FERNDALE, Mich.—Jeffrey Montgomery, who co-founded Michigan’s largest GLBT advocacy group 16 years ago, said last week that he’s stepping down as the group’s executive director.

Montgomery and two friends started the Triangle Foundation in 1991, seven years after his boyfriend was killed outside a Detroit-area gay bar. Montgomery initially emphasized anti-violence issues at Triangle but the group gradually grew to take on a full range of advocacy concerns for Michigan’s GLBT community.

“I am a proud parent of something that has grown beyond my wildest dreams and expectations,” Montgomery told the Detroit News last week.

Montgomery, 54, plans to remain associated with Triangle as senior strategist. Kate Runyon has been named interim executive director while a national search for a new director is conducted.