D. Rashaan Gilmore

BlaqOut’s president and CEO, D. Rashaan Gilmore, is a dynamic entrepreneur, community connector, and respected leader deeply rooted in his community. As the founder of BlaqOut, he has achieved significant milestones, including the purchase of a 6,000 square-foot facility—the first and only designated safe space for the Black LGBTQIA community and its allies. Under his leadership, BlaqOut has grown from zero members/ patients to over 800 in just four years, launched the largest telePrEP program in Missouri, and increased BlaqOut's revenue from less than $100,000 in 2019 to approximately $2 million today, with more than half resulting from earned revenue. Gilmore earned the distinguished 2020 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Award for his groundbreaking work with BlaqOut. His vast professional experience makes him a sought-after cultural and political analyst and commentator. For four years, from 2017 to 2021, he was host and executive producer of the popular weekly public affairs radio show, "Unbossed and Unbothered with D. Rashaan." In 2022 and 2023, he won an EMMY® Award as host/moderator of "Flatland in Focus," a monthly broadcast television show tackling cultural issues and public affairs on Kansas City Public Television (PBS). Mr. Gilmore has worked extensively with marginalized and oppressed populations through various HIV prevention projects. His experience includes Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), developiing innovative models of healthcare, evidence-based interventions, field outreach, technical assistance to CDC and SAMHSA grantees, and grant management. He led Project I Am, a CDC grant focused on HIV prevention and testing for Black and Latino MSM, and managed a SAMHSA-funded new media campaign that developed a mobile app for HIV testing and PrEP education. Under his direction, Project I Am significantly improved HIV intervention and community cohesion in Kansas City and served as a forerunner to the work of BlaqOut.