Thom Lynch, the former executive director of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, has stepped in as interim executive director for New Leaf: Services for Our Community, which helps LGBT people with substance abuse and mental health issues and provides senior services.

The Bay Area Reporter first reported on the personnel change at New Leaf in a blog post last week.

Lynch, 50, who started the job Wednesday, October 21, replaces Ann Harrison, who was hired a couple of years ago. He said that he expects to be in the position for six to nine months, as the agency goes through a strategic planning process.

New Leaf's budget for this fiscal year is approximately $3.1 million, as was last year's, said Lynch. He said that his salary is $2,000 a week.

New Leaf "has had tremendous success," said Lynch, but it's also "facing major changes in health insurance with Healthy San Francisco and whatever comes out of Congress this year, so it's a great time for the organization to look at its strengths and challenges."

Healthy San Francisco isn't health insurance but was designed to make health care services accessible and affordable to uninsured San Franciscans.

Health care legislation is grinding toward the finish line in Congress.

Lynch said that insurance changes could include possible new limits on the number of times people can see a counselor.

"The organization's in pretty good shape financially, but there are of course challenges," said Lynch.

He said that he isn't anticipating changes to services.

New Leaf's not looking for a new permanent executive director right away, but the plan is to have a new head in place by the end of the planning process, said Lynch.

Lynch indicated he's not interested in the job himself.

"That's not part of what I'm looking at," he said.

Since he left the community center in August 2007, Lynch said that he's been consulting, and returned two months ago from Spain, where he'd been working for one company looking for venture capital and helping manage a data storage company.

As far as why Harrison left, Christopher Berini, president of New Leaf's board of directors, said, "All I can tell you at this point is that Ann has moved on to other opportunities and we wish Ann the best. That's really all I can say about it."

Harrison, 57, said New Leaf is an "amazing" organization but left to focus on a book, consultations, and workshops around women's and lesbians' spirituality.

Asked if she left voluntarily, Harrison said, "I left because it was really best for me and the organization. I think I realized that my focus needed to be really where my heart was..."