JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Cindy Watson, founding board member and inaugural CEO of JASMYN, announced her retirement effective Dec. 31, 2023. JASMYN stands for Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network and it is Jacksonville’s only LGBTQ+ youth center designed to empower young people.
“Watson shepherded JASMYN from a small group that met at Willow Branch Library in 1994 to a multi-million-dollar advocacy group with a three-building campus serving nearly 1,000 youth annually,” according to their press release,
“Leading JASMYN to its nationally recognized role in empowering LGBTQ+ youth in Northeast Florida has been a joyful journey with many battles and even more accomplishments many did not think possible,” said Watson. “We have been innovators in this space from day one. From starting as a peer group for LGBTQ youth, to becoming a resource for all youth in fighting the spread of HIV and combatting homelessness. It’s been an honor to serve the Jacksonville community and the future leaders of Northeast Florida, where our mission has always been to empower and affirm the lives of all our youth. I know JASMYN and this incredible community have much greater things to achieve together as I step aside and begin my next chapter.”
In transitioning to a new permanent CEO, JASMYN will retain an interim CEO to assist in the process between leaders.
JASMYN’s interim CEO will be in place before the end of 2023, with an estimated term of approximately six months. During that time, there will be overlap with Watson, as well as adequate time for the Board of Directors to conduct a national CEO search with the goal to be completed by mid-2024.
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