The Trevor Project announces its first Black nonbinary CEO, Jaymes Black

Yesterday, the Trevor Project announced that Jaymes Black will be taking over as the suicide prevention organization’s new CEO.

“I am elated and deeply honored to step into the role of CEO at The Trevor Project for so many reasons – especially since this is an organization I desperately needed myself as a queer young person growing up in South Texas,” said Black in a statement.

Related:

Trevor Project CEO ousted over complaints of employee burnout

“He has blood on his hands,” one employee said of the now-departed CEO. “How does he sleep at night?”

Black, who uses they/she/he pronouns, is a nonbinary lesbian. They will be the organization’s first nonbinary and Black CEO. The Trevor Project cites their decades of experience in the nonprofit leadership space, saying that Black has “more than 20 years of experience managing high performing teams at scale.” They previously served as president and CEO of Family Equality, a national organization serving LGBTQ+ families.

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“Right now, far too many queer and transgender young people are struggling with thoughts of suicide and other mental health challenges – not because of who they are, but because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized by other people. I know what that feels like, first hand. I also know this is an enormously difficult moment for both Trevor and the young people we serve,” Black continued in the statement. 

Black will be superseding Peggy Rajski, who served as the interim CEO of the organization since 2022 after Amit Paley was removed as CEO following revelations that he previously worked with organizations that spearheaded the opioid epidemic, as well as dissatisfaction with the nonprofit’s “scaling up” that left many employees concerned for their livelihood. One employee said that he “has blood on his hands.”

“Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and the dangerous, demeaning rhetoric surrounding it has reached a record high in this country, and LGBTQ+ young people are constantly being exposed to messages that attempt to invalidate their very identities. As CEO, it is my job to reinforce that LGBTQ+ young people have so many more people who love and support them exactly as they are, than those who wish them harm. This work won’t be easy, but I am ready to roll my sleeves up to help create a world in which all LGBTQ+ young people feel safe, accepted, and free to thrive as their truest selves,” said Black.

This CEO change comes after the Trevor Project made headlines for mass layoffs of staff, which followed a campaign by employees to try and unionize the workplace. Workers spoke out about this, alleging union busting tactics from the nonprofit giant.

“The layoffs made it clear that our fight for a more equitable workplace is far from over. The Trevor Project management’s decision to lay off nearly 12% of its essential staff and a third of union leadership has shown us, after years of mistreatment, just how little they care about the health and wellbeing of their workers,” said one employee in a statement.

This comes amid a mental health crisis among the LGBTQ+ community following enhanced attacks on queer rights. Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has continuously been introduced, leading to many having concerns about their future. This has also led to an uptick in calls for the nonprofit.

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said of Black’s appointment in a statement,  “Our movement is facing an urgent moment where we must both meet the needs of our people today and fight for a future where there are laws, policy, and the type of representation for us to get free. This is also a defining moment as movement leaders seek to meet the demands and build organizations that can create the kind of impact our communities deserve. Jaymes uniquely gets this.”

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