After a three-month search for a permanent executive director, Equality Pennsylvania has selected former board member Ted Martin to take the reins of the agency.
Martin, 45, who most recently served as the executive director of economic development marketing at Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development, will officially start June 1.
Nineteen candidates applied for the position between February and March, and board president Brian Sims said Martin ranked in the top five. A search committee reviewed the candidates and the board of directors made the final decision.
Sims said Martin, one of several individuals appointed to the Equality Pennsylvania board of directors in January, was not involved in any board correspondence or meetings after his application.
Thomas Waters, a former board member who resigned in January, expressed reservations with the agency selecting a board member for the position.
“I think it’s disappointing that with a national search, Equality Pennsylvania was left offering the position to one of its board members,” he said. “Pennsylvania is behind many other states when it comes to LGBT rights, and Equality Pennsylvania has been off the map now for almost six months. I wish Ted the best of luck, and I hope it goes well for him, but I just think it’s sad that we didn’t bring in a heavier hitter to help turn the state around.”
Martin is taking the helm of an agency that has undergone an array of organizational transitions in the past few years.
Former executive director Stacey Sobel resigned in August 2008, and the following February the agency selected Lynn Zeitlin as its new head. Last summer, the majority of the agency’s board of directors resigned, followed by Zeitlin’s stepping down this past January, along with several more board members.
In addition to leadership changes, Equality Pennsylvania — which recently dropped its “Advocates” moniker — transferred its legal department to Mazzoni Center so that it can focus primarily on policy work and outreach.
Both Zeitlin and Sobel were attorneys, but Sims said the board decided it wasn’t necessary for the new leader to have a legal background.
“That was something that we discussed at length, whether the person needed to be an attorney or not,” Sims said. “We no longer have a legal clinic, so we didn’t think it was necessary. And in the application pool, we had attorneys and non-attorneys, but we knew we wanted someone with advocacy skills and Ted certainly has that.”
Martin acknowledged the agency has been through several ups and downs recently, and said he wants to restore the public’s confidence in the organization by opening up a statewide dialogue about its future.
“In order for this to be a true statewide organization, I’m going to have to get out there and talk to people across the state. The idea of this statewide political organization is pretty new to Pennsylvania, so I want to make sure I listen to people throughout the state — in the Southeast, Central, Northwest, everywhere — to bring everyone into this,” he said.
Equality Pennsylvania’s website has not been operating in recent months but Sims said the organization has contracted a web designer in Ohio, who has been working on the new site since February, although a launch date has not yet been set.
Steve Glassman, chair of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, who served as an adviser to Equality Pennsylvania’s search committee, said he hopes Martin can get the agency on track.
“I support the mission and goals of Equality Pennsylvania and have worked closely with them in the past and enjoyed the opportunity to work on legislation with the previous executive director, Stacey Sobel,” he said. “I hope that Ted Martin is able to take the organization back to the level of success they enjoyed for many years prior to her leaving Equality Advocates, and I wish him well in his new position.”
Martin, who lives with his husband in Camp Hill, will be working out of Equality Pennsylvania’s new Harrisburg office, but said he will make frequent trips to the Philadelphia office and other locales throughout the commonwealth.
The agency has brought on several board members in the past few months in an effort to build representation throughout the state. Current board members besides Sims include vice president Dr. Mark Usry, secretary Paul Nardone, Jeff Brauer, Syngred Briddel, Joyce Avila, Chris Gatesman and David Price. The board does not currently have a treasurer, but one will be selected in the near future, Sims said.
The agency currently employs a part-time office manager in Philadelphia but Sims said the members plan to hire new staffers once Martin is situated.
After Zeitlin resigned, former policy and program director Jake Kaskey was named managing director, but recently went on medical leave.
Sims said Kaskey is still employed by the agency but declined to discuss whether the leave was paid.
Martin will receive an annual salary of $75,000.
Sims said the members are working to stabilize the agency financially and formulate a fundraising plan.
“I think everybody understands that the financial position of Equality Advocates before we became Equality Pennsylvania was not great,” Sims said, noting that the agency is working on a number of fundraising events for the coming months. “And Ted and I have already started discussions with national organizations who’ve funded us in the past and we’ve started looking at grant applications to see when things with them need to happen.”
In his position with the state, which he held for seven years, Martin oversaw business-attraction and retention programs, and currently serves as the president of the board of the Central Pennsylvania LGBT Community Center Coalition, an agency he helped merge last year with a local youth agency, of which he was also president of the board. Martin plans to stay on as president of the coalition’s board until a new leader can be selected and transition into the role.
Martin said his previous experiences — which also include several years as the deputy chief of staff for the Subcommittee on Labor Standards, Occupational Health and Safety with the U.S. House of Representatives — coupled with his own personal strengths, will help him guide Equality Pennsylvania.
“I have the ability to listen to people, and I don’t pretend to know what I don’t know. I’m pretty determined and persistent in making sure that once a goal is set, I follow through in meeting it, and I’m comfortable working with people and with building coalitions.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].