Jennifer LeSar has decided to step down as board member of the San Diego LGBT Center. After five years of service, LeSar felt it was time to move on and give others an opportunity to serve on the board. A major contributor to the development of The Center over the years, LeSar spoke with the Gay & Lesbian Times about her tenure and her plans to continue working with the organization.

“I had finished up four years of board service with another board and was looking for a new board to join and thought it would be a good idea to serve in the GLBT community, which I had never done before,” LeSar recalled.

LeSar lent her expertise in community development, housing and banking to The Center and several other non-profit organizations. She is currently a senior vice president with Bank of America. A resident of San Diego since 1993, LeSar has been involved with organizations related to community development for the past 19 years.

Richard Valdez, chair to The Center’s board of directors, has appreciated LeSar’s contributions over the years, especially during times when The Center faced some financial challenges.

“Jennifer joined The Center’s board at a time when The Center was undergoing

substantial challenges. With her background in non-profit corporations and her banking experience, she was able to implement key policies and procedures to make The Center more fiscally sound and more responsive to the community’s needs,” said Valdez.

During LeSar’s tenure as chair of the board in 2001, there was controversy over the board’s decision to keep its main meeting agenda behind closed doors. Many members of the community openly voiced their opposition to the decision, including Benjamin Dillingham, who served on the Gay & Lesbian Times editorial board at the time. In an April 5, 2001 editorial he wrote, “It is easier to connect with the community through open doors than closed ones.”

Dillingham recalled his opinion and still agrees, “The problem the minute you go into a closed session is that people assume the worst so it exacerbates your relationship with the community. That’s the problem.”

He realized it was a difficult decision for LeSar to make, however. “The chair does have a responsibility not just to the community but also to the board and I assume Jennifer weighed that and made the decision she made,” said Dillingham.

LeSar recalled The Center was going through some tough financial times and it was a very difficult time for everyone involved, but stood by her decision.

“I think that was the right decision for that moment in time because we were really at a crisis point and we needed a private space to hold conversations,” said LeSar. “It was a desperate act for desperate times and I don’t regret that we did it but I regret maybe how it came across.”

LeSar has seen the board and The Center turn around and grow immensely from those troubled times. Some of her proudest accomplishments have been the opening of the Hillcrest Youth Center as well as launching a pubic policy department.

“We certainly stabilized the board both from a governance and financial standpoint really beginning in 2001. We’ve done a lot of board leadership development,” said LeSar.

“Jennifer inherited one of our community’s biggest financial messes and a public confidence nightmare,” said Michael Portantino, publisher of the Gay & Lesbian Times. “While the Gay & Lesbian Times was extremely critical of her early decision to close the board meetings and the boards general air of secrecy, I have to say Jennifer oversaw a complete transformation of the Center. It is now one of the most financially sound GLBT organizations – and community confidence has never been higher,” he added. “Jennifer’s focus, determination, skill and leadership along with the board she developed are responsible for the turn.”

As the executive director of Community Housing of North County (now Community HousingWorks), LeSar was instrumental in the development and construction of the largest HIV housing project in San Diego County. Community Housing of North County acquired and rehabilitated 22 units of affordable housing in Oceanside. The housing project is now complete and primarily serves low-income households living with HIV and AIDS.

In 2002, LeSar was appointed treasurer to the board of directors for the San Diego Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC), and is primarily responsible for managing a Southern California portfolio of real estate developments.

LeSar realizes her current involvement with the CCDC will keep her busy, but she still intends to oversee a project she is greatly involved in at The Center.

“I don’t plan to add another board to my plate at this time…I’ll continue to champion our youth housing project on behalf of The Center,” she said.

That project, the LGBTQ+ Youth Housing Collaborative, jointly involves The Center, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Diego, Walden Family Services, YMCA Youth and Family Services and Children’s Hospital. LeSar is helping to obtain a transitional youth facility to serve homeless LGBTQ+ youth ages 18-24.

LeSar has enjoyed her time with The Center and the people she has worked with over the last five years and plans to stay involved, just in a different capacity.

“I think The Center is a living legacy of our community history and our social progress and I’m proud to have been a part of its history,” said LeSar.

“…for me I’m not leaving The Center. I’m only changing the way in which I hope to serve The Center going forward.”