Catching Up with Leslie Ann Norlin-Thompson, Longest-Serving Executive Director of Affirmations
Our "Where Are They Now?" series will get you up-to-date on the lives of LGBTQ+ community advocates who have contributed to Michigan with years of tireless activism before embarking on new chapters, whether in retirement or pursuit of fresh opportunities elsewhere. In this space, we'll trace the paths of these trailblazers as they navigate life beyond the limelight, offering insights into their current endeavors, passions and the legacies they continue to shape. Join us as we celebrate their resilience, achievements and the lasting impact they've left on Michigan's LGBTQ+ community.
Much like Detroit, the city she hails from, Leslie Ann Norlin-Thompson’s story is one of resilience. When faced with societal shame in relation to her identity, Norlin-Thompson rose from her lowest moment to ensure others in her community wouldn't have to go through what she did.
Whether it be through her revitalizing work as the longest-serving executive director of Affirmations or her recent activism through the Campaign for Southern Equality, Norlin-Thompson is an inspiring example of how to live a life of service.
What sparked your interest in advocacy work?
I sat in my car in the garage with the engine running, only to be interrupted by my roommate coming home unexpectedly in the middle of the work day. The universe works in mysterious ways. I was 25 and had just finished my first relationship with a woman. I had so much shame and fear that suicide seemed my only option.
Fast forward to me beginning my third relationship with a woman at the age of 35. She was 46 and I was her first female partner. She found an ad for Affirmations on the back page of Metro Times and wanted to attend the women’s support group. I thought she was nuts. I was running the Boys and Girls Club of Troy and I knew if anyone on my board found out I was gay I knew I would be fired.
In November 1992, she talked me into going to a meeting. From there, my relationship with Affirmations moved forward at warp speed. My partner, Karla Handley, and I began facilitating the women’s rap group within a year of us walking through the doors for the first time. That first year we attended every group we possibly could… including a six-week coming-out program. Well, come out I did!
In no particular order, we also designed and facilitated an eight-week couples-in-touch group, began a couples support group, took the speakers training and began speaking at businesses and schools, volunteered on fundraising events, sat on committees and Karla even ended up on the board of directors. And as I expected within a few years of me coming out, my career with the Boys and Girls Club was over. I spent the next five years at Camp Fire Boys and Girls where I was out and proud and so gay! Karla and I were still heavily involved with Affirmations and also got involved in several other organizations around the community such as MOHR (Michigan Organization for Human Rights), MAPP (Midwest AIDS Prevention Program), APM (AIDS Partnership Michigan), Triangle Foundation (now Equality Michigan), etc.
In 1999, I was hired as the executive director of Affirmations. It was quite a seven-year journey from being terrified to attend that first women’s rap group to running the organization. I believed it then and I still believe it to this day… Affirmations saved my life.
What has your path looked like since moving on from Affirmations?
It has looked pretty good! I had already been doing stand-up comedy around town a bit, occasionally getting an opportunity to travel and be funny. The chance to perform in Las Vegas presented itself and I dove head-first into the competition. Out of 270 comics, I came in second and earned the opportunity to perform in Vegas several times over the next five or so years. I continued doing stand-up until 2016.
In 2010, I began dating Cindy Norlin. In 2014, we were married in New Mexico. We both love to travel and since leaving Affirmations, we have been all over the world, including Africa and China. I was able to turn Cindy into a Disney fan and we have also spent many trips wandering around the Disney properties in Florida and California.
We also spent 19 days in a camper driving every mile of Route 66, from downtown Chicago to Santa Monica, a dream we discovered we both shared on our first date. That trip was part of us living in our camper for five months after having sold our Royal Oak home.
Within a year of moving into a beautiful Ferndale condo, we had sold it and were on our way to Asheville, North Carolina. We have been living in the mountains now since 2019.
What are some of your proudest moments doing nonprofit work?
When I first started at Affirmations, attendance was down, all the staff had walked out in protest over some board action, there was no money in the bank and the building was a mess. Jan Stevenson and Susan Horowitz knew that I had helped get two organizations (Camp Fire and the Boys and Girls Club) back on their feet and corralled me at a Women’s Film Night. Within a month I was hired at Affirmations.
I was in my element! It wasn’t long before staff were hired. We started to see the attendance go back up, held a very successful fundraiser, worked with the HOPE Fund to get Affirmations back on track financially, and began convincing the board that we needed a new facility. If we wanted the LGBTQ+ community to feel pride, then they had to have a community center to be proud of. Seriously, at my very first board meeting in October 1999, I presented the board with an Excel spreadsheet floorplan of a new building.
It may have taken me eight years to see my dream come to fruition, but my proudest moment happened the weekend of Pride in 2007! We set out to raise $3.5 million and instead raised $5.3 million. We received capital donations of $250,000 each from Ford, GM and Chrysler. At the time, the largest corporate contribution to an LGBTQ+ organization, anywhere, from a Fortune 500 company… let alone three of them. And the building was certainly something the community could be proud of. With big windows facing Nine Mile, we made a statement to the greater community and to ourselves — we don’t need to hide anymore.
I had many Affirmations moments along the way that I am proud of:
- More than 500 folks attended the Big Bash at Metro Airport!
- Having the marquee at Royal Oak Music Theatre say “GM presents Affirmations Big Bash” in 2010, the first time a major corporation in metro Detroit had been willing to have their name openly associated with an LGBTQ+ organization.
- All three candidates for governor came and spoke at Affirmations in 2002, another first.
- Having Maryann Mahaffey present me with the Spirit of Detroit award was special because I grew up in Detroit. I love my city and was so touched to be honored.
How do you think your own identity influenced your desire to help other LGBTQ+ Michiganders?
I have always been inclined toward fundraising for a cause. As a child, I would go door-to-door during the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon and raise money to help. In junior high, I raised more money than anyone else in the candy sales for the American Youth Hostel program. In grade school, I was president of the Future Teachers Association. In addition to raising money, I liked to volunteer and tended to seek out leadership roles.
It was a natural path that when I came out, I was going to get involved. However, I never imagined when I walked into Affirmations in 1992, scared out of my mind, that I would end up where I did. But I loved the community I found there. And after attending the 1993 March on Washington, I had the courage to come out and begin to fight for what was right for the LGBTQ+ community… my community. I realized that if I could come from wanting to kill myself after my first relationship with a same-gender partner to running one of the 10 largest LGBTQ+ organizations in the country, other people could make a similar journey. They just needed a place. They just needed some people. They just needed some love and respect.
Where are you now?
Cindy and I are still in Asheville. We are currently helping our Asheville community recover from a hurricane, something we never expected in the mountains. For the last several years, we have been volunteering with our local Habitat for Humanity. Their ReStore has the second largest sales in the country and they lost nearly everything in the hurricane. After three months of rebuilding the 15,000 square feet interior, we will be reopening in late January. We also serve on the WomBAT (Women Building Assistance Team) committee. Each year, we raise the money and swing the hammer to build a home for a local family. I have successfully avoided taking a leadership role in any of the organizations we are involved with [laughs].
We have also become involved with the Campaign for Southern Equality, volunteering at events for LGBTQ+ folks and doing things like stuffing backpacks for transgender youth in the southeast United States. I was involved in politics until the most recent election. I have now chosen to be blissfully ignorant as we plan new trips around the world and the country. This year, so far, we will be visiting Detroit for Lions playoff games, Palm Springs, Panama, Costa Rica, Olive Hill, Tennessee and the Upper Peninsula for Cindy’s 50th high school reunion.
Speaking of the Lions…after 67 years of being fans, we are thrilled to see our Lions doing so well. We have been traveling to games and love, love, love coming home to Detroit. Just a few weeks ago we spent a few days in downtown Detroit, enjoying the Christmas Markets and all the shops along Woodward. I had so much pride in my city.
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