Washington DC - August 3, 2009 - Today, National Stonewall Democrats announced that Executive Director Jon Hoadley has accepted a position leading One Kalamazoo, a new Kalamazoo, Michigan campaign formed to protect the city's nondiscrimination ordinance in an upcoming ballot fight.
Said Melissa Sklarz, co-chair of the Stonewall Board of Directors, "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I congratulate Jon on his exciting next step and thank him for his dedication and hard work while at Stonewall Democrats. His work has had a positive impact on the lives of LGBT people around the country."
Board Co-chair Shane Larson added, "Jon's decision to fight to protect the rights of LGBT people in Kalamazoo shows how dedicated he is to working for change at the grassroots level - something Stonewall excels at. I know he'll bring the knowledge and expertise he demonstrated everyday at Stonewall Democrats to the important fight in Kalamazoo."
While at Stonewall Democrats, Hoadley increased the number of regional chapters from 90 to 120; increased participation by chapters in the Democratic National Convention by 33 percent; focused the organization on increasing grassroots participation; and played a role in more than 24 candidate campaigns across the country.
"Being able to work with an organization I truly care about has been inspiring. Every day Stonewall Democrats are doing the 'boots on the ground' work to elect pro-equality Democrats" said Hoadley. "I'm eager to continue supporting the organization in the future and watching its continued growth. I'm also excited to get back to Michigan where I attended college and gained initial experience in multi-issue progressive organizing."
Hoadley is leaving Stonewall Democrats with a budget surplus and strong fundraising and development plans to continue the organization's work to elect pro-equality Democrats. As the current political climate has shown, organizing and mobilizing the grassroots is essential to winning campaigns. Stonewall Democrats' national network of chapters is the most extensive, campaign-focused network of LGBT activists in the country.
Chief Operating Officer Kyle Bailey will be acting as interim executive director during the search process.
With more than 120 local chapters, Stonewall Democrats is the nation's only organization of LGBT and allied Democrats. Stonewall Democrats works to elect pro-equality Democrats to public office and hold them accountable to advance the pro-equality policies and legislation important to pro-equality Americans.
To learn more about our work, visit www.stonewalldemocrats.org or follow us on twitter @StonewallDems
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