We partnered with ONE Archives Foundation on the search for an Executive Director. ONE Archives Foundation is the independent community partner that supports ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries, the largest repository of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer materials in the world. ONE Archives Foundation is the oldest active LGBTQ organization in the United States. Today, the organization is dedicated to promoting this important resource through diverse activities including educational initiatives, fundraising, and range of public programs.
The search resulted in the recruitment of Tony Valenzuela to the role.
Valenzuela, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist and nonprofit leader is the first Latinx person to lead ONE Archives Foundation.
Valenzuela previously served as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit the Foundation for The AIDS Monument (FAM), which is dedicated to installing a world-class monument in West Hollywood Park to memorialize lost loved ones and educating the public about the historical achievements of HIV/AIDS activist communities.
Prior to FAM, he served as the Executive Director of Lambda Literary, the nation’s premier queer literary arts nonprofit, leading the organization for nearly a decade of sustained growth. While at Lambda Literary, Valenzuela founded the LGBTQ+ Writers in Schools program, the first ever queer educational initiative in the K-12 New York City public schools system.
Valenzuela holds a BA in Literature from the University of California, San Diego. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the California Institute of the Arts.