Courtesy of one•n•ten, December 2017 Issue.
Arizona's leading LGBTQ youth development agency, one•n•ten, announced Nov. 1 that after six years of agency leadership, the organization's executive director, Linda Elliott, will retire effective Jan. 1, 2018.
"Linda has been a steady steward of one•n•ten and a visionary leader for what has become one of the preeminent LGBTQ youth development nonprofits in the country," said Carmen Jandacek, one•n•ten board chair. "She has helped professionalize the organization, significantly expand its capacity to serve, and has been a powerful advocate for its mission statewide and beyond. On the solid foundation of Linda's leadership, we will now begin our search for the next executive to guide the organization forward and continue to support the youth of our community."
As lifelong advocate for LGBTQ issues, Elliott’s achievements include founding the HRC Arizona steering committee, serving ne of the early board members for the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS and a 2015 induction into the Echo Magazine Hall of Fame. As the executive director for one•n•ten, she’s led the organization, which serves LGBTQ youth ages 14 to 24, since she left the private sector where she was a C-level executive of a Fortune 500 financial services company.
Prior to Elliott's arrival, one•n•ten had been a predominately grassroots organization operated by limited staff, a large volunteer base, often hosted in donor and booster living rooms across the Valley.
Notable programs and milestones created, expanded or achieved under Elliott's leadership include: Q High - an online high school diploma program, OUTdoors! Camp - the largest LGBTQ camp of its kind in the nation attracting youth from all over North America, the Promise of a New Day (P.O.N.D) housing program for homeless youth, the YES program - a life skills and youth employment program, and the opening of half a dozen one-n-ten satellite centers across Arizona.
Also, under Elliott's leadership, one-n-ten's FRESH Brunch has become one of the largest and best attended nonprofit fundraising galas in Arizona.
During her tenure, Elliott more than quadrupled the operating budget of the organization; raised the agency's profile in Arizona and across the country, and significantly increased the number of LGBTQ youth served since her arrival in 2011.
An arson fire at the organization's Youth Center in July brought a lot of attention to the agency followed by an outpouring of community support. Already a work-in-progress, Linda worked tirelessly with one-n-ten's leadership team, Board of Directors and the Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation to accelerate the agency's move to the Parsons Center for Health and Wellness located at Central Avenue and Portland Street in Phoenix. The Parsons Center now houses one-n-ten's Youth Center and administrative offices.
"Of the myriad things we've accomplished at one•n•ten over these past six years, two for which I am exceedingly proud are our team and our board of directors," Elliott said. "Our team is resilient, committed, capable and a powerful force for change, service and advocacy for the youth we serve. Our board has been one of the most engaged and active I've experienced. The lives that have been changed and, in some cases, even saved by this remarkable organization are hallmarks of the agency's work. I'm grateful to have been part of such an extraordinary and accomplished organization."
For more information on one•n•ten, visit onenten.org.