Linda was hired to run JDI’s then-new project to bring direct services to prisoners in California. In 2008, she was named a Deputy Executive Director, overseeing the organization’s domestic programs. “Linda is fearless, compassionate, and a true visionary,” said Stannow. “She pioneered programs addressing sexual abuse inside prisons that many thought would be impossible: confidential rape crisis counseling, inmate-led sexual abuse peer education programs, and human rights training for prison staff, to name a few — all of which have become national models. Linda has also led JDI’s collaboration with corrections officials inside some of the nation’s most troubled facilities, proving that culture change is possible. I can’t wait to cheer Linda and the entire JDI team on from afar as the organization reaches new heights.”

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Just Detention International is a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention.

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Lambda Legal, Board of Directors

by McCormack+Kristelon 27 August 2020in Current Searches

History of Lambda Legal

Founded in 1973, Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. Lambda’s team of over 90 advocates work out of its national headquarters in New York City and five regional offices throughout the United States: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.

For a half of a century, Lambda Legal has been a trailblazer toward ending inequality against the LGBTQ community and those living with HIV. The organization was its own first client, taking on the New York State government when it refused incorporation as a charitable organization, and winning in the state’s highest court. Other notable accomplishments include:

  • a successful challenge to a ban on school activity by a gay student group at the University of New Hampshire in 1974;
  • winning the nation’s first HIV/AIDS discrimination case in 1983;
  • establishing the legal precedent that school officials violate the U.S. Constitution when they fail to protect students from anti-gay bullying by fellow students in 1997;
  • persuading the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn all remaining sodomy laws in 2003;
  • obtaining a historic, unanimous decision in Iowa Supreme Court that denying marriage to same-sex couple is unconstitutional in 2009, setting the stage for;
  • serving as co-counsel in the historic 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case at the U.S. Supreme Court that made marriage equality the law of the land;
  • winning a national first federal appellate ruling in 2011 that employment discrimination against a transgender public employee in Georgia was unlawful sex discrimination;
  • in 2017, in an Indiana case, obtaining the breakthrough federal appellate ruling that employment discrimination against a lesbian, gay or bisexual worker is unlawful sex discrimination, setting the stage of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock decision in 2020.

Current Context for Lambda’s Work

Today, Lambda Legal serves as a firewall against the escalating attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV while continuing to push forward towards a world where LGBTQ people and those living with HIV are respected, protected, and celebrated. Lambda’s mission is advanced through both impact litigation and public policy advocacy in four areas:

  1. Continuing to protect LGBTQ+ identities and relationships by, among other things, protecting the freedom to marry and the benefits of marriage for same-sex couples; safeguarding other, significant relationships; and ensuring access to official government-issued identity documents that accurately reflect one’s gender identity.
  1. Continuing efforts to expand and defend protections against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination within existing laws and developing and supporting efforts to enact new protections at the federal, state, and local level through the passage of new legislation and other policies.
  1. Continuing to challenge policies and practices harming the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people and individuals living with HIV, such as by reforming antiquated laws that impose disproportionate penalties on people living with HIV or that restrict access to medically necessary transition-related care for trans people.
  1. Continuing to challenge anti-LGBTQ+ bias in the justice system by challenging judicial nominees with track records of bias against LGBTQ+ people or people living with HIV, by defending vulnerable LGBTQ+ people in government custody (including youth in child welfare and juvenile justice systems), and by developing and distributing anti-bias training for judges, court personnel, and attorneys.

Responding to a mercurial and demonstrably anti-LGBTQ+ administration has presented specific challenges since 2016. Lambda can no longer count on a receptive federal administration and they have had to respond forcefully and quickly to numerous instances of policy changes that overtly threaten LGBTQ+ people of all ages and people living with HIV. Under newly-appointed CEO Kevin Jennings, who took the helm of Lambda Legal in December 2019, the organization is working to develop a new strategic plan, with pro bono help from Bain Consulting, to help guide it as it prepares for its 50th anniversary in 2023.

For more information about Lambda Legal, visit https://www.lambdalegal.org/

Lambda’s Board of Directors

Lambda Legal’s Board of Directors guides the work of the organization by setting its strategic direction, evaluating its CEO and monitoring the CEO’s progress towards the fulfillment of the organization’s strategic goals, setting and monitoring the organization’s budget, and helping secure the financial resources the organization needs to carry out its work. Members come from a variety of professional backgrounds as well as from across the nation and reflect the diversity of the communities Lambda Legal serves. Members attend three in-person meetings a year as well as one virtual one, and agree to the following roles:

  1. Advancement: Members seek to identify and secure sources of financial support to help Lambda Legal advance its work, and each member agrees to fulfill a $25,000 annual “give-get” for the organization. Members have an assigned development staffer who will work with them to develop a plan to fulfill their “give-get” obligation and support them in their efforts to do so throughout the course of the year.
  1. Advice: Members leverage their own professional expertise as well as that of their networks to bring important perspectives and skills to help advance Lambda Legal’s work.
  1. Ambassadorship: Members seek to represent Lambda in the community to raise its visibility.

 

Lambda Legal’s Board is very much a “hands-on” board where members work actively with each other and with staff to help the organization fulfill its mission. Each member serves on at least one committee (Administrations & Finance, Audit, Development, Diversity & Inclusion, Investment, Nominating, and Strategic Planning), with select other members serving on an Executive Committee which leads the Board under the guidance of its Chair, John Stafstrom of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Opportunity

For more than 45 years, Lambda Legal has been leading the march toward full lived equality for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV. Throughout its history, but most profoundly today, the hard-fought progress that Lambda Legal has made is being eroded by powerful and well-resourced foes. At a critical time in history, this is an extraordinary opportunity to join the effort to defend and continue the expansion of rights for LGBTQ+ people and everyone living with HIV.

Contact

If you are interested in exploring board service with Lambda Legal, please submit a brief cover letter and résumé or biography as attachments via e-mail to:

Michelle Kristel, Managing Partner

Soladé Rowe, Senior Consultant

McCormack+Kristel

1740 Broadway, 15th Floor

New York, NY 10019

Phone: 212.531.5003 | Fax: 212.203.9599

Email: search@mccormackkristel.com | Website www.mccormackkristel.com

All inquiries will be held in strict confidence. 

McCormack+Kristel works only with equal opportunity employers. People of color, people of all gender identities and gender expressions, people with HIV, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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SAAF’s Next CEO: Dr. Ravi Grivois-Shah Named Next Chief Executive Officer of SAAF

by McCormack+Kristelon 29 June 2020in Press Releases

June 25, 2020

The SAAF Board of Directors is pleased to share with you that Dr. Ravi Grivois-Shah has been selected and hired to be the next Chief Executive Officer for SAAF. Our search firm reached out to hundreds of candidates nationwide, and received fifty-four applications; six candidates proceeded to interviews. Ravi distinguished himself from this impressive field of strong leaders. He is clearly the right person at the right time to lead SAAF into our future. ​We all look forward to working with him.

Ravi has worked alongside SAAF for years in his current role as the medical director for Banner’s Alvernon Family Medicine Center and their Mobile Health Program. In 2019, Ravi received the SAAF Godat award for community innovator. As a health care provider, Ravi focused on expanding health care access for LGBTQ+ individuals and he has provided critical knowledge and compassion in his work. Ravi was also a leader and advocate in the process of banning conversion therapy of LGBTQ+ youth in Pima County. Moreover, Ravi is bilingual in Spanish and English. You can take a look at his resume here.

In accepting the position of SAAF CEO, Ravi stated, “SAAF is essential to our community here in Tucson and Southern Arizona. I’m excited about joining SAAF as its CEO so that, together, we can ensure that our family, friends and neighbors living with HIV; members of the LBGTQ+ community; or otherwise in need of help, have SAAF on their side.”

Ravi’s first day with SAAF will be Monday, September 28th. Patti Caldwell has agreed to continue serving as Interim Executive Director until Ravi starts.

We hope you share our excitement and anticipation in welcoming Ravi as SAAF’s next CEO!

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First LGBTQ Executive Search Firm Welcomes Supreme Court Decision

by McCormack+Kristelon 16 June 2020in Press Releases

Palm Springs, CA, June 15 – McCormack + Kristel, the nation’s first openly gay-owned executive recruiting firm when it was established 27 years ago, praised today’s Supreme Court ruling extending protections to millions of LGBTQ workers nationwide by a 6-3 decision.

The firm was founded by veteran search consultant, Joseph A. McCormack as McCormack & Associates on April 1, 1993, in response to the AIDS pandemic, when emerging service providers for the LGBTQ community were in desperate need of professional leadership. For the first five years, service providers and research and policy organizations like amfAR, Housing Works, and AIDS United were the core of the firm’s practice. In time they began to recruit CEO’s and C-suite executives for a broader spectrum of LGBTQ organizations like the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the Trevor Project, Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund, Lambda Legal, PFLAG, the Point Foundation, and numerous others.

The historic nature of the firm’s founding was reflected in its coverage by the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press, and an interview with Joe McCormack by the New York Times for the Sunday, June 27, 1993 Business Section. This led to a flood of resumes from LGBTQ executives and others seeking help with their job searches.  McCormack & Associates found its niche with mission-driven nonprofits, expanding its practice over time to include clients such as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, J. Paul Getty Trust, Natural Resources Defense Council, and numerous others. Throughout its history, McCormack has aligned with clients whose values, particularly a prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion, are shared with those of the firm.

Managing Partner Michelle Kristel joined with McCormack in 2013.  Kristel is the former executive director of In the Life Media (ITLM), a nonprofit organization that produced a documentary series for public television on issues related to gender, HIV/AIDS, and LGBT rights.

In response to today’s Supreme Court ruling, Kristel said, “Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court extends significant protections to millions of employees nationwide. This incredibly important ruling affirms the basic civil rights of LGBT workers. As a firm that recruits diverse candidates to leadership positions across the country, we are assured to know all the executives we place will be afforded federal workplace protections.”

McCormack + Kristel has offices in California, New York and Washington, DC. The firm, which is owned by a veteran and a woman, is a certified LGBT enterprise and its principals are members of the Network of Nonprofit Search Consultants (NNSC).

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CenterLink Announces the Appointment of Denise Spivak at CEO

by McCormack+Kristelon 18 May 2020in Press Releases

May 14, 2020 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL- Today, the Board of Directors of CenterLink announced that they have appointed longtime staff member Denise Spivak as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer.

Stacie Walls, CEO of LGBT Life Center and CenterLink Co-Chair of the Board of Directors says, “Denise has been an integral part of what makes CenterLink so special. Her leadership during her interim CEO tenure has been stellar, particularly through this pandemic. We are thrilled to have Denise at the helm of this agency while we move through our new strategic plan and into the future of developing strong LGBT centers and leaders.”

In partnership with McCormack+Kristel, a national leader in providing diversity-focused executive search consulting services, the Board of Directors conducted an exhaustive nationwide search utilizing leading edge equity-centered recruitment, screening, and interviewing practices.

“CenterLink’s CEO candidate pool was incredibly impressive, included a wide sector of our community, and represented a diverse cross-section of LGBTQ community centers,” said Lance Toma, CEO of San Francisco Community Health Center and Chair of the CEO Search Committee. “After concluding our rigorous and comprehensive search process we are confident that Denise’s talent, leadership, and passion for LGBTQ centers will continue our movement’s forward momentum.” 

Spivak, a graduate of Gettysburg College, most recently served as CenterLink’s Interim CEO. Spivak has served in a number of roles at CenterLink over the last nine years including Director of Member Relations and External Affairs, Senior Director of Programs and Outreach, and Deputy Director. Over the last thirty years, Spivak’s career has refined her expertise in C-Level talent acquisition, organizational management, and broadcast communications.

Robert Boo, CEO of The Pride Center at Equality Park and CenterLink Co-Chair of the Board of Directors said, “Over the last nine years I have watched Denise grow into an incredibly strong, sensitive, and strategic leader. She has the vision and tenacity to lead the CenterLink team in the continued growth of the community center movement.”

Spivak will oversee a Ft. Lauderdale-based national organization serving more than 250 LGBTQ community centers across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and China. Most recently, the Board of Directors adopted an ambitious three-year strategic plan to enhance organizational equity and inclusion, expand centers’ leadership development opportunities, increase funding pipelines for member centers, and strengthen communications across center networks.

 “I am honored to have been selected as the new CEO of CenterLink, and excited to continue working with our talented, committed staff, and amazing network of LGBTQ community centers,” says Spivak.

 About CenterLink

CenterLink was founded in 1994 as a member-based coalition to support the development of strong, sustainable, LGBTQ community centers. A fundamental goal of CenterLink’s work is to help build the capacity of these centers to address the social, cultural, health, and political advocacy needs of LGBTQ community members across the country. CenterLink plays a vital role in addressing the challenges centers face by helping them to improve their organizational and service delivery capacity, access public resources, and engage their regional communities in grassroots social justice movements. Through ActionLink – the Center Action Network, CenterLink is a nationally recognized advocacy force that enables LGBTQ centers and the people they serve to act as a powerful shared voice on issues of social justice and equity.  www.lgbtcenters.org

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