Robin Johnston McGehee (1998) has joined the City of Fresno’s Office of Community Affairs (OCA) as a liaison for the LGBTQ+ community. Appointed by Mayor Jerry Dyer, she will work to connect the LGBTQ+ community with services and resources, both within City Hall and in the city at large. McGehee’s first day with the OCA is Sept. 28, 2023.
Robin McGehee, a college professor and a local activist in Fresno’s lesbian, gay and transgender community, will become the city’s first LGBTQ+ liaison after being appointed Monday by Mayor Jerry Dyer. Thursday will be McGehee’s first day in the new role. Funding to include the post within City Hall was part of budget allocations approved by the Fresno City Council earlier this year.
The position was part of the record $1.87 billion budget under the advocacy of Councilmember Annalisa Perea, adding the job to the communications team within the mayor’s office. “We are seeing record investments for the LGBTQ+ community,” Perea said after the budget was passed on June 22. In addition to the liaison, the budget included a $100,000 allocation to the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center, and $100,000 for other organizations that serve the LGBTQ community.
“Today’s announcement is another step forward in Mayor Dyer’s vision of a true One Fresno,” McGehee said. “My goal is to work with the Mayor are to uplift the City of Fresno in becoming a more inclusive place for all citizens, including our members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. The beautiful, cultural fabric of Fresno is interwoven with threads representing the LGBTQ+ rainbow community and allies. My sincere hope is that together, we can work to make our city a better place for all the cultures and communities that call Fresno home.”
The recipient of numerous accolades and citations, McGehee has been honored twice as a grand marshal for Fresno Pride Parade and Festival (2011 and 2015), received a Top Dog Alumna Award from the Fresno State Alumni Association (2015), was selected as the keynote alumnx speaker for Fresno State’s Rainbow Graduation Celebration (2018), and named to the “Made in The CSU,” a project of the Office of the Chancellor, California State University (Current). Recently, she was included in the prestigious Obama Presidential Oral History Project at Columbia University.
We could not ask for better representation for our city. Congratulations, Robin!