7/28/2019 OS-SLDN Announces Plans Moving Forward

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 3, 2013

OutServe-SLDN Announces Plans Moving Forward

The Board of Directors and Chapter Leaders have joined forces in a transitioncommittee,

which will seek new leadership and direction for the organization and has called for the space

to rebuild.

The OutServe-SLDN Board of Directors is pleased to announce the formation of a transition

committee, a group of four Board Members and four Chapter Leaders who will be working

side-by-side to appoint new leadership to the Board of Directors and begin to see the

organization in a new direction.

The members who have been selected by their peers to represent the OutServe-SLDN

membership are Tania Dunbar, Todd Burton, Brynn Tannehill, and Regis Sullivan. They hail

from OutServe Ladies, the Military Advisory Council, OutServe Trans, and OutServe

Georgia, respectively. Katie Miller, Mike Magee, Matthew Phelps, and Regina Grattan

volunteered on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Tannehill stated:

This has undoubtedly been a challenging time for OS-SLDN. The most important

thing we've all learned from this situation is how critical the support network we've

built is to the LGBT service members around the world. They truly care about this

organization and want it to succeed. Its time to put aside our differences and get to

work.

We hope the broader community will give us the space to work without distraction,

and we urge our chapter leaders and individual members to use this transition

period to bring us their ideas because were one team from here on out. Stronger,Together isnt just a motto -- its the truth.

OutServe-SLDN was the merger of two vastly different organizations; OutServe brought the

enthusiasm of a grassroots organization and SLDN was an established and respected legal

services organization. April Heinze, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, stated, Over the

past several months, weve learned a lot, particularly the importance of engaging our

members. The transition committee will be working to ensure the organization better

reflects the needs of our LGBT service members, veterans, and their families.

The organizations transition is likely to mean significant changes to board makeup, such ascurrent members stepping down while more service members from OutServe-SLDNschapters are added.

As part of this evolution, Josh Seefried, who has been Co-Chair of the entity since the

merger in 2012, has announced his intent to resign from the Board. When I founded

OutServe in 2010, before the repeal of Dont Ask, Dont Tell, the number one priority wasto give a voice to the LGBT military members who were serving in silence, Seefried said.

7/28/2019 OS-SLDN Announces Plans Moving Forward

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 3, 2013

Three years later, my commitment to empowering the LGBT military community is just as

strong. At this point in history, I believe stepping down and vesting greater trust and

authority in our members is the right thing to do.

Seefried will delegate his co-chair responsibilities and his resignation will be effective

Monday. Todd Burton noted, Josh is a valued member of the community who hascontributed greatly to ending DADT and forming this network. We thank him for his many

contributions and wish him the best in future endeavors. Although he will be leaving his

position as Co-Chair, we will be seeking his counsel over the next few weeks to ensure a

smooth transition."

The committee intends to submit recommendations to the Board of Directors in the coming

weeks. In addition, the group is specifically exploring the best avenues to advocate for

transgender service members and veterans and to secure equal opportunity employment

protections for LGBT service members.

OutServe-SLDN is the association of actively serving LGBT military personnel with more than fifty chapters

and 6500 members around the world. It works to support a professional network of LGBT military

personnel and create an environment of respect in the military with regard to sexual orientation and

gender identity. For more information, visithttp://www.outserve-sldn.org.

http://www.outserve-sldn.org/http://www.outserve-sldn.org/http://www.outserve-sldn.org/http://www.outserve-sldn.org/