Dr. David Baker-Hargrove, who has been President of the Metropolitan Business Association (MBA) and Board president for Come Out With Pride (COWP) for the past three years, is stepping down.
“I have some personal opportunities that I need to explore and I know this is sudden and unexpected, but sometimes you don’t see the turn in the road until you get right up on it,” Baker-Hargrove said. He opted not to share details about those opportunities, but said they “forced me to make a choice, unfortunately.”
Current MBA vice president Gina Duncan is now the new president, and she has also inherited the role of COWP Board president.
“[Baker-Hargrove] has poured his heart and soul into our organization,” Duncan said. “It is with a very heavy heart that we continue without him.”
Baker-Hargrove’s relationship with the MBA stretches back to 1999, when he joined the Board as secretary, then served at vice president from 2006-2008. He said he’s not worried about MBA and COWP because the organizations are “in amazing hands,” but said leaving them behind will take some getting used to.
“It feels really weird,” Baker-Hargrove said. “I feel like over the past five to six years I’ve been really mentally immersed in the organization.”
Duncan also announced that in one of her first acts as president, she will name MBA’s Business Development Director Mikael Audebert to the position of interim vice president.
