Jeri Dilno is a San Diego native, but has lived all over the U.S.  After leaving SDSU in 1958, she joined the Air Force following in her father’s military footsteps.  Sadly, Jeri received an Undesirable Discharge three days before her Date of Separation due to her sexual orientation, but with help from The Center’s military counselor, her discharge was upgraded to Honorable.

Jeri began her LGBT activism while living in Philadelphia in 1970 and moved back to San Diego in 1975 where she has lived since.  She helped organize San Diego’s first gay Pride march and worked Pride for 30 years.  Jeri was also the first female Executive Director of The Center (then called The Gay Center) and was also Assistant Editor and Editor of the Gay and Lesbian Times (Uptown Publications).  In 1976 she held a seat on the statewide committee against Prop 6 (the Briggs Initiative), and also worked on the 1987 March on Washington.  Jeri was one of six openly lesbian delegates from California at the 1977 International Women’s Conference in Houston.  She has also served as President of the San Diego Democratic Club for four terms, has been an openly lesbian delegate to three National Democratic Conventions, and in 1994 served as Co-Chair of the LGBT Caucus of the California Democratic Party.