“I mean, we had some pretty, pretty honest comments in the, in the letter, but we didn't wanna come across as attacking them,” said Bob Leyh, one of the contributors to the letter.
In a letter signed by 30 people (many formerly staff members of the San Diego Pride) came criticism over the board, saying that high turnover and lack of direction plague the current staff.
“We've heard rumors that they want to go back to a, there's just a festival and parade, versus being a pride that's 365 with programs year-round,” said Leyh.
This, as the list of organizations pulling out of the pride festival grows by the day. Mainly due to musical headliner Kehlani and their stance on the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
“Have we ever seen this many withdrawals from the San Diego Pride Festival ever?” I asked.
“No,” said Leyh. “The short answer is no.”
"Our problem with Kehlani is not that they are critical of Israel. A lot of people are critical of Israel, including most Israelis that I know. Our problem with Kehlani is that they are using their platform to make a broad call of violent action against those with whom they disagree,” said Rabbi Devorah Marcus of Temple Emanu-E.
Kehlani posted a video on social media, addressing multiple accusations of anti-Semitism.
“I am not anti-semitic nor anti-jew. I am anti-genocide. I'm anti the actions of the Israeli government. I am anti an extermination of an entire people. I'm anti the bombing of innocent children, men, women. That's what I'm anti,” said Kehlani.
But those words didn’t seem to do the trick, as multiple Jewish organizations, UCSD, and Mayor Todd Gloria will not be participating in the festival.
The San Diego Pride board responded in a statement, saying, “As a community organization, we value the feedback and input of our constituents. The Board of Directors and San Diego Pride leadership take all concerns seriously. We are working diligently to preserve the mission of the organization. While we are currently building a safe and welcoming Pride Week experience for our entire community, we look forward to continued engagement with the San Diego LGBTQ+ community as we continue our year-round programming and steward the organization toward a safe, collaborative, and hopeful future.”
A written response was demanded from the San Diego Pride Board by Monday.
According to Leyh, they said they will address the letter and other issues at the board meeting on Tuesday.
Here is a copy of the full letter sent to the San Diego Pride Board.
“To the Board of Directors of San Diego Pride:
We write to you as current board emeriti, former board members and co-chairs, former staff, program leaders, current and former volunteers, and long-standing supporters of San Diego Pride, with over 250 years of collective service to the organization, to express our grave and growing concern over the state of San Diego Pride.
This letter is a call of concern in the direction and leadership of San Diego Pride.
The current condition of Pride reflects not just instability but a profound crisis in leadership, direction, and community trust. The Board’s inaction, lack of transparency, and repeated failures of accountability have left the organization weakened, its values compromised, and the broader community confused, disappointed, and alarmed.
With less than 60 days until San Diego Pride’s flagship LGBTQ+ events, we see a hollowed-out organization whose identity has been blurred, whose staff have been depleted, and whose historic commitment to year-round advocacy, inclusion, and leadership development has been all but abandoned. The public façade of celebration is now overshadowed by internal chaos.
Among the most troubling indicators of systemic dysfunction:
- The resignation of yet another Executive Director, following less than a year in the role, and the quiet hiring of an interim leader without transparency or community engagement. Making this the 5th Executive or Interim in less than two years.
- The unannounced and unexplained departure of key and senior staff in a year and a half, including the Director of Education and Advocacy, with no public plan to sustain or rebuild these critical programs.
- The complete erasure of the Pride Staff and Board directory from the public website further distancing the organization from the very community it claims to serve.
- The exodus of community-based programs — She Fest and the LGBTQIA+ Survivor Task Force — due to deep misalignment with the current leadership’s values and actions, and leading other programs to discuss leaving the organization for similar causes, and an utter lack of staffing support.
- The dramatic decline in full-time staff from more than 30 to fewer than ten raises concerns about operational capacity and sustainability.
- The lack of response, dismissiveness, and at times outright hostility and retaliatory behavior from board members when staff, volunteers, board emeritus, and community leaders bring forward concerns.
- It is disturbing to read articles that conclude with the statement: “… request for comment from San Diego Pride went unanswered.” Non-responsiveness to media inquiries is very concerning and reflects an organizational leadership that is over its head or has something to hide.
- Repeated stonewalling and deflection by the Board, which continues to scapegoat former leadership, which never had these issues in their years of service, instead of taking responsibility for the culture and chaos it is currently fostering.
To be clear: This is a governance failure.
The Board's failure to uphold even the most basic legal obligations of nonprofit governance — including the duties of care, loyalty, and fiduciary responsibility — constitutes not just an ethical lapse, but a dereliction of your legal and moral responsibilities to this organization and the community it serves.
Board members have historically been stewards of Pride’s legacy: visible, grounded in community, and accountable to the needs of our movement. Today, many current board members are unknown to the community. That one co-chair resides out of state is more than symbolic; it underscores the disconnect and insularity that now define the Board’s conduct.
Meanwhile, Pride’s historical role as a powerful, year-round force for LGBTQ+ education, advocacy, organizing, and cultural leadership has atrophied under your watch as national attacks on queer and trans rights intensify, and San Diego Pride's national leadership is needed now more than ever. The very ethos of “Pride 365” that previous leadership built within San Diego Pride has vanished.
San Diego Pride is at a crossroads. Without immediate course correction, it risks becoming a hollow brand — a single weekend of rainbow pageantry, rendered impotent by its abandonment of the deeper work of justice, inclusion, and year-round liberation.
We therefore make the following recommendations:
Articulate a clear and public vision for the future of San Diego Pride.
- What are your core values and long-term goals?
- What commitments to advocacy, equity, and year-round programming remain in place?
Disclose and democratize the process for hiring the next Executive Director.
- What is the timeline, process, and who is involved in the selection?
- How will the community be engaged to ensure leadership that is inclusive, qualified, and trusted?
Implement immediate transparency and accountability reforms.
- Resume regular posting of board meeting minutes, financials, and board/staff directories.
- Publish bylaws, board conduct and accountability policies, conflict of interest policies, and board member terms.
Conduct a third-party, completely independent audit of organizational culture, decision-making, and staff attrition.
- This process must center those who have departed and those harmed by racism, transphobia, retaliation, or marginalization.
The community is watching, and many are walking away, not because they no longer care, but because they care too much to remain complicit in silence. If the Board refuses to acknowledge and address these failures, you will continue to lose the confidence, funding, and participation of those who built and sustained this movement.
We know what San Diego Pride can be because we helped build it: a vibrant, year-round force that uplifts the most marginalized among us and centers justice, joy, and unity. That Pride is still possible, but only if courageous, restorative leadership emerges now.
We request a written response by June 16, 2025, and welcome the opportunity to meet with the full Board in a transparent, facilitated, and public forum.
This letter will be shared with the broader San Diego LGBTQ+ community two weeks from today.
With Unbreakable Pride and Unshakeable Power,
Judi Schaim, San Diego Pride Board Emeritus
Joe Mayer, San Diego Pride Board Emeritus
Doug Moore, San Diego Pride Board Emeritus
Sue Hartman, former Co-Chair San Diego Pride Board
David Thompson, former Co-Chair San Diego Pride Board
Alberto Cortes, former Co-Chair San Diego Pride Board
Cheli Mohamed, former Pride Board member, Pride Staff and Volunteer
John Acosta, former San Diego Pride Board member
Joe Fejeran, former San Diego Pride Staff
Bob Leyh, former San Diego Pride Staff
Johnny Lopez, former San Diego Pride Staff
Mark Maddox, former San Diego Pride Staff
Nicole Verdes, former San Diego Pride Staff
Alex Villafuerte, Executive Director Pacific Arts Movement and former San Diego Pride Staff
Cheryl-Anne Phillips, San Diego Pride Volunteer Parade Manager
Randy Pittman, San Diego Pride Volunteer Festival Manager
Shiloh Tamir, San Diego Pride Volunteer Festival Manager and former San Diego Pride Youth Coordinator
Christopher Villa, Pride Festival Volunteer
Edwin Lohr, Pride Volunteer
Sean Redmond, former San Diego Pride Volunteer Festival Manager
Joe Smith, former San Diego Pride Volunteer Medical Director
Clay Kilpatrick, former San Diego Military Department Volunteer Lead
Zaide Jurado, former She Fest Volunteer Co-Chair and former San Diego Pride Volunteer
Gaia Croston, former She Fest Volunteer Leader and former San Diego Pride Volunteer
Sarah Anderson, former She Fest and San Diego Pride Volunteer
Murphy Hernandez, former She Fest and San Diego Pride Volunteer
Jordan Boaz, former She Fest and San Diego Pride Volunteer
Max Disposti, Founder and Executive Director, North County LGBTQ Resource Center
Gabrielle Garcia
Frank Stefano.”
