JASMYN, which serves the Jacksonville area LGBTQIA+ community, has parted ways with CEO Francisco Castro.
Former board member Tina Wirth, a nonprofit consultant, has been named interim leader.
Castro was hired in February to succeed founding CEO Cindy Watson who retired in December 2023. Barbra Kavanaugh of South Florida, part of the Interim Executive Network in Washington, D.C., was interim leader.
Castro’s departure was “by mutual agreement” with the JASMYN board, chairman Blake Osner said.
“We know this transition comes amid a time of significant strain for JASMYN and for the broader LGBTQ+ community in Florida,” he said. “Nonprofits like ours are navigating increasingly hostile policy climates, shifting funding landscapes and rising needs among the young people we serve. It has not been easy. … We needed to make sure that JASMYN could be as nimble and responsive as quickly as possible to the current challenges nonprofits are facing.”
The two years of leadership transitions since Watson’s retirement, he said, “have been difficult.”
“We take responsibility for some missteps in the search and recognize that the lack of continuity has caused strain and uncertainty. We are committed to doing better, starting now,” Osner said.
Castro, who called JASMYN his “dream job” on his Linkedin page, could not be reached.
Wirth said the “missteps” stemmed largely from a lack of communication between the board and JASMYN’s staff, volunteers and the public. Still, the nonprofit’s work continued and still does, she said.
“Nothing went wrong, but in this climate we have to be transparent,” she said.
bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JASMYN and new CEO part ways after just 6 months leading LGBTQIA+ community
Reporting by Beth Reese Cravey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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