We are excited to announce that former GLIDE client, Dr. Gina M. Fromer, has accepted the position as GLIDE’s new president & CEO.

Dr. Fromer will start on October 11th, replacing interim CEO Malcolm Walter who has dedicated himself to GLIDE’s mission for the past ten months.

Dr. Fromer has more than 40 years of experience leading organizations and communities, creating partnerships, designing innovative solutions, and achieving strategic goals like ending poverty, addressing food insecurity, and promoting social justice.

“I’m here to move forward the legacy Cecil and Janice started,” Dr. Fromer said. “We have to speak out for the people who are most vulnerable. I’m for creating a world where there’s a love agenda, and GLIDE is a doorway to that love agenda. Beyond the Tenderloin, GLIDE is here to make San Francisco a better place for everyone.”

Dr. Fromer, a Bayview-Hunters Point native and sixth-generation San Franciscan, is committed to the mission started by Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani 60 years ago.

Dr. Fromer’s personal journey — from a young mother of three boys who relied on help from GLIDE in the late 1980s to the organization’s CEO today — is a story of accomplishment and true inspiration. “I want people coming to GLIDE for help to see me and say, ‘She was able to break the cycle of poverty for her family, and one day, I can do that too.”

As a teen, she began a lifetime of service as a counselor for Young Community Developers, which provides support and training for young adults. She began her career at Head Start before rising through the ranks at the San Francisco YMCA.

Gina will be tasked with launching GLIDE Forward, a strategy to grow the organization’s positive impact in the Tenderloin and throughout San Francisco. The plan will bring together clients, community and congregation through integrated, direct services, social justice and advocacy, and spiritual healing. It includes the modernization of GLIDE’s campus and facilities for the next 60 years.

“GLIDE Forward builds on our strengths and goes a step further in empowering individuals and families to experience less suffering and move towards stability. This plan combines our vibrant community, unique legacy, and unparalleled reach with a more outcomes-based approach to integrated services in the Tenderloin and beyond. It is breathless and inspiring in scope and scale,” said Malcolm Walter, a Board member and outgoing interim CEO.

Kaye Foster, Chair of the Board of Directors, added: “Gina is the absolute best person to lead the charge to revitalize GLIDE coming out of the pandemic so we continue to be a force for empowerment and compassion in San Francisco for generations to come.”