Lorraine Langlois
Metro Inclusive Health
CEO
St. Petersburg, FL
Lorraine Langlois, Executive Director of Metropolitan Charities, has been running what is now one of the largest and most respected HIV/AIDS and GBLT service organization for over 15 years. However, it is surprising how few people know who she is.
Langlois, a native of Ottawa , Ontario (Canada) had worked for the Canadian government for 14 years and decided she needed a change and return to school. Her parents had a condo in one of the Suncoast beach communities, so she was somewhat familiar with the area. She decided St. Petersburg would be a good place to start her new life.
Lorraine, acquired a Health Management degree at St. Pete College to add to her U.S. government recognized Business Management degree. Her involvement with King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church came about when she started dating one of the church’s ministers. “I got real involved in the life of the church,” she says, “and helped out with some of the administrative work of Metropolitan Charities starting in about 1993.” At the time, Metropolitan Charities was a very small operation, without even one full-time employee. The operating budget for that first year was just $42,000, and the agency operated out of a small room in King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church.
Utilizing her strong leadership skills, compassion and guidance over the years, Langlois has grown Metro Charities to become the largest HIV/AIDS service organizations and nationally known GBLT community centers, operating with an annual budget of over $2,500,000, 45 employees and offices in both St. Petersburg and Tampa. Metro Charities has evolved to become the known service leader in providing case management services, mental health counseling and substance abuse programs to people with HIV/AIDS.
Lorraine continuously leads Metropolitan Charities to success today, just as she did in the beginning. Her most recent leadership accomplishments at Metro Charities include the building/land purchase of the Metro Thrift Store located in downtown St Petersburg and successfully implementing the new GLBT Community Centers in St Pete and Tampa and continues to be an influential leader in our community.