Jerry Chasen
2007 Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award

Jerry Chasen has benefited many, if not all, of the organizations that serve Miami-Dade's LGBT community. Be the contribution money, time, or professional service (and sometimes all three), groups like Project YES, the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the Miami Gay Men's Chorus, the Miami Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and SAVE Dade (and its foundation) are all the stronger for his participation. He was the first member of the National Board of Directors of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund from the South Florida area.

His community work extends beyond the LGBT community. He was on the board of the Planned Giving Council of Miami-Dade County for more than a decade, and served as its President, and on the steering committee for its Leave a Legacy Campaign, which encourages everyone to contribute to their community. He was on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami (serving as vice-chair), and presently sits on the Board of the Friends of the Bass Museum.

Perhaps Jerry's greatest contribution to the LGBT community came when the Gay & Lesbian Foundation of South Florida experienced its demise. Keenly aware of the revenue generated by the Foundation's two signature events, this Recognition Dinner and the annual Winter Party Festival, and the impact its loss would have on the community, he brokered the current arrangement between The Task Force and the Dade Community Foundation, securing two-thirds of the net proceeds of each event to be used for the benefit of this community. As a result, since the first event produced by The Task Force about three years ago, over $480,000 has been distributed among worthy organizations in Miami's LGBT community.

An estate planning attorney and a certified life coach, Jerry's purpose is "Empowering Conscious Vision." Through his firm, he has established The Advisors Project, www.TheAdvisorsProject.com, a national effort to encourage and empower advisors to talk with their clients about their values, interests and passions, since such discussions tend in turn to encourage contribution. Worth magazine included him in their "Top 100 Attorneys in the United States" for 2005 and 2006.

Iris and Mel Chasen's first born, he lives with his beloved life partner Mark Kirby and their two Westies, Boris and Bianca.