Darlene Nipper is
poised to become deputy executive director of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force on October 1. The
20-year veteran of nonprofit management and advocacy
groups will replace Rea Carey, who was recently
promoted to executive director.
"Our
leadership team will be even stronger with the addition of
[Nipper's] expertise, energy, and passion for this
work," Carey said in an NGLTF statement.
Nipper has a long
history working in the corporate and nonprofit sectors
dealing with HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and mental illness.
Nipper has previously served as executive director for
the Black Entertainment Television Foundation and
as senior director of public education for the
National Mental Health Association. She also was
a founder of the Multicultural and International
Outreach Center of the National Alliance on Mental
Illness. In all of these arenas Nipper has promoted
racial and ethnic diversity and cultural competency.
Nipper also
worked on the Washington, D.C., mayor's LGBT
executive committee, spearheading many campaigns to
improve understanding and prevention of HIV and
substance abuse. In the 1990s she created HIV/AIDS and
substance-abuse support groups for the Inner City AIDS
Network of D.C.
"I believe
strongly in the Task Force's mission and
vision," Nipper said. "Its emphasis on
addressing LGBT issues at the intersections of multiple
social injustices resonates with my own belief that human
beings in general, and LGBT community members in
particular, live at these intersections."
Nipper is a
graduate of Howard University and Trinity College. She lives
in Washington, D.C., with her partner of 12 years, Katrina
Higgins. (The Advocate)
