Avantages
truly dedicated staff and volunteer network
Inconvénients
A lot has been said about the poor ways that staff have been treated by management at GLSEN. For me, the most heartbreaking thing I witnessed was the callous way staff were dismissed from the organization simply for disagreeing with leadership. The current ED formerly worked in labor rights, and some might have naively thought that might make her sympathetic to staff efforts at organizing for a better working conditions. Instead, I'm convinced it just gave her a playbook for how to remove "undesirables" while just barely toe-ing the line of legal culpability. Around the time she was hired, several staff sent a letter to the board with a list of grievances. It was poorly received, but in the aftermath, many staff began meeting to discuss shared concerns and strategize to address those issues. Those meetings were a source of staff solidarity, but they stopped after some of the more outspoken individuals were suddenly suspended, and a damning email went out to all staff about how these folks were being investigated for intimidation and creating a hostile work environment. The investigation lasted over 2 months and no wrong-doing was ever discovered. But the meetings stopped, and those outspoken staff left. Mission accomplished. It was pretty clear to everyone who was ACTUALLY creating a hostile work environment, and intimidating their staff. In the year since then, the ED has simply fired folks she doesn't like, rather than launching an investigation about it. No reason given, since that's entirely legal in New York. I imagine its a lot more efficient to deal with dissenters that way. Many non-profits seem like they have a revolving door, with high staff turnover. At GLSEN, that revolving door is more just an exit. There's very little sense that lower level staff are valued or even greatly needed. I've seen folks who found their dream job at GLSEN, finding purpose and joy in dedicating themselves to improving schools for LGBTQ+ youth, only to be gotten rid of by an ED who has gleefully posted on her public social media about the careers she's cut short. The way to get ahead at GLSEN is simple. Become the ED's biggest fan, and fawn over the genius direction she's taking the organization. GLSEN's extremely top-heavy organizational structure is full of exec staff that aren't particularly skilled at what they do, but are great at giving her the PR and kudos she's looking for.
