San Francisco Pride has undergone some significant changes with the sudden departure of its executive director less than five months before the nonprofit plans to return to pre-COVID life with its annual in-person parade and festival, according to The Bay Area Reporter.
Executive Director Fred Lopez is stepping down immediately from the position he’s held for just more than two years.
He will be succeeded on an interim basis by SF Pride treasurer Suzanne Ford, a transgender woman who “has served on the board of directors since 2018 and has been on the executive committee as both the vice president and treasurer,” a press release stated.
The city’s traditional Pride parade and celebration festival were once again canceled last June because of the ongoing COVID pandemic. The global health crisis, now entering its third year, resulted in Lopez being the first SF Pride executive director who was not able to oversee an in-person parade.
Lopez announced on his Facebook page that he will return to working at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
The 52nd annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade will be held the last weekend in June. This year’s theme is “Love Will Keep Us Together.”