Friday, October 18, 2013
The Board of Directors of Stonewall Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Jarrett Lucas has been promoted to Executive Director. Lucas, a member of the Stonewall team since 2010, brings more than a decade of leadership in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) advocacy, organizing and philanthropy. Lucas will be replacing outgoing Executive Director Paul Hyman."Jarrett brings to Stonewall deep experience in the nonprofit sector coupled with a spirit of innovation that will serve the Foundation well in helping us to engage a broader cross-section of our community in support of LGBTQ organizations and individuals," said Dante Mastri, Board President at Stonewall Community Foundation. "The LGBTQ movement is evolving, and Jarrett's commitment to transforming our grantmaking and amplifying our impact in the community will take our work to the next level."
As Executive Director, Lucas will broaden the Foundation's funding strategies. This work will focus on exploring innovative grantee and donor partnerships that are in tune with community needs, and expanding philanthropic services. With extensive experience in the human rights field, Lucas is also excited to introduce New York to a more movement-engaged Stonewall.
"Our work is transformational. Stonewall grants have contributed to our community's ability to protect, take care of and uplift itself," said Lucas. "We do our history and our name proud by owning the fact that we are an agent of change. And, as a public foundation, being accountable to the people at the center of our mission means having a voice — a perspective beyond grantmaking that seeks progress, that challenges injustice and inequity."
Most recently, Lucas served as Stonewall's Deputy Director. Prior to joining Stonewall, he was a freelance consultant in board and organizational development. Between 1999 and 2008, Lucas also held staff positions at the Bryson Institute, the Philadelphia Foundation, and lastly at Soulforce, where he was a co-director for four years. Throughout his career, Lucas has worked with an impressive roster of groups, including Young People For, the National Black Justice Coalition, GLAAD, Marriage Equality New York, INCITE! and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.
Lucas has degrees in both Architectural and Computer Engineering from Drexel University, and he is currently the Vice Chair and Board Secretary at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, the only philanthropic organization working exclusively to advance LGBTQI causes around the globe. His activism has been profiled in the documentaries Equality U and Generation Next 2.0, and numerous publications, including the Advocate, Newsweek, The New York Times, Mother Jones, and American Crisis, Southern Solutions.