Affirmations' executive director appointed to national board

FERNDALE – Leslie Ann Thompson, executive director of Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Centers. Thompson has led Affirmations for five years and for three years has helped organize the annual Community Center Institute, an annual event hosted by the National Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Centers. It is an opportunity for community center staff from around the nation to gather, network and learn from one another.
"I am so very honored to have been appointed to the Board of the National Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Centers," said Thompson. "Affirmations is constantly striving to be the best that it can be and those efforts are being realized on a national basis." Thompson will serve on the Board alongside leaders from Los Angeles, New York City, Orange County, Tucson and other notable cities. She is the first Michigander to be appointed and serve.
Under Thompson's leadership, Affirmations has grown into the largest LGBT organization in the state, with an annual budget nearing one million dollars. Affirmations has been in operation since 1989 and provides a variety of programs, services and social opportunities for LGBT individuals in Southeastern Michigan.