Controversial director announces retirement, plans to get married

Karla Rothan, who came under fire last year over issues of inclusiveness after four black queer protesters were arrested during last year’s Columbus Pride parade, has announced that she is retiring after 11 years as executive director of Stonewall Columbus.

Rothan announced her decision with “mixed emotions” in a letter sent out Thursday afternoon by Stonewall, the nonprofit community center founded in 1981 to “fight for tolerance, acceptance and basic human rights” for the local LGBTQ community. She stated that she plans to remain active in fundraising and development as well as construction of Stonewall’s new community center within parameters to be set by the board of directors. The board will conduct a nationwide search for her replacement.

“Although I was always a big fan and supporter of the organization, I was not the most likely candidate to lead it,” Rothan wrote, citing her arts and public relations background. “I always wanted to have a job that helped to enrich the lives of others and make a difference. ... It has truly been the honor and privilege of a lifetime to serve this organization.”

Rothan did not address in the letter whether her decision had anything to do with public calls for her resignation in the wake of the arrests of the “#BlackPride4” on June 17, 2017, when they disrupted Stonewall’s annual Columbus Pride Parade to call attention to police brutality and the lack of inclusiveness for LGBTQ people of color.

Asked Thursday night whether her retirement was prompted by the public criticism over the parade incident, Rothan said “my partner and I have been together 21 years” and plan to get married this year. “It was part of my family plan,” she said of the retirement announcement.

About a week after the parade arrests last year, Lori Gum resigned as Stonewall Pride festival and program coordinator because of what she called Stonewall’s “indifference to the pain” of transgender and LGBTQ people of color. Gum said she was offended that Rothan did not make an “impactful and meaningful statement” immediately after the parade incident and thought that Rothan should resign. Gum could not be reached Thursday night to comment.

Rothan is credited with turning around a nearbankrupt organization to a solvency that included more than $2.1 million in income in 2016 with net assets of nearly $2.3 million. The Pride parade and festival now rivals Chicago as the biggest in the Midwest, and Rothan led a successful capital campaign that surpassed by $100,000 the $3.5 million goal to fund a new community center being built at 4th and High streets.

Completion is expected in late summer, Rothan said.