Chief Executive Officer

Opportunity Snapshot

Avra Search Partners is proud to partner with Brave Space Alliance in the search for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Brave Space Alliance (BSA), a community-anchored LGBTQ+ center on Chicago’s South Side, is seeking a courageous and operationally skilled Chief Executive Officer to lead the organization into its next era of stability, cultural cohesion, and expanded community impact. Founded in 2017 to fill a profound gap in affirming, culturally competent services for trans, gender-expansive, and LGBTQ+ people, particularly throughout Chicago’s South Side, BSA has become a vital hub for health, housing, food justice, and mutual aid.

Today, BSA stands at an inflection point. The organization has reinforced financial stability, strengthened program operations, and renewed donor momentum, while continuing to build the internal infrastructure needed to sustain its growth amid a shifting political landscape for trans communities. BSA’s staff, leadership, and Board describe this moment as one of possibility and alignment: an opportunity to deepen organizational clarity, nurture a warm and cohesive culture, and further elevate BSA’s role as a trusted community anchor.

Building on the leadership of Channyn Lynn Parker, former CEO and Board Emeritus, BSA’s next CEO will be a values‑led, trauma‑informed, systems‑building leader who can pair strategic vision with operational execution. They will be deeply relational and visible within community spaces, while also bringing the clarity, direction, and steadiness needed to strengthen internal systems, develop staff, enhance partnerships, and guide the organization with integrity.

While knowledge of Chicago’s South Side communities is an asset and will help ground the work in place‑based history and context, this national search welcomes candidates from outside Chicago who bring the humility, cultural fluency, and curiosity to learn from the community BSA serves.