Arcus Announces 13 Executive Directors to Participate in Arcus Leadership Fellowship

NEW YORK, NY (May 15, 2015) –– The Arcus Foundation, a global foundation promoting respect for diversity among peoples and in nature, announced today the selection of 13 executive directors to participate in the Arcus Leadership Fellowship.

Formerly known as the Arcus LGBT Leadership Initiative (ALLI), the fellowship is designed to support early-stage executive directors of LGBT and allied nonprofit organizations based in the United States. The fellowship is part of the foundation’s commitment to advance the strength, diversity, and effectiveness of leadership in the LGBT movement.

“The emerging leaders in this year’s fellowship have made a range of exceptional contributions to social justice,” said Kevin Jennings, Arcus’ executive director. “Arcus is committed to lifting up and investing in the effectiveness and success of these talented individuals and their leadership as they continue to advance LGBT equality here in the United States.”

The 2015 cohort includes a lawyer leveraging legal strategies to advocate for the human rights of children born with intersex traits, a former California Deputy Attorney General now at the helm of a national nonprofit serving LGBT immigrants, a transnational activist providing support to transgender Latin Americans residing in the U.S., and an athlete and coach who founded a national nonprofit to ensure sports and athletics are more safe and inclusive of LGBT people.

Arcus Leadership Fellows named today include Andrea Bowen (executive director, Garden State Equality); Ginna Brelsford (co-director, GSA Network); Susana Cáceres (executive director, El/La Para TransLatinas); Charlene Carruthers (director, Black Youth Project 100); Caroline Dessert (executive director, Immigration Equality); Haven Herrin (executive director, Soulforce); Darrious Hilmon (executive director, Affirmations); Matt Kidd (executive director, Reaching Out MBA); Charles Stephens (executive director, The Counter Narrative Project); Hudson Taylor (executive director, Athlete Ally); Geoffrey Winder (co-director, GSA Network); Janson Wu (executive director, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders); and Kimberly Zieselman (executive director, Advocates for Informed Choice).

Arcus fellows gain access to a suite of resources to support this cohort’s ability to reach out to key partners, build effective alliances, and develop their professional expertise. As part of the yearlong program, fellows will attend a retreat with their mentors to set personal and professional goals and begin the development of an ongoing network of peer support.

Arcus has partnered with a series of mentors possessing decades of experience and leadership in a diverse range of fields in the nonprofit sector. Confirmed mentors include Patricia Jerido, Kate Kendell, Clarence Patton, and Tim Sweeney, among others.

The program is managed by Desiree Flores, Arcus’ U.S. Social Justice Director, and Richard Burns, a nonprofit management consultant who is both a former Arcus Chief Operating Officer and past executive director of New York’s LGBT Community Center.

Those participating in the fellowship were selected through a rigorous review process involving a panel of foundation staff.

ABOUT ARCUS
Founded in 2000 by Jon Stryker, the Arcus Foundation is dedicated to the idea that people can live in harmony with one another and the natural world. Arcus’ work is based on the belief that respect for diversity among peoples and in nature is essential to a positive future for our planet and all of its inhabitants. The Foundation works globally and has offices in New York City and Cambridge, UK. To learn more, visit: www.arcusfoundation.org

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