Strut Director Resigns

The executive director of Strut, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation's gay and bi men's health center in the Castro district, is leaving.

Tim Patriarca, 47, who joined SFAF in 2013, before Strut opened, submitted his resignation last week. It will be effective July 1.

Patriarca, who doesn't have a new job lined up, said Monday it's been "a complete and utter honor" to lead the center, which provides free services, including HIV and other sexually transmitted disease testing, to thousands of people a year, but with the facility established, "It seemed like a great time to leave."

Patriarca's resignation comes just a month after Joe Hollendoner started as SFAF's new CEO, but he said he hasn't had any trouble with his new boss.

"I'm really happy we have a permanent CEO," Patriarca said, adding, "Joe's on board, and it was two years of planning and moving and delays and getting ready to move in" to Strut before the center opened in January at 470 Castro Street.

"I'm feeling great about it," he said of his departure.

Patriarca said, "I wouldn't have left if I didn't feel comfortable with the CEO and where Strut is."

His departure coincides with that of Nancy DuBois, SFAF's vice president of talent and operations, who has resigned after almost five years with the nonprofit. Her resignation is also effective July 1.

Hollendoner, who called Patriarca and DuBois "tremendous" assets, said in an email to staff last week, "I recognize that it's never ideal for two important agency leaders to leave the organization at the same time. But with change comes opportunity, and I look forward to having conversations with the board and staff about how we can use this moment of transition to evaluate our structure and make sure that we are well-positioned to advance our mission."

He credited Patriarca with integrating the sexual health, substance health, and community engagement programs at Strut, launching the organization's PrEP program, and establishing TransLife and other programs.

In response to emailed questions from the Bay Area Reporter, Hollendoner said Tuesday that hiring a new executive director for Strut is "a top priority."

"It is important to the foundation, our community, and to the clients we serve that we bring in someone who will be a visionary like Tim has been, and who can continue to build on the great work started under his leadership," he said.

Hollendoner said he plans to meet with program managers "to talk about an interim plan for reporting and supervision. I anticipate the plan will involve our managers at Strut sharing Tim's current responsibilities."

Asked whether there had been any problems or disagreements between he and Patriarca, Hollendoner said, "I was saddened to learn from Tim that he was resigning. During his tenure with the foundation, he has been an incredible champion for GBT men's health, and for all of our programs. I'm hopeful that Tim will stay involved with our work in some capacity, and thank him for all that he did to lead the opening of Strut."

Hollendoner replaced Neil Giuliano, who served as CEO for five years before leaving in December to become CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership, a business organization focused on civic improvement activities. Tim Jones served as interim CEO after Giuliano left.

Magnet Confusion

Patriarca joined SFAF in September 2013 as the executive director of what eventually became Strut. After years of delays that included licensing issues, the center opened this year.

Long before the site opened, SFAF announced it would locate its popular gay men's health center Magnet, the Stonewall Project drug counseling program, and the Stop AIDS Project there.

After the center opened, SFAF officials insisted that Magnet be referred to as sexual health services, but some, including Patriarca, have still been using the Magnet name.

"My recommendation to Joe all along [has been] to keep both brands Stonewall and Magnet," he said, adding that Strut's community advisory board is also making that recommendation. (Members of the board approached for confirmation of that didn't respond Tuesday.)

What to call the program will ultimately be Hollendoner's decision, Patriarca said, but "Internally we have continued to use Magnet and Stonewall."

Hollendoner said, "I've given the foundation staff direction that we will continue to use the name Magnet for the foreseeable future as it is a strong brand that the community trusts. I'm eager to hear from our community advisory board on this topic and hope to meet with them in the near future so that I can get their input on this topic."

He added that he's working with staff "to identify ways we can increase capacity in [sexually transmitted infection] testing and treatment, build on and expand our PrEP navigation program, and broaden the scope of our community engagement programs."

Patriarca said he's "so proud of what we've achieved at Strut," and "I'm going to miss everyone," but he'll still get to see the staff sometimes. He's been a client of Magnet and said he'll continue to go to Strut for regular checkups every three to six months. He said he's HIV-negative.

As for his future plans, Patriarca, whose salary is about $188,000 and who lives in the Castro with his husband, said, "I'm going to go to Bear Week in Provincetown. That's the only thing I have planned."

He said that after some time off, he'd "think about what my next steps will be."

DuBois Departure

Hollendoner told staff DuBois' leadership was "instrumental" in constructing Strut, and "Together with her team, she restructured the way the foundation approaches employee compensation," which resulted in all employees now having the week between Christmas and New Year's as paid time off, among other benefits.

DuBois has accepted a new job as vice president of human resources at MidPen Housing, which focuses on stable housing for low-income people on the Peninsula.

In his email to the B.A.R., Hollendoner said Megan Arganbright, SFAF's senior human resources generalist, would lead HR efforts during the transition.

With DuBois' position, "I want to use her departure as an opportunity to re-evaluate how this area of our organization is structured," Hollendoner said. "I believe that our greatest resource is our staff and I want to make sure that we assess how we can best support them in the areas of human resources and operations."

Like Hollendoner, DuBois, a lesbian, is on the AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which raises money for SFAF and the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

In a Facebook exchange, DuBois, 55, said, "My reason for leaving SFAF had nothing whatsoever to do with Joe's arrival, in fact I find him quite competent and personable. However, I had been in discussion with MidPen Housing since April."