Ruth Ellis Center names new interim executive director

HIGHLAND PARK –
The Ruth Ellis Center announced Monday the appointment of Kevin Howley as interim executive director. The announcement follows news of the sudden departure of Grace McClelland, the center's first executive director, who served the agency for just over five years.
Howley's appointment is expected to last for several months while the agency conducts a nationwide search to find McClelland's permanent replacement. The center's board named four of its members to a "transition committee" last week. The group will oversee the search.
"The board has charged us with finding an executive director who will build on the center's strengths and lead us into a strong future of serving the needs of LGBT youth in southeastern Michigan," said Bill Greene, the board's president.
Howley, who has a master's degree in business administration from Harvard, specializes in leading nonprofit organizations in times of transition. He has previously served as interim executive director for such Philadelphia-based agencies as Centro Neuva Creacion, an after school and summer camp program for Latino youth, Prevention Point, a multi-service public health organization that seeks to minimize the adverse consequences of injection drug use and sex work, and Point Breeze Performing Arts Center.
"The board looks forward to the leadership and skills that Kevin will bring to this assignment," Greene said. "By combining his skills with our current programs and staff, the center will be able to attract a permanent executive director who can lead the organization in a time when our services are more in need than ever as young people come out of the closet at a younger age, sometimes only to be rejected by not only society, but also by their families."