Joe Hollendoner

Joe joined the Los Angeles LGBT Center team in July 2021 as the Executive Director and officially took the helm as CEO on July 1, 2022. Joe is the former CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), and before that he was chief of staff and first deputy commissioner at the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), the nation’s third largest health department.

Joe has been part of the LGBTQ movement since coming out as gay at the age of 16. With more than 25 years of movement leadership, he has proven himself to be a trusted collaborator and ally to all members of the LGBTQ community.

During Joe’s tenure at SFAF, he spearheaded the adoption of a five-year strategic plan that prioritized the expansion of health and social services and established racial justice as a fundamental principle to guide the organization’s growth. In addition, Joe grew revenue by 84 percent and significantly increased corporate and private donations to support the organization’s life-saving services.

Prior to SFAF, Joe served in leadership roles at the CDPH and managed the department's operations and strategic initiatives to advance the city's public health agenda and improve the health of Chicago residents. During his tenure, CDPH was named "Health Department of the Year" and was the first large health department to receive accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board. Prior to his work in the public sector, Joe was in executive leadership roles at Chicago's two largest private HIV services providers: as senior vice president at AIDS Foundation of Chicago and as vice president / chief program officer at Howard Brown Health Center.

In 2004, Joe was the founding director of the Broadway Youth Center (BYC) the first center of its kind for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. In 2010, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation named him a Community Health Leader for his leadership in the creation of the BYC.

Joe earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a focus in community development, public policy and organizational leadership. He continued his postgraduate education by completing public health independent coursework at DePaul University and is a 2016 fellow of the University of Chicago's Civic Leadership Academy.

Joe comes to the Center - and Southern California - with his husband, Bill, and their two dogs, Thor and Bolt.