First LGBTQ+ liaison appointed at Fresno City Hall. ‘A steadfast, fearless leader’
Robin McGehee, a college professor and a local activist in Fresno’s lesbian, gay and transgender community, will become the city’s first LGBTQ+ liaison after being appointed Monday by Mayor Jerry Dyer.
Thursday will be McGehee’s first day in the new role.
Funding to include the post within City Hall was part of budget allocations approved by the Fresno City Council earlier this year. The position was wedged into the record $1.87 billion budget under the advocacy of Councilmember Annalisa Perea, adding the job to the communications team within the mayor’s office.
“We are seeing record investments for the LGBTQ+ community,” Perea said after the budget was passed on June 22. In addition to the liaison, the budget included a $100,000 allocation to the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center, and $100,000 for other organizations that serve the LGBTQ community.
“I applaud Mayor Dyer for his selection of Robin McGehee to fill this pivotal role,” Perea – who is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve on the Fresno City Council – said Monday. “Robin has an extensive history of being a steadfast, fearless leader for the LGBTQ community. I look forward to partnering with her to help make this new role a huge success for our city.”
Dyer said that throughout his first term as mayor, “I’ve heard the heart of this (LGBTQ+) community and how they’ve felt alienated and excluded.”
“By bringing Robin into our administration and placing her into this vital role, she’ll be a direct link between her community and City Hall, ensuring that they are represented and served in city government,” Dyer added.
Part of the role will include connecting the LGBTQ community to services and resources, not only within the city’s organization but across Fresno as a whole.
“My role is to work with the mayor to uplift the city of Fresno in becoming a more inclusive place for all citizens, including our members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies,” McGehee said. “The beautiful cultural fabric of Fresno is interwoven with threads representing the LGBTQ+ rainbow community and allies.”
McGehee was the grand marshal of the Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade in 2011 and 2015, and was twice recognized by the city of Fresno with its Martin Luther King Jr. Award in 2009 and 2015. She is a professor who teaches public speaking, persuasion, and group and interpersonal communication at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia.
