(GayWebSource.com – Gay Media & Press Network) – Posted by Doug Magditch – HisBigD.com
“When you build up the LGBT community it impacts and builds up the overall Dallas community as well.” – Cece Cox
Cece Cox has a lot to be thankful for. She had the opportunity to go to a good school. Her family supports her, even if, at first, they didn’t understand her choice to come out as a lesbian.
She also has the support of a diverse, non-traditional family: the Dallas LGBT community.
“I so admire and draw strength from and love this LGBT community in Dallas. So, I’m interested in people being equal and feeling equal,” said Cox.
It’s that interest in helping people that drove Cox to her current position. She, admittedly, has something of a strange career path. She’s been in journalism, photography, business development, marketing, fundraising, and non-profit. Eventually, she decided to go to law school and become a lawyer. By the way, she’s still an attorney, but her focus now is on advocacy.
“When I was at my law firm, I found myself missing my community. I started to wonder if I could get back into the non-profit sector,” said Cox.
In 2010, Cox became the CEO of the Dallas Resource Center. It seemed like a good fit, partly because she’d volunteered for LGBT community groups out of the Resource Center before.
“As a little baby activist I had been in the Resource Center a lot, because it is a true community center and a lot of organizations met here,” said Cox.
With Cox at the helm, the Resource Center has been behind much of the gains for the Dallas LGBT community. She’s most proud of the progress in rights for gay workers.
“We’ve been very effective in working with entities, both private and government, in expanding their non-discrimination policies. As a result, a lot of them have added in sexual orientation and/or they’ve added in gender identity and gender expression. A number of them have adopted domestic partner benefits,” explained Cox. “We feel like we’re contributing to a more equitable, fair, and inclusive workplace.”
Clearly, the Dallas LGBT community is paying attention to her contributions. In 2013, Cox becomes the first repeat grand marshal in the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade’s 30-year history. The last time she was grand marshal was in 1995, when she was president of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
“I am incredibly humbled and honored. I interpret it as a, that people do appreciate the work that Resource Center does,” said Cox.
So, what’s her next focus? Well, the Resource Center Dallas has a plan. It’s working to expand programs and services for youth, seniors and families. In 2015 it hopes to have a new Resource Center built and operating. Any day now they’ll break ground on the site of the new Resource Center, near Inwood and Cedar Springs.
“[It] will serve as a beacon, I believe, for this community; allow us to make those expansions that we have on the plan; and be a welcoming space for so many other people to find community and connect with others,” said Cox.
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