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Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center Names New Executive Director | WDIY Local News

Ashley L. Coleman
Contributed photo
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Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
Ashley L. Coleman

The Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center has announced the appointment of a new executive director. WDIY’s Sarit Laschinsky has more.

In a news release, the organization said Ashley L. Coleman, a longtime state LGBTQ+ community leader, has been named as the center’s new executive director.

She was formally introduced at a community event hosted by the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center on Monday, and the release said the center’s board of directors unanimously voted for Coleman’s appointment.

She succeeds interim executive director Bill McGlinn, who began leading the center in March 2022 after founder Adrian Shanker stepped down.

McGlinn said in a statement that he has “complete confidence” in Coleman’s readiness and ability to serve as the center’s new leader.

Coleman has been a fixture in the LGBTQ+ community in Philadelphia for over a decade.

She was previously Executive Director at Galaei, a social justice organization serving the queer and trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of color community. She led Galaei through the production of Philadelphia’s 50th Pride parade and festival in 2022.

Coleman also served as Senior Events Manager at the Mazzoni Center, a nonprofit organization that provides LGBTQ-focused health and wellness services.

Growing up in the Lehigh Valley, Coleman led Queer youth initiatives, produced large-scale events for nonprofits in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and served as the general conference coordinator of the world’s largest transgender-specific conference from 2016-2019, according to the release.

In a statement, Coleman said the Lehigh Valley is “diverse, hardworking, steeped with history, and always feels like home,” and that she was honored to join the center, which she called, “a keystone in LGBTQ+ support far beyond the limits of the Lehigh Valley.”

(Original air-date: 1/9/23)

Sarit "Siri" Laschinsky was WDIY's News and Public Affairs Director until 2023.
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