David Kilmnick
The LGBT Network
CEO
Bay Shore, NY
David Kilmnick, PhD, MSW has more than 23 years of experience working on behalf of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities to end homophobia and transphobia, provide a home and a safe space for the community and advocate for equality under the law.
David founded Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY) in 1993 and has led the organization through growing and developing substantially in its 21-year history including the purchase of the first GLBT community center on Long Island. The most significant growth was in 2005 when David established the Long Island GLBT Services Network (The Network) to expand services for Long Island’s GLBT community throughout the lifespan. The Network included two other new organizations – the Long Island GLBT Community Center (The Center) for adults and families, and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders – Long Island (SAGE-LI) for seniors so that GLBT Long Islanders of all ages have access to needed programs and services.
Today, David is the Chief Executive Officer of The Network that serves tens of thousands annually, reaches an additional 80,000 through education and outreach and employs 30 full-time staff members in four Community Centers located in Woodbury, Bay Shore, Patchogue and Sag Harbor. The Network in the fall of 2014 announced the first ever affordable housing in the New York tri-state area for LGBT and LGBT friendly seniors in Bay Shore and expanded its service region to include Queens County. With an annual budget of over $3 million, The Network service region includes over 6 million people that spans the entire length of the Long Island Expressway from the Midtown Tunnel to Montauk.
David has been widely recognized for his work on Long Island, throughout New York State and across the country. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the New York Civil Liberties Union Equality Award and the Lawrence Timpa Humanitarian Award for Professional Service from the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission. He is past co-chair of the Board of Directors for Centerlink, the national organization that represents nearly 200 GLBT Centers, was appointed to the Suffolk County Hate Crimes Taskforce in 2009, and was named to the 10th Annual Long Island Press Power List in 2012 and 2013 as one of the 50 most influential Long Islanders.
In addition to his innovative work in the GLBT community, David is a professor at several colleges and universities, including University of Maryland-University College in Nonprofit Management, Capella University in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management and at Walden University in the School of Public Policy and Administration. Kilmnick received his Ph.D. from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York in Social Welfare, where his dissertation focused on heterosexist attitudes and changes following contact with an openly gay instructor. David and his husband, Robert, live in Centereach with their two Yorkshire Terrier children, Sparky and Petey.