The person who helped Howard Brown Health grow to serve nearly 40,000 patients is stepping down after 10 years at the helm.
The center announced Thursday that President and CEO David Munar will leave that post Feb. 29.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to lead an organization that’s meant so much to me, as a patient, as a community member,” Munar said.
Since Munar took charge at Howard Brown in 2014, the nonprofit health center has expanded from three locations serving about 8,000 patients to 10 locations caring for over 38,000 patients.
Munar cited that expanded geographic reach as one of the most significant changes under his leadership.
“Before I joined Howard Brown, there were no services that were outside of the North Side, lakefront neighborhoods of Lakeview and Uptown,” he said. “The South Side is a big accomplishment because it’s an area of incredible need.”
Howard Brown now operates in Englewood, Hyde Park, Humboldt Park and Back of the Yards, and it has added dental care and mobile treatment for mental health care.
Munar hopes Howard Brown will keep meeting the needs of patients “through their lifecycle,” from youth services to a newly developed program for aging adults. While the center is focused on supporting the LGBTQ community, he said it also provides primary care to others with health care needs, regardless of their ability to pay.
“Continuing to be that safety net and continuing to be a voice for the needs of the LGBT community and how to meet those needs, those unique health care needs, is the work that Howard Brown will continue to pour into,” he said.
That work is especially important now, Munar said, as states across the country are passing laws restricting gender-affirming health care.
There are few LGBTQ health centers in the Midwest, and of those, Howard Brown is the largest. As such, Munar said, it has navigated a complicated legal landscape while serving patients traveling from other states.
“This work is vital, and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult or risky to access culturally competent, affirming LGBT health care in the United States,” he said. “We are seeing patients that are coming very long distances to seek affirming care at Howard Brown.”
Munar acknowledged the organization has faced “difficult times” in recent years, especially as contract negotiations continue with its union.
Howard Brown workers have been engaged in union campaigns and negotiations since 2019, when nurses unionized. Workers voted to form an expanded bargaining unit in 2022 to include all other employees. They went on strike twice last year.
The National Labor Relations Board also found in July 2023 the organization had engaged in unfair labor practices, leading Howard Brown to reinstate laid-off workers who wished to return.
“We’re working hard to negotiate a union contract with our workforce, and the union campaign has certainly resulted in some hurt feelings with staff and community members that want to see resolution.” Munar said. “We want to see resolution as well. We love and adore our staff.”
Derrick Alexander, a member of the union’s bargaining committee, said the union is disappointed by Munar’s decision to resign before reaching a deal on the contract.
In an Instagram post, the union urged the next CEO “to not follow in the footsteps of their predecessor.”
“It is our hope that his departure will create an opportunity for new management to negotiate in good faith and settle a fair contract with their unionized workforce,” Alexander said in a statement to the Sun-Times.
Munar said the decision to leave was personal, and he felt he had done what he could for the organization and needed a break, although he plans to remain in the same arena of work.
The board of directors, which will select Munar’s replacement, “has begun a comprehensive process of identifying new leadership for the organization, which will incorporate and engage internal stakeholders as well as the broader community,” Mike Mazzeo, board chairman, said in a statement.
