CSW Board Interviews Prospective New Members

The Christopher Street West (CSW) board of directors interviewed eight candidates for three open board seats during its monthly meeting, held Tuesday night at its offices in the Pacific Design Center. CSW is the nonprofit group responsible for putting on the annual LA Pride parade and festival, held each June in West Hollywood. The addition of the three new members will bring the total number of board members to 15.

Of the eight applicants, five were gay men, one was a bisexual women and two were transgender women. Three of the eight candidates were African-American, while the others were white.
Many of the candidates explained they were applying to help fix problems that surrounded the 2016 Pride festivities when a community backlash arose after CSW initially announced that the festivities would be geared toward younger people and de-emphasize lesbians, transgender people and older gays. As a result of that backlash, CSW reversed its original plan and restored the transgender and lesbians events.

When applicants questioned what qualities the board was seeking in the new members, CSW board president Chris Classen said they were especially looking for people who had experience in finance, law and project management. He explained the board has been paying for legal and project management services, so board members with those backgrounds could help reduce their expenses.

Board member Andy Sacher added that people who were good at collaborating and had ties to the community were important as CSW had “some mending to do,” referring to the community backlash. Board member Craig Bowers suggested that how much time a person could commit to the volunteer organization would be a major factor in deciding who was selected.

When candidates inquired about the board’s financial situation, board treasurer Mike Carriere said, “We took a big hit this year,” but did not elaborate further. WEHOville reported in August that admission receipts were down 30 percent in 2016 and the group lost $395,000 on this year’s event.
Asked if CSW could put on the LA Pride festival without charging admission, Bowers replied that ticket sales were the main source of income, followed by sponsorship and then food and beverage sales. Classen added they would like to apply for grants and work on fund-raising, but with an all-volunteer board, those tasks were difficult.

One candidate questioned what CSW’s biggest challenges were moving forward. Classen replied, “That’s sort of a moving target and there’s still an ongoing discussion, so that would also be a discussion that new board members would be a part of.”

No mention was made of the two recent community meetings sponsored by the City of West Hollywood regarding the future of LA Pride. However, during a board retreat held this past Saturday, the group worked on a visioning board. Cards with various goals covered the one wall of the CSW office. Some of the cards read “Behave with Integrity,” “Collaborate Effectively,” “Innovate,” “Implement Capably” and “The Most Diverse and Inclusive Pride on Earth.”

Two of the cards listed under a “Proactive Accurate Communication” goal read “Create a Straight Forward Answer as to what CSW Does with the $” and “Improving Public Perception.” Meanwhile, under the Mission Statement goal, the card was blank.

The three new board members will be announced in October. The three selected will officially join the board at its next meeting on Oct. 18 and will each serve for two-year terms. During that October meeting, consultants from this year’s pride festival will give their wrap-up report.