Dallas Pride addresses allegations
Billy Porter was honorary grand marshall of the 2024 Dallas Pride parade. This week, Dallas Pride officials responded to allegations of financial improprieties A former Dallas Pride board member and a former volunteer lodge allegations of embezzlement, fraud entailing nonprofit CAROLINE SAVOIE | Contributing Writer carolinelsavoie@gmail.com Six people in Dallas Pride leadership, including one board member and five volunteers, have resigned since November 2023 amidst allegations of embezzlement and tax fraud on the part of former and current board members.
Jeremy Liebbe, former volunteer director of security, and Truett Calvert, former board secretary, said they worry that current leadership is brushing alleged criminal behavior “under the rug,” and they fear for the future of Dallas Pride if changes aren’t made.
But a spokesperson for Dallas Pride told Dallas Voice this week that the organization has been working to resolve any issues since the board first learned of problems with a former board member and allegations of financial improprieties last year. “We would describe the financial stability and integrity of Dallas Pride as strong,” the spokesperson said. “The organization made immediate investigative steps once financial mismanagement was suspected in May 2023.
We are actively working to transition our record keeping away from systems created by individuals who were involved in organizational mismanagement.” Frank Holland Resignations “I am and will always be proud of my work and the proven results,” Liebbe said in his resignation letter dated July 5, 2024. “In stark contrast to all of that, the past year has seen the most tumultuous and disappointing series of events I have witnessed for this organization — and the threats have almost exclusively been internal and stem from the top of the organization.” A Dallas Pride board spokesperson said that new leadership with extensive experience in nonprofit governance has joined the team, and they put in new working
