Robert Boo has invested his passion, humor, vision and professionalism as CEO of The Pride Center at Equality Park since March 2012. During his leadership, The Center has expanded service, programs and events for seniors, women, LGBTQ families, people living with HIV/AIDS, couples, people of color, the transgender community and others.
More recently, Boo has spearheaded the creation of a new strategic plan for The Center. He’s gathered experts in their field to re-envision the master plan for the Equality Park campus, ensuring community needs are met for decades to come.
Completion of phase one of the Courtyard Improvement Project has provided outdoor space for the community to gather for large and small events, improved campus access for visitors of all physical abilities, and provided eye-catching visual art along the walls of Dixie Highway. This year, Boo will lead The Center’s launch of a new campaign for the campus to include multi-purpose conference center, a family playground, a “Tomorrow’s Services Fund” and other capital projects.
“We’re doing our due diligence to meet our community’s needs for future generations,” he says proudly. “Our Board has watched national trends among LGBT organizations to add low-income housing options for seniors to their services. We already are laying the groundwork for the cultural center and family playground. We want to ensure the best use of this amazing campus.”
His dedication to The Pride Center began much earlier. Robert served as director of development for five years (2006-2010) and was a member of the 2011 Board of Directors. In the former role, he tripled the number of major donors in the Founders Circle, helped quadruple the annual operating budget and launched a multi-million dollar capital campaign.
In 2008, The Pride Center, formerly known as The Gay and Lesbian Community Center, purchased a five-plus acre campus with 30,000 square feet of office and meeting space and completed a $1 million renovation of the Alan Edward Schubert Building.
In 2005, before The Center hired Boo, the annual operating budget passed $350,000 and the fifth employee was hired. In 2014, the annual operating budgets passed $2.6 million and Boo hired the 42nd employee.
Prior to joining The Pride Center team, Robert worked for 23 years with ARAMARK Corporation and Sodexo, USA. He traveled extensively for both organizations, working his way up the operational side of the business to regional and national positions. In 2002, after several years of full-time travel, Robert decided that he wanted to focus on quality of life goals and to work with a HIV-related community based organization.
During the 1980s, while living in Chicago during the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis, Robert started volunteering with the Howard Brown Hotline Crisis Center and helped to start Stop AIDS Chicago. In the 1990s, while living in New Orleans, Robert volunteered for the NO/AIDS Task Force.
Robert has remained very active in the Fort Lauderdale area by participating on the Boards for the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Gay and Lesbian Business Exchange, 2009 Stonewall Street Festival and the Business & Professional Group. In 2014, Lambda Legal honored him with a lifetime of commitment to equality. Robert shares his home with dogs Lily, a Miniature Schnauzer, and Greta, a Yorkshire Terrier.
Q: The Pride Center has grown from humble beginnings two decades ago to one of the top 10 LGBTQ centers of its kind in North America. What do you see as the Center’s key roles?
A: As people – no matter where we are, no matter our demographic – we want to be able to connect with others like us. The Center is the kitchen of the community; it’s where we gather to laugh, to learn, to grow, and to give back. The Center’s role over the years has evolved. With the purchase of our 5 ½ acre campus our goal was to provide a safe and welcoming space the entire community. We were creating a place where diverse people can come to receive life-changing services and enjoy cultural, educational and entertainment experiences. Our staff and Board continually assess the needs of our changing community to see how we can help in ways that no one else is doing. It’s why we’ve expanded Senior services exponentially, invested deeply in our Women with Pride program, launched HIV prevention workshops for couples, offered support for parents and families, coordinated programs for the Trans community and spearheaded outreach among communities of color. For over 22 years, The Pride Center has provided a warm, welcoming and safe space – an inclusive home that celebrates, nurtures and empowers the LGBTQ communities and our friends and neighbors in South Florida.
Q: You have been the CEO since March 2012 (having served at one point as development director before a stint in the private sector). How has The Center grown under your leadership?
A: I don’t want to say that we’re no longer just the Old White Man’s Club — but we aren’t. We used to just be focused on HIV services. Now we’ve expanded into so many areas. Our Women with Pride programming continues to flourish through Roya Amirniroumand and a team of volunteers. The LBT Health Directory has over 1,000 unique visitors each month seeking a connection to culturally competent healthcare providers. We offer resources for parents, families and couples. Our Senior Services programming has quadrupled under the leadership of Bruce Williams; we have 180 to 200 people attend our weekly Coffee and Conversation program. We offer exercise, health and wellness programming. We have a new Courtyard on the south side of the Schubert Building which has allowed the opportunity for outdoors gatherings in a space to be proud of as well as the ability to commemorate loved ones and special moments in the paver walkway. This fall, we will construct a family-friendly outdoor play area on campus. Community members have challenged us to evaluate various expansion possibilities, including a multi-use cultural center, low-income senior affordable housing, and an enhanced waterfront garden space.
Q: The Center’s growth plans are rumored to include an affiliation with the Harvey Milk Foundation. What can you tell us about that? How will it further the work of The Pride Center?
A: It’s no rumor. In May, we announced at Diversity Honors, our first collaborative event with the Harvey Milk Foundation, that we are looking to create the Harvey Milk International Center. This space would create a multi-use cultural, educational and entertainment center on our campus. We can host international LGBT activists for training and mentorship. Imagine the theater productions, art gallery showings or concerts we could support! We could welcome new events, groups, banquets, conferences and meetings while generating sustaining income. Over my many years affiliated with The Center I have heard a consistent theme from donors. They want to come to The Center for new cultural, educational and entertainment purposes. We are currently busting at the seams and need to develop larger, better equipped spaces for people to gather.
Q: Substantial resources continue to be spent on HIV testing and related community outreach and you have recently even added a PrEP specialist to your staff. What are your challenges in dealing with one of the highest HIV infection rates in the country, as is the case in Broward County? How, if at all, has your strategy changed in the past few years?
A: We continue to think creatively how to combat a changing HIV epidemic. Our staff and volunteers include some of the brightest minds in HIV prevention in the area. We’ve aggressively expanded services among communities of color, including our Kiki Project, targeted HIV testing in unique venues and cutting-edge outreach and education. When I first heard that staff was providing HIV treatment at the meat market on Sunrise, I asked, “What bar is that?” We go to where people are in the community to provide testing. Our LIFE Program and other prevention-with-positives services are national models. We help people living with the virus learn new skills and achieve and maintain undetectable viral loads. Our staff help people navigate challenging healthcare systems. Treatment truly is prevention. We provide prevention workshops for couples. We’ve fostered agreements with local businesses and faith-based communities so that people can receive education, testing and HIV support in the places they shop, work and worship. We have developed mass-media anti-stigma and prevention campaigns that have been featured on Broward County Transit buses and in the magazines.We were the first agency in Florida to create a PrEP Specialist. Our systems and programs have to continue to evolve and improve to address one of the highest infection rates in the nation.
Q: It takes a lot of donations and grants to run The Pride Center. What is your budget and how challenging is fund-raising?
A: I tell people every day that we are a good investment. Your investment of resources saves lives. It changes people. It improves our community in practical, tangible ways. If people truly knew the work that happens on this campus daily, we would never face money challenges. When I started at The Center in 2006 our operating budget was $435,000. Our new fiscal year started July 1, and we have a $2.3 million dollar budget. Fundraising is always challenging for every non-profit. Over the last seven years The Center has established a firm financial footing and expanded our donor base. We have shown that our donors’ investment of resources has been strategic. Many worthy local and national organizations ask donors for support. Why support The Pride Center? It truly makes a difference in the lives of your friends and neighbors.
Q: We understand the annual Smart Ride from Miami to Key West, an annual fundraiser for several HIV/AIDS-related charities, will not include a team from The Pride Center this year. What can you tell us about that decision?
A: The Pride Center will not be a beneficiary of the SMART Ride this year. For the past three years, funds that so many raised through the SMART Ride provided life-enhancing HIV prevention and education programs at The Center. We were able to continue our cutting-edge Couples Speak program and establish our Healthcare Navigator position. Funds helped us expand HIV testing in new locations. It was a very difficult decision that was evaluated and made by our Executive Committee, Finance Committee, [and] Board of Directors not to participate this year. The new Participating Agency Agreement added several terms that would have added an additional fundraising burden to provide current services and prevent us from covering the real costs of prevention programs. Though we will not be a benefitting agency this year, we remain grateful for the generosity of riders, donors, volunteers and organizers of SMART Ride and supportive of its vision and goals. SMART Ride is a very worthy cause, and I continue to train to participate as a cyclist this year.
Q: What gives you the most job satisfaction?
A: Our efforts make a difference in the community. I get that feedback all the time. I hear from people each week how their lives have changed because of a program or service we provide. I sit at LIFE Graduation and feel the emotion in the room. I see the parking lot packed with cars each evening. I know people who come here every day to stay sober or drive from Miami each week to receive support from one of our groups. I currently have one of the best jobs in my working career. I get to work around an amazing team of people who are dedicated and passionate about their work. I work alongside 35 skilled staff and 250 volunteers, including the 13 Board of Directors, who donate their time and talent to our mission. I get to meet with extraordinary people in our community and listen to their life stories. Everyone has a story and I am fortunate enough to hear them. We’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. The Center is on the front lines locally, delivering vital services to people who need help. People that we all know – friends, neighbors and family members.What could be better than that?
