TurnOut Announces Departure of Founder Jack Beck
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2024
TURNOUT ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF FOUNDER JACK BECK
Board of Directors Has Named Fred Lopez as New Executive Director
San Francisco Bay Area – The Board of Directors of TurnOut are announcing the departure of the organization’s Founder and Executive Director for the last ten years, Jack Beck.
TurnOut’s mission is to mobilize communities to power Queer and Trans movements. The Board has named a new Executive Director, Fred Lopez. Lopez has served on the Board of TurnOut for the past two years and has been a key strategic partner for the organization since 2018.
Beck will remain on staff for a short time to assist in the leadership transition. After his time at TurnOut concludes, Beck plans to pursue new opportunities to continue his work in community mobilization.
“Words cannot express what an honor and a privilege it has been to help bring TurnOut into the world,” said Beck. “Not only is it a project that I deeply believe in, it has also given me the opportunity to meet and work with so many incredible people who are building new worlds for queer and trans people, exploding old paradigms of what is possible for us as individuals and for our communities. It has been nothing short of life changing. This is the opportunity that TurnOut offers to all members of our communities, and I am so grateful to have been a part of making that possible.”
Beck began TurnOut from his Oakland apartment in 2014. During his leadership, the organization has evolved from a handful of volunteers on Meetup.com into a fully staffed statewide organization supporting over 250 nonprofits serving queer and trans communities. TurnOut’s core volunteer programs have engaged over 8,500 volunteers across California, recruiting an average of 1,000 new volunteers and referring over 2,500 volunteers to partner organizations annually. The organization also expanded into new areas of work to support the people driving queer and trans movements, including board member recruitment and training, professional development for nonprofit staff, and an in-house volunteer program to support isolated queer and trans elders. TurnOut has served as a contracted volunteer management partner for some of the largest and most recognizable LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations throughout California, including San Francisco Pride, LA Pride, the Oakland LGBTQ+ Community Center, and AIDS/LifeCycle.
“It has been amazing to see TurnOut grow over the years and come to reflect the insights and contributions of all of the people who have been involved,” Beck said. “TurnOut has always been an exercise of love and co-creation, and it has always belonged to the community. I could not be more excited to see how it continues to grow and evolve.”
“What Jack has achieved building TurnOut from just an idea ten years ago, and the positive impact to our community over that time, is truly inspiring” said Sam Alrashed, Chair of the TurnOut Board of Directors. “As TurnOut transitions into the next stage of our journey, the Board is delighted to work with Fred in a new capacity, whose skills and experience are ideally suited to guide us through our next phase of growth.”
Lopez brings over twenty years of experience working to support LGBTQ+ communities in various capacities, most notably through executive management of outdoor nonprofit events. In San Francisco, he has served as the Executive Director of the Castro Street Fair and SF Pride. He successfully steered the world-renowned Pride organization through the most challenging years of the global pandemic. Lopez has also worked in HIV/AIDS prevention, LGBTQ+ health promotion, and as an administrative professional for nonprofits such as SFMOMA, the SF LGBT Center, and Lyon-Martin Community Health.
“I am incredibly honored to join the team at TurnOut, an organization which has accomplished great things for our LGBTQ+ communities since its beginnings,” said Lopez. “Our nonprofit organizations need volunteers, support, and encouragement to best serve our communities, and TurnOut has been key in offering that support. I sincerely appreciate the trust that the Board and Jack have placed in me to continue the organization’s inspiring progress as well as to help forge new pathways. I have much to learn over the next few months, and I am excited to work with the wonderfully talented staff on everything we have coming up.”
TurnOut is always accepting interest from those who would like to volunteer for LGBTQ+ causes and nonprofits. Please visit turnout.org to learn more and donate today.
______
Media Contacts:
Jack Beck jack@turnout.org 510-332-0786
Fred Lopez fred@turnout.org 415-237-3091
