The Human Dignity Coalition has hired a new executive director.
Melissa Adams Gianoplus, assumed that role in early May, in time to assist in the final planning stages of the organization’s largest annual event, the Bend Pride Celebration.
That event will happen June 9 from noon to 6 p.m. at Riverbend Park near the Old Mill.
Adams, who had been a volunteer with HDR and identifies as bisexual, comes to the organization with a master’s degree in social work and plans to diversify the organization’s services.
A website redesign, clinical counseling, support groups and domestic violence services for those in the LGBTQ community are initiatives she hopes to get underway in the coming months.
She is currently hosting meet and greet “coffee drop ins” every Friday in an effort to get to know the queer community in Bend.
Meet her this Friday from 1 to 3 p.m. at HDC headquarters in the Spectrum Building, 354 NE Greenwood Ave.
