Check! Done!

For Immediate Release: March 1, 2010

Contact: Michel DuBois (802) 778-0882

Outright Vermont Names New Executive Director

Outright Vermont is exited to announce Melissa Murray as the organization’s new Executive Director. Murray will start on March 15th, succeeding Christopher Neff, who stepped down in December. Founded in 1989, Outright Vermont is the state’s LGBTQ queer youth center and statewide advocacy organization. The Mission of Outright is to build safe, healthy, and supportive environments for LGBTQ queer youth (ages 13-22).
Murray was selected after an extensive search undertaken by Outright Vermont’s Board of Directors. Murray is “excited to help guide Outright into the future. I am especially excited to be working with queer youth, and look forward to getting to know the community in Vermont.”

Murray recently moved to Vermont from Columbus, Ohio. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Ohio State University, and comes to Outright Vermont with a variety of organizational experiences. While in graduate school, Murray worked for GLBT Student Services at the Ohio State University, and prior to that, she worked in an agency providing sober and mental health support services to LBTQ women. Murray has experience with advocacy, volunteer management, budgeting, fund development, and service delivery, and has worked on issues related to racial justice, safety, economic empowerment, and reproductive health.

“The Board of Directors was thrilled to find such an amazing candidate right here among us in the Burlington area.  We have no doubt that Melissa is the right person to bring Outright to its next level of success,” said Claire Giroux-Williams, Chair of the Outright Board of Directors.

For more information, please visit http://www.outrightvt.org/ or Michel DuBois (interim-ed@outrightvt.org) or 802.778.0882.

Outright’s organizing strategy is based on a youth empowerment, social change model that tells us that youth power is an essential element in the fight for equal rights. We describe youth empowerment in two parts – providing the safe space and resources so that youth can do the heavy lifting themselves and adjusting the fundamental power dynamics so that their hard work can achieves results.