Family Equality CEO Jaymes Black, who has led the national organization for LGBTQ+ families since early 2021, is moving on to become CEO at The Trevor Project, which works to end suicide among LGBTQ+ young people.
I had the honor of interviewing Black (under their previous name) shortly after they started at Family Equality. Black grew up in a small Texas town, was outed as a teenager, and endured bullying and physical abuse until dropping out of school. They eventually obtained a GED and at age 21 moved to Dallas with $70 in their pocket, got a degree, met their wife, and started a career.
Black spent more than 20 years as an executive at technology and defense corporations in a variety of operations and supply chain roles, then as senior managing director for talent at financial giant Charles Schwab, before coming to Family Equality as the first African American head of the organization.
They also encountered many obstacles on the way to forming a family, from eight fruitless years of fertility treatments, to an adoption agency that went bankrupt, to another that refused to work with same-sex couples. Eventually, though, they and their wife adopted twin boys, a journey they shared in more detail as part of Family Equality’s 2020 Out in Texas project. The next year, they joined the organization as CEO, bringing a wealth of professional and lived experience to the role. During their tenure there, they relocated with their family to Washington, D.C. They also came out as genderqueer, changing their name and using all pronouns.
Black shared in a press statement:
Leading Family Equality has been an absolute privilege. It was difficult to make the decision to take on a new leadership opportunity. I have immense respect and love for this organization and the impactful and life-changing work we do to protect LGBTQ+ families. I know the talented Family Equality team will continue to ensure families all across the country are seen, celebrated, connected, and protected.
And they said in another statement, “I am elated and deeply honored to step into the role of CEO at The Trevor Project for so many reasons—especially since this is an organization I desperately needed myself as a queer young person growing up in South Texas.”
Scott Gatz, co-chair of Family Equality’s Board of Directors, said, “We are profoundly grateful for Jaymes’ contributions and the legacy that she leaves behind. Today, Family Equality and its team are stronger than they have ever been and we’re not skipping a beat. We look forward to building on the foundation Jaymes leaves behind to further deliver upon Family Equality’s unique mission.”
Family Equality’s Board of Directors has selected board co-chair Alexis Kantor as interim president and CEO while it searches for a new permanent CEO. Kantor has been on the board since 2017 and has more than two decades of executive experience at a Fortune 100 corporation. She is also a queer parent.
“As I step away to my new role, I’m honored to pass the torch to Alexis and know she’ll be an incredible leader for Family Equality,” said Black. “Though I’m stepping into a role with a new organization, my family and I will still be around. At the end of the day, I’m still a queer mom and Family Equality will always have my heart.”
While I am sure that Black’s presence will be missed at Family Equality, I am equally sure they will have a positive impact at The Trevor Project.
Full disclosure: I serve as an unpaid, non-board expert on the Family Equality Communications Committee.
