Rehoboth Beach
CAMP Rehoboth kicks off search for new executive director
Strategic planning process underway
CAMP Rehoboth, the Rehoboth Beach LGBTQ community services center, was scheduled to officially announce on Monday, Oct. 17, that it is seeking bids from executive search firms to retain such a firm to help the group conduct a national search for a new executive director, according to Wesley Combs, president of the CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors.
Combs told the Washington Blade the announcement seeking a search firm, known as an RFP or Request for Proposal to undertake the search process, comes about a month after CAMP Rehoboth retained nationally acclaimed strategic planning consultant Michela Perrone of Georgetown University to help the nonprofit group update its strategic plan for providing services and support for a diverse and growing LGBTQ community in Rehoboth and surrounding areas.
Perrone, a faculty member at Georgetown University’s Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership, has provided support for strategic planning and other services for many nonprofit organizations through her consulting firm MMP Associates, including for LGBTQ nonprofits.
The need for a new CAMP Rehoboth executive director surfaced this past May when then executive director David Mariner resigned to start a new Delaware LGBTQ advocacy group called Sussex Pride. The CAMP Rehoboth board a short time later named Lisa Evans, a longtime administrator at nonprofit organizations in Baltimore, as CAMP Rehobothās interim executive director.
Combs has said Evans was appointed to serve as the groupās acting manager in an āadvisory roleā as soon as the board learned of Marinerās plans to leave the organization. After conducting a search for an interim director, the board selected Evans from a group of four finalist candidates as the best fit for that role, Combs said.
Now, according to Combs, CAMP Rehoboth is beginning the process for the first phase of its strategic plan development and its search for a new executive director. He said after considerable deliberation, the board decided it would be important to retain a strategic planning expert and begin the first phase of the strategic planning process at this time.
He said the board was hopeful that a national search firm can be retained within the next 30 days and the nationwide search for a new executive director would begin at that time.
The first phase of the strategic plan development, which began at the time Perrone was retained last month, includes data collection and community engagement, including community surveys and focus groups, Combs said.
He said the strategic planning process will then be put on hold until the new executive director is hired and takes office for a short time to become acclimated with CAMP Rehobothās operations. It is the boardās belief that the new executive director should take part in the second phase of the development of the updated strategic plan, Combs said.
āWeāre not going to begin the work to determine what the priorities of CAMP will be until the new executive director has been hired,ā said Combs. āSo, itās a two-phase strategy ā start, gap, start,ā he said.
āOur hope is we will have identified a candidate by mid-January and that person can hopefully be on board by March 1, 2023,ā Combs said in referring to the hiring process for the new executive director. āThatās our hope.ā
Combs noted that CAMP Rehoboth, which was co-founded in 1991 by LGBTQ rights advocates Steve Elkins and his then partner and subsequent husband Murray Archibald, has grown tremendously over the years and has developed and updated strategic plans during those years.
Elkins, a beloved figure in Rehoboth for many years, served as CAMP Rehobothās executive director until he passed away in 2018.
Combs said plans began to update the strategic plan shortly after David Mariner began as executive director in 2019 and continued through early 2020. But with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sweeping restrictions it brought about for all public spaces later that year, CAMP Rehoboth under Marinerās leadership had to dramatically āpivotā to a virtual operation, Combs said. Nearly all its in-person operations and programs had to be suspended or switched to online operations.
All of that meant the strategic planning process had to be put on hold, Combs said. And while it resumed earlier this year, Marinerās decision to resign prompted the board to reassess how to move forward with the strategic planning process.
āThe thought was, we have a lot of the work that was done,ā Combs said. āBut it was four years ago, three years actually, when the outreach to the community was done,ā he said. āWe had focus groups, we had surveys done. So, some of that information may still be relevant. But some of it obviously needs to be revisited because the demographics of Delaware and our community have changed in that three-year period.ā
Added Combs, āPlus, Rehoboth and the surrounding area has become a much bigger retirement community for a lot of LGBTQ peopleā¦We want to make sure we understand what the needs are of the various stakeholder groups that CAMP Rehoboth serves,ā he said. āAnd that also includes the increased visibility of transgender people in lower Delaware. And, the increased visibility of LGBTQ youth who are coming out,ā Combs told the Blade.
āSo, the plan is designed to ensure that we understand who the demographics of this community are, what support they need, and what role will CAMP play in helping to address them,ā he said. āEvery nonprofit does this every three to five years.ā
Below is a list of CAMP Rehoboth’s numerous programs and activities that it has carried out in recent years, as shown on its website:
Rehoboth Beach
Former CAMP Rehoboth official sentenced to nine months in prison
Salvator Seeley pleaded guilty to felony theft charge for embezzlement
Salvator āSalā Seeley, who served as an official with the Rehoboth Beach, Del., CAMP Rehoboth LGBTQ community center for 20 years, was sentenced on April 5 by a Sussex County Superior Court judge to nine months in prison and to pay $176,000 in restitution to the organization.
The sentencing took place about five weeks after Seeley pleaded guilty to a charge of Theft in Excess of $50,000 for allegedly embezzling funds from CAMP Rehoboth, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Justice told the Washington Blade.
Seeley’s guilty plea came shortly after a grand jury, at the request of prosecutors, indicted him on the felony theft charge following an investigation that found he had embezzled at least $176,000 from the nonprofit LGBTQ organization.
āSalvatore C. Seeley, between the 27th day of February 2019 and the 7th day of September 2021, in the County of Sussex, State of Delaware, did take property belonging to CAMP Rehoboth, Inc., consisting of United States currency and other miscellaneous property valued at more than $50,000, intending to appropriate the same,ā the indictment states.
āThe State recommended a sentence of two years of incarceration based on the large-scale theft and the impact to the non-profit organization,ā Delaware Department of Justice spokesperson Caroline Harrison told the Blade in a statement.
āThe defense cited Seeleyās lack of a record and gambling addiction in arguing for a probationary sentence,ā the statement says. āSeeley was sentenced in Superior Court to a nine-month prison term and to pay a total of $176,000 in restitution for the stolen funds,ā Harrison says in the statement.
Neither Seeley nor his attorney could immediately be reached for comment.
At the time of Seeleyās indictment in February, CAMP Rehoboth released a statement saying it first discovered āfinancial irregularitiesā within the organization on Sept. 7, 2021, āand took immediate action and notified state authorities.ā The statement says this resulted in the investigation of Seeley by the state Department of Justice as well as an internal investigation by CAMP Rehoboth to review its āfinancial control policiesā that led to an updating of those policies.
āAs we have communicated from day one, CAMP Rehoboth has fully cooperated with law enforcement,ā the statement continues. āAt its request, we did not speak publicly about the investigation while it was ongoing for fear it would jeopardize its integrity,ā according to the statement. āThis was extremely difficult given our commitment to transparency with the community about day-to-day operations during the recent leadership transition.ā
The statement was referring to Kim Leisey, who began her job as CAMP Rehobothās new executive director in July of 2023, while the Seeley investigation had yet to be completed, following the organizationās process of searching for a new director. It says Seeley left his job as Health and Wellness Director of CAMP Rehoboth in September of 2021 after working for the organization for more than 20 years.
āMr. Seeleyās actions are a deep betrayal to not only CAMP Rehoboth but also the entire community we serve,ā the statement says.
Rehoboth Beach
Former CAMP Rehoboth official pleads guilty to felony theft
Salvatore Seeley faces possible jail time, agrees to reimburse $176,000
Salvatore āSalā Seeley, who served as an official at the Rehoboth Beach, Del., CAMP Rehoboth LGBTQ community center for 20 years, has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of Theft In Excess of $50,000 for allegedly embezzling funds from the organization for at least a two-and-a-half-year period, according to a Sussex County, Del., Superior Court indictment and a spokesperson for the Delaware Office of the Attorney General.
The spokesperson, Mat Marshall, sent the Blade a copy of the indictment, which he said was handed down against Seeley on Feb. 27 and which provides the only specific court information that the Washington Blade could immediately obtain.
āSalvatore C. Seeley, between the 27th day of February 2019 and the 7th day of September 2021, in the County of Sussex, State of Delaware, did take property belonging to Camp Rehoboth, Inc., consisting of United States currency and other miscellaneous property valued at more than $50,000, intending to appropriate same,ā the indictment states.
āI can further confirm that the Defendant entered a guilty plea to one count of Theft in Excess of $50,000,ā spokesperson Marshall told the Blade in an email message. āMr. Seeley also agrees to make restitution of $176,199.78 to CAMP Rehoboth,ā Marshall said. āHe will be sentenced on April 5 and does face the possibility of prison time.ā
Marshall declined to provide additional information on the findings of the law enforcement investigation into Seeleyās alleged theft. The restitution figure of $176,199.79 suggests investigators believe Seeley embezzled at least that amount from CAMP Rehoboth during the time he worked for the organization.
Seeley couldnāt immediately be reached for comment
CAMP Rehoboth describes itself as a nonprofit LGBTQ community service organization and the largest organization of its type āserving the needs of LGBTQ+ people in Rehoboth, greater Sussex County, and throughout the state of Delaware.ā The statement adds that the organization āis dedicated to creating a positive environment inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities in Rehoboth and its related communities.ā
Kim Leisey, who began her job as executive director of CAMP Rehoboth in July of 2023, said it was her understanding that officials with the organization discovered funds were missing and opened an investigation in September of 2021, a short time before Seeley left the organization. Leisey said that at the time of his departure, Seeley served as CAMP Rehobothās director of health and wellness programs.
At that time, former D.C. Center for the LGBT Community director David Mariner was serving as CAMP Rehobothās executive director and reportedly took steps to open an investigation into missing funds. Wesley Combs, CAMP Rehobothās current board president, said Seeley resigned from his job around that time in 2021.
āI know that I took this job knowing there was a concern and a problem and an investigation,ā Leisey told the Blade. āAnd I also know that the board of CAMP Rehoboth has done everything it needs to do to ensure that we were compliant, cooperative and that things are going really well here at CAMP Rehoboth.ā
Leisey said CAMP Rehoboth currently has a staff of six full-time employees and several contract employees. She said the organization has a current annual budget of $1.4 million.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: [email protected].
Congratulations to Jim Endean on his new position as Director of Design and Business Development at BSD in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
āI am joining the BSD team to cultivate and grow their cabinetry division creating kitchens, baths, mudrooms, and beyond,ā he said.
Prior to this he was with Atlantic Kitchen & Bath LLC, Lewes, Del., and was SVP New Business Development with Innomark Communications, New York. He has worked in corporate retail and brand design presentation for department stores, Nike, and Calvin Klein. He began his career with May Co. ā Kaufmannās, Hechtās and Strawbridges divisions. His focus was on creating and executing brand vision for experiential customer environments at retail. He then translated that experience into the retail technology arena where he sold and implemented state-of-the-art 3D visual design and merchandising software transforming the way retailers and brands presented their identities to mass markets. Endean then went into residential interior design. He grew up in New England and Western Pennsylvania. He spent 20 years in corporate positions in New York City. He has been a visitor to Rehoboth Beach for 26 years and moved to the beach permanently in 2020. He lives there with his husband John, an architect, and their dog Levi.
Endean earned his bachelorās degree in Communications and Marketing, Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh.
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