Rehoboth Beach
Meet CAMP Rehoboth’s new executive director
Kim Leisey says LGBTQ community center is ‘in a really good place’
The new CAMP Rehoboth executive director is no stranger to Rehoboth Beach, Del. Kim Leisey has been coming here since the 1990s to find community among other queer people at a time when they weren’t accepted in society.
Leisey’s chosen family resides here — a group of close female friends she calls her “tribunal.” The pandemic brought her life into sharper focus, as it did for so many others. Her wife, Kathy Solano, retired in March 2020 — into the throws of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were out taking a walk with our dog,” Leisey said. “And I just said to her, ‘When do you want to move to the beach? ‘And she’s like, ‘now.’”
And so the two moved to the beach, Leisey still in her job as senior associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. When Leisey heard about the job opening for executive director at the storied CAMP Rehoboth organization that had helped so many like her, she jumped at the chance.
Now, two weeks into the job, she’s beginning to sketch out her priorities: Caring for LGBTQ+ seniors, engaging with youth, and partnering with corporate sponsors for community services and huge community events like the Sun Festival this Labor Day weekend.
Amid all the events and activities of the busy summer season, CAMP Rehoboth remains under an investigation by the Delaware Department of Justice. Former Executive Director David Mariner reported possible fake purchases and reimbursements before resigning and founding his own LGBTQ organization, Sussex Pride. The department is investigating $86,000 in payments to an employee, according to CAMP Rehoboth’s 2021 audited financial statements. Leisey declined to comment on the investigation but said it has not affected the organization’s finances.
“We’re financially healthy. The community respects and trusts us,” she said. “We have lots of businesses that are involved in sponsoring events and resources and services. So I think we’re in a really good place.”
Leisey said there is no competition or animosity between the two organizations, as did Mariner in a 2022 interview with the Blade.
“I enjoyed my time at CAMP Rehoboth,” he said. “I certainly hope there’s opportunities for us to collaborate.”
Leisey steps into her role as executive director of CAMP Rehoboth at a time when culture wars rage and many conservative politicians have set their sights on rolling back transgender rights. The wars have largely passed by solid-blue Delaware – the American Civil Liberties Union anti-trans bill tracker does not list any bills in Delaware.
Leisey, who is a cisgender woman, has been on a journey of her own about transgender issues. She founded the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Faculty Staff Association in 2009, which was later renamed the LGBTQ+ Faculty Association.
“You know, 30 years ago, there wasn’t much information,” she said. “And so reading, experiencing, talking with people going to workshops, conferences, has all been part of my personal journey as it relates to trans folks.”
Leisey leaves the University of Maryland Baltimore County as it continues to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, with both the lowest number of full-time undergraduate students since at least 2013 and a booming full-time graduate student population, the highest by far since at least 2013. The university defied predictions of slow enrollment growth along with other universities in the University of Maryland University System.
She says experience in administration at UMBC, working with not only students, but parents, family, staff, and faculty and her Ph.D. in human development lends itself well to her new job.
“I worked shoulder to shoulder with lots of diversity around age, to provide a campus environment that was such that students could do well academically and get their degree,” she said. “What I’m taking away that I’m bringing to CAMP is, we’ve got to spend time with our youth, and we’ve got to spend time understanding what their needs and their desires are, especially as it relates to our programs and services.”
Murray Archibald and Steve Elkins founded CAMP Rehoboth after heterosexual residents pushed back against the increasing prominence of gay and lesbian people in Rehoboth and the two started the organization after the Rehoboth Homeowner Association loudly opposed the vibe the queer community had created, pointing to noise, traffic, and parking as problems, CAMP Rehoboth writes in its history. The city soon voted to ban bars not connected to restaurants, spelling the end for bars including disco bar the Strand.
So the two founded CAMP Rehoboth — an acronym for “Creating A More Positive” Rehoboth — and conducted trainings, met with local leaders, and others to support the burgeoning queer population.
Leisey says she wants to tap into the entire Rehoboth community now.
“The artists, the musicians, the intellects, the poets, the scientists, I mean, retiring into this community in Rehoboth has been really eye opening, and seeing the human capital and resources here, and that folks realized this in spite of the oppression and the stress of being queer, LGBTQ, in sometimes in some careers that were not very friendly,” she said. “And so the human spirit in this area is pretty amazing. And this is what I love about CAMP.”
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth’s Blue Moon is for sale but owners aim to keep it in gay-friendly hands
$4.5 million listing includes real estate; business sold separately
Gay gasps could be heard around the DMV earlier this week when a real estate listing for Rehoboth Beach’s iconic Blue Moon bar and restaurant hit social media.
Take a breath. The Moon is for sale but the longtime owners are not in a hurry and are committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Tim Ragan, one of the owners, told the Blade this week. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney are separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale are listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They are listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price has not been publicly disclosed.
But Ragan, who has owned the Moon for 20 years, told the Blade nothing is imminent and that the Moon remains open through the holidays and is scheduled to reopen for the 2026 season on Feb. 10. He has already scheduled some 2026 entertainment.
“It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” Ragan said, noting that he turns 70 next year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
He said there have been many inquiries and they’ve considered some offers but nothing is firm yet.
Given the Moon’s pioneering role in queering Rehoboth Beach since its debut 44 years ago in 1981, many LGBTQ visitors and residents are concerned about losing such an iconic queer space to redevelopment or chain ownership.
“That’s the No. 1 consideration,” Ragan said, “preserving a commitment to the gay community and honoring its history. The legacy needs to continue.” He added that they are not inclined to sell to one of the local restaurant chains.
You can view the real estate listing here.
Rehoboth Beach
Clear Space Theatre to remain in Rehoboth Beach
New arts center to be built on city-owned land
Clear Space Theatre Company and the City of Rehoboth Beach have agreed to create a public-private partnership to redevelop city-owned land into a new performing arts center, the theater announced Friday.
The CSTC board of directors formally accepted the letter of intent from the city on Oct. 23, wrapping up an 18-month process for site selection for its new performing arts center.
With the agreement, Clear Space commits to remaining in Rehoboth Beach, where it has been based since 2010.
Based on the terms of the letter of intent, Clear Space will enter into a land lease of 11 Christian St. after the Cape Henlopen Senior Center relocates to its next home outside the city limits on Hebron Road, according to the announcement. The senior center has been a tenant on city land for 45 years, but was gifted land to expand its operations and will move after the completion of a capital campaign. At that time, Clear Space will begin a lease of up to 50 years. The land, which has been valued at $7.2 million, will be made available to Clear Space for $1 per year.
The new performing arts center will include a proscenium mainstage, a flexible seating black box, a rehearsal studio, expanded lobby, concessions, and backstage facilities, and gallery space, according to the announcement. Parking will be provided on site
“On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, I am thrilled that Clear Space has selected our offer and plans on staying in the City of Rehoboth Beach,” Mayor Stan Mills said in a statement. “Clear Space has always enriched Rehoboth Beach culturally, socially, creatively, and economically. It is a top-notch performing arts center that is near and dear to our residents, visitors, and business owners. We believe it’s a win-win, and we look forward to many more years of our partnership with Clear Space.”
“We are grateful to Mayor Mills for first proposing that Clear Space consider the site at 11 Christian Street back in March 2024,” said Clear Space Managing Director Joe Gfaller.“Without his encouragement, the site might not have been explored as one of the nine in our 2024 market study. As our analysis winnowed down our preferred sites, the City of Rehoboth Beach’s staff and elected officials were consistently excellent partners, negotiating fairly and transparently in the interest of the citizens, business owners, and visitors of Rehoboth Beach.”
The total cost for the new performing arts center is approximately $40 million, according to the announcement, with a national RFP process for the project’s architect coming soon along with community forums for residents and audiences to follow in 2026.
The development ends years of contentious debate about the location of the new theater complex. In 2021, The Rehoboth Beach Board of Commissioners voted for the second time to overturn a decision by the city’s Planning Commission to approve plans by Clear Space to build a larger theater and adjacent rehearsal theater in a new downtown location.
Supporters of the project expressed outrage at the time over the Board of Commissioners’ 4 to 3 vote to reject the Planning Commission’s approval and deny the Clear Space application to build its proposed new theaters on Rehoboth Avenue, which serves as the city’s main commercial boulevard. The controversy led to speculation that Clear Space could relocate outside of Rehoboth to Route 1 or even to nearby Lewes, Del.
Rehoboth Beach
CAMP Rehoboth announces retirement of executive director
Kim Leisey to leave job at end of January 2026 as ‘true champion’
CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community services center serving Rehoboth Beach and areas across Delaware, has announced that Kim Leisey, who has served as its executive director since July 2023, will step down to retire at the end of January 2026.
“The Board of Directors has expressed deep gratitude for Leisey’s leadership and confirmed that she will continue to work with the Board and incoming leadership to ensure a smooth and seamless transition,” the organization says in a Sept. 17 statement.
Leisey, who holds a Ph.D. in Human Development, served for 30 years in the field of student affairs and facilities management at the University of Maryland Baltimore County before beginning work as CAMP Rehoboth executive director. Her position immediately prior to starting at CAMP Rehoboth was Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at the university.
At the time of its decision to hire Leisey as executive director, CAMP Rehoboth noted that she had been a resident of nearby Lewes, Del., since 2020 and a Rehoboth Beach visitor since the early 1990s.
The board hired Leisey shortly after CAMP Rehoboth’s previous executive director, David Mariner, resigned to start a new Delaware LGBTQ advocacy group called Sussex Pride.
The board noted the change in leadership came at a time when the COVID pandemic presented challenges to the organization’s operations and during an organizational transition period to reassess and expand its programs that began prior to the pandemic.
CAMP Rehoboth Board President Leslie Ledogar said in the statement announcing Leisey’s retirement that at the time it hired her in 2023 it was confident her 30 years of experience in her prior career as a University of Maryland official would make her the right person to advance CAMP Rehoboth’s mission.
“Thanks to Kim’s steady leadership, her commitment to our mission, and the fact that she truly is a ‘champion for all things that help humans to thrive during their lifespan,’ she leaves CAMP Rehoboth well positioned to emerge from a time of uncertainty to one of strength, with the capacity we need to serve our community for decades to come,” Ledogar said in the statement.
“It’s been a privilege of a lifetime to serve in this role,” Leisey said in the statement. “Together we built something I am proud of, including strengthening a high-performing leadership team, deepening a culture rooted in integrity and excellence, and delivering strong, continuous financial performance,” she stated.
The statement says a search committee, to be chaired by Board President Ledogar, will be formed in the coming weeks to begin the search for a new executive director.
