More than a quarter century ago, I had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of the indomitable Al Baum. I was just entering a new stage of my career from direct service programming to fund development and I was imagining the life I would be creating as a lesbian in relationship, friendship, family and all of the beauty that is our San Francisco LGBTQ community.
Over these many years, not one went by without seeing Al. His philanthropic support, his keen eye for how to be and do better and his incredible smile were permanent fixtures in our larger world.
His generous spirit was always paired closely with his unabashed opinion – and we all benefited equally from both. Al Baum and his incredible husband Robert Holgate, have been