San Diego Pride is handing the keys to its embattled operation to local nonprofit leader Kishalynn Elliott, naming her the organization’s next permanent executive director after months of churn and criticism. Elliott is slated to start in January, stepping in to run next July’s marquee festival along with Pride’s year-round programs.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, the board locked in the decision on Dec. 18 and described Elliott as the group’s first Black lesbian to serve as permanent executive director. The outlet reported that her selection capped a nationwide search launched in the fall.
From the Monarch School to Pride
Elliott arrives from the Monarch School Project, where she has held senior operations and evaluation posts and is listed on the leadership roster as chief operating officer. Coverage of the school and its work notes that she helped scale programs for unhoused students and led a long-term study on social-emotional learning. That track record is detailed by the Monarch School Project and Education Week.
Turnover and community fallout
Elliott steps into the job after a bruising stretch for San Diego Pride that critics say has been marked by fast-paced leadership exits, staff departures and frayed relationships with parts of the community. Current and former volunteers, staffers and board members publicly raised alarms about transparency and governance, and several Jewish groups pulled out of Pride events over a June festival headliner controversy. Times of San Diego and Axios San Diego reported on the public letter, the leadership turmoil and the resulting boycott.
A national search and visible pay range
The executive-director role was posted as part of a nationwide search this fall, and the public listing set the starting salary between $190,000 and $210,000. Search materials and the posting were circulated on national nonprofit job boards used by the firm assisting the Pride board. Listings on LGBTFunders.org show that advertised range.
What leaders say
Board members and local advocates have greeted the hire with cautious optimism. Board member Bob Leyh told the Union-Tribune that Elliott’s deep San Diego experience should help mend strained relationships with community members, while organizer Klay Kilpatrick urged Pride to use the transition to recommit to a “Pride 365” approach focused on year-round programming and activism. Those reactions were reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune…