LGBT Community Center appoints interim executive director

LGBT Community Center appoints interim executive director

Dennis Poplin selected to fill six month post by Robert Raketty - SGN Staff Writer The board of the Seattle LGBT Community Center appointed an interim executive director to replace Shannon Thomas, who resigned last month to pursue other opportunities. The board says it will make a permanent appointment within six months. "We didn't feel that we wanted to move so quickly to fill the executive director position or hire for that without doing our due diligence; without involving the community; and without making sure that we had the best possible person for the job in that position," said Board Co-President Jerry Stewart. "We are hoping to really firm up that position and make a permanent decision sooner than the six month maximum we have set for ourselves." Dennis Poplin, formerly the assistant national field director for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in Washington D.C., has agreed to fill the post until a final decision is made. However, Poplin is also one of the candidates being considered for the permanent appointment. "We had a couple of very qualified candidates that we looked at. Dennis, obviously, was at the top of that list. We were able to jump on that and bring him in as interim executive director," said Stewart. "His willingness to come into the Center knowing it was a time of change was very appealing to us. "We have had an excellent executive director for the last four years. With Shannon's departure... [i]t's a good time to reevaluate, reassess and look towards the future. That's an interesting and exciting place to be and Dennis was excited about that possibility." Poplin told the SGN this week that he will maintain the programs, activities and internal day-to-day operations of the organization while the board continues its candidate deliberations. Yet, he also plans to help the board evaluate its efforts and plan for the future. "What I will be doing and have started to do, is reach out to all kinds of people: former board members, donors, community leaders, and volunteers-all kinds of folks. I want to really talk to them about the Center and their experience," he said. "I want to know where they see the Center going and would like the Center to be in the future. That is really one of the my goals in the next six months is to really communicate with the board and help them do similar things so they can define the mission, programs and activities in a way that is really clear to people; where the Center is, how it operates and what it has to offer the community in Seattle." When asked what interested him in the position of executive director, Poplin said he liked to be at the "center of things" and believed it would be a good position to help "make things happen" and meet people who are both politically engaged and community minded. "This is the kind of position where you are really thrown into the middle of things," he said. "All of that kind of appeals to me. Plus, all the possibilities of the Center, I think, are very interesting." Poplin originally hails from Texas, where he co-founded Jump-Start Performance Co., a multi-disciplinary theater company and performance space in San Antonio; The San Antonio Lesbian & Gay Media Project, dedicated to media education and advocacy; and was the founder and director of Out At The Movies: San Antonio's Annual Festival of LGBT Films. Poplin said he sees his lack of local experience as an asset more than a hindrance. "I am a neutral observer. I don't have any history with the Center or the community in a way that would prevent me from hearing people out without defensiveness," he said. "I can really just talk to people about their perceptions, interests and visions in a very open way. I can communicate that back to the board, volunteers, staff and supporters-hopefully-in a way that they would really benefit from." Poplin said he encourages people to come by the Center, not only to say hello, but to find out about what's happening at the Center. In addition to a new art show each month, the Center offers a lending library, meeting space and public computer. For more information about the Center, visit www.seattlelgbt.org.