Affirmations Selects Antonio David Garcia as Next Executive Director
(Crystal A. Proxmire, 6/29/2011)
On June 27, 2011, Affirmations announced the selection of its next Executive Director, Antonio David Garcia. Garcia, who currently serves as the Executive Director at the Kalamazoo Gay and Lesbian Resource Center, will take over for Interim CEO Kevin Howley and starts his position August 15th.
The announcement comes after nine months of efforts on behalf of a community-based search committee that began meeting in November of 2010. “It’s been a long and committed process – we wanted to make sure we had the best candidate,” said Zip Johnson, Co-Chair of the Search Committee and Vice President of the Board of Directors at Affirmations. “We were very impressed with Dave and are excited to bring him to Affirmations.”
Working in conjunction with Evergreen Executive Source, the Search Committee was responsible for overseeing the process of recruiting, screening, interviewing and recommending a final candidate to the Board at Affirmations. It included a diverse representation from Metro Detroit’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and ally communities, including: Kofi Adoma, Jeff Antaya, Mark Blanke, London Bell, Carolyn Burdi, Zip Johnson, Arlene Kish, and Kathleen LaTosch. Additional people who committed significant time and energy to the work included Torii Hamilton, Howard Israel, Mary Rose MacMillan, and Michael Perkins.
“I could not possibly be any happier about the selection. He has great energy, a great attitude and a thorough understanding of the landscape for the LGBT community in Michigan. I’m very excited about being able to work with Dave during the transition and look forward to supporting his efforts going forward,” said Interim Executive Director Kevin Howley.
Affirmations is Metro Detroit’s community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender (LGBT) people and their allies. Open since 1989 and located in Detroit suburb of Ferndale, Affirmations provides a welcoming space where people of all sexual orientations, gender identities & expressions, and cultures can find support and unconditional acceptance, and where they can learn, grow, socialize and have fun. To join the conversation, community members can nominate themselves on the Affirmations website www.GoAffirmations.org.
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