Oliver Blumer, left, and his partner Mary Kay Cody

Oliver Blumer, who was profiled by Dallas Voice a while back, has been named vice chairman of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, the statewide organization dedicated to furthering the cause of gender diverse people.
According to the press release we’ve posted after the jump, Lisa Scheps is stepping down as executive director of TENT, and board chairwoman Katy Stewart will take over day-to-day operations.

TENT Announces New Leadership
New Board of Directors brings TENT to new horizons

AUSTIN – On Saturday, January 22, 2011 the TENT board voted on a change in leadership structure to better meet current organizational needs. The new approach will center around a board governed organization with former staff functionality performed by Katy Stewart. Day to day operations will be performed by the chair with other duties delegated to board members. Focus for the new board will be on building organizational capacity through fundraising, network and collaboration with other non profits, expansion of the board member footprint to reflect more areas of Texas, and internal training.

Reflective of the new board changes, Oliver Blummer of Dallas will be serving as Vice-Chair to the organization. Oliver brings a wealth of organizational know how to the board having been a board member on Youth First Texas .

Lisa Scheps, the outgoing Executive Director and Ex-offico member of the Board said, “I am more than excited about this change in leadership and structure.  Katy and Oliver, along with the rest of the Board, have a vision for TENT that will grow the organization and extend the reach of education about issues surrounding Gender Diverse Texans.  I couldn’t be more thrilled!”

Katy Stewart, new board chair, brings a wealth of experience and dedication to TENT. Having been a community educator and GLBT activist in Bryan/College Station, Texas for the past decade she brings those skills to bear with formalized training in NonProfit Management from the Texas A&M George Bush School of Government and Public Service where she received a professional certificate in Non Profit Management with a concentration in Fundraising and Philanthropy. Her hopes for the future are to enable TENT to become an organization with 2-3 paid fulltime staff serving the fundamental educational needs about gender diverse people across the state in corporate, interpersonal, public, and legal settings.

For more information about Transgender Education Network of Texas’ mission and new board, email info@transtexas.org  or visit:  https://www.transtexas.org