STATEMENT FROM OUT MONTCLAIR BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Out Montclair produces events and programming year-round that celebrate and elevate LGBTQIA+ people in and around our town, and we are proud to be joined in this mission by supporters across the entire community — individuals, families, volunteers, advisors, sponsors, vendors, venues, small businesses and Montclair institutions. We are extremely grateful to each and every one of these, who help us meet critical needs in our community and ensure that our programming is accessible to all, including LGBTQIA+ youth, families, and older people.

Our events and programs offer information and resources for LGBTQIA+ people, create and strengthen social connections, and celebrate the diversity, empathy, acceptance, and creative collaborative spirit that Montclair is known for. More than 14,000 people attended Montclair’s first-ever Pride celebration in June 2022 — a community-unifying day of undeniable joy. Events like these are visionary, necessary, and cost money to produce. We rely on the community to help us provide for and celebrate the community, and Montclair Pride 2022 in particular was made possible by the generous support of more than 120 sponsors and vendors.

In light of Out Montclair’s rapid growth, and in order to continue to produce and scale up high-quality programming to reach even more people in Montclair and surrounding towns, the organization’s Board of Trustees unanimously decided to hire Peter Yacobellis as Executive Director in November 2022. Peter previously served as President of Out Montclair on a volunteer basis since its founding in April 2021, and he has been essential to our success as an inclusive and visionary leader, skilled communicator, listener, organizer and doer. We support him fully in his role as our Executive Director.

As legal and financial stewards of Out Montclair, we on the Board of Trustees have always taken legal and ethical compliance matters very seriously. From the start, Out Montclair has maintained and observed a strong conflict of interest policy, and the organization operates scrupulously in accordance with federal and state laws concerning nonprofit organizations.

Out Montclair is committed to the highest ideals of community: diversity, respect for differences, safety, trust, inclusion and belonging. Our organization and leadership are united and steadfast in our mission to improve the lives of every LGBTQIA+ person and family in Montclair and its surrounding areas. All who share these values are welcome to join us, help us and contribute to our community’s success.