WASHINGTON – Today, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute and the David Bohnett Foundation announced Steven Llanusa, president of the Claremont, Calif. School Board of Education as a graduate of the David Bohnett LGBTQ Leadership Fellowship. Llanusa was one of three fellows for the June 2014 class where he spent three weeks of intense state and local government programing at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Mass. The program helps senior executives hone their skills and furthers the leadership potential of already accomplished public servants.
“I congratulate Steven on this accomplishment – this intense program for senior executives at the Harvard Kennedy School is transformational,” said Torey Carter, managing director of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute. “It provides a continuum of leadership development that bridges personal and professional growth with the skills necessary to address challenges that affect his community.”
“The current graduates from the Leadership Fellows program will join their alumni colleagues in leading exemplary lives of public service as open LGBTQ American citizens,” said David Bohnett, chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation. “The Fellow program empowers LGBTQ leaders who are making a difference in the world, honing skills and furthering their leadership potential.”
“As a David Bohnett LGBTQ Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School – I was able to grow my leadership skills and expand my critical thinking to address crucial issues in our community,” said Steven Llanusa, president of Claremont School Board of Education. “I will take what I have learned back to my school board to address problems all students have but may be especially pertinent to LGBTQ youth.”
Llanusa is currently the president of the Claremont School Board of Education – where he was first elected to the board of education in 2007 and its first openly LGBTQ member. He was also elected in 2007 to the Board of Directors for Los Angeles County School Trustees Association, and organization made up of representatives from School Boards throughout Los Angeles County. He was appointed to the Youth Master Plan Update Task Force and the Claremont Sustainability Committee where he worked to develop goals that were adopted by the Los Angeles City Council. He is a past co-chair of University of California, Los Angeles Lambda Alumni. Llanusa was selected by KCET televison as a Community LGBTQ Hero in 2012.
Since 2002, the David Bohnett Foundation in partnership with the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute has sent a select group of LGBTQ fellows to participate in the summer program. The intensive, three-week session offers a balance of traditional and hands-on learning experiences to help public officials meet the changing needs of their communities. Llanusa joins a distinguished group of alumni, including some the country’s top lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political leaders – Houston Mayor Annise Parker and New York State Sen. Tom Duane (Manhattan).
###
