It’s been nearly five months since QNotes was the first publication to report on a financial controversy involving the non-profit LGBTQ+ college student advisory organization Campus Pride and now former CEO, Shane Windmeyer.
The national Charlotte-based and nearly 20 year old institution, which had been known for support of LGBTQ+ youth, had long been a provider of guidance for students seeking a welcoming environment on campuses of higher learning across the country.
All of what appeared to be long-term hard work and much deserved respect came tumbling down this past November when original founder and CEO Windmeyer confessed to Campus Pride’s board he had misappropriated sizable amounts of the organization’s funding for his own personal use. That information would have remained hidden from the public had it not been leaked to QNotes.
An envelope that was dropped off anonymously at the offices of QNotes and the retail store White Rabbit contained various documents, some copies of email conversations between Windmeyer and the Campus Pride Board, along with a contract drawn up by a local attorney known as Lee Robertson, which spelled out a repayment plan for $100,000 to the organization by Windmeyer.
Board members confirmed the authenticity of the documents to QNotes and that Windmeyer had begun repayment of the specified amount.
A sticking point for many in the Charlotte LGBTQ+ community has been this line from the document titled “Employment Termination Agreement, section 4. Admissions of liability, part a. Misappropriation of Campus Pride resources.” It reads as follows:
”Windmeyer acknowledges and admits that during his employment with Campus Pride he misappropriated substantially more than $100,000, but that calculating the actual amount misappropriated by Windmeyer would be timely and expensive…”
Windmeyer has made no public comment regarding his financial misdeeds, the settlement or any regrets he might have surrounding the controversy. As performer Buff Faye, he was largely dropped from Charlotte’s drag performance scene, but has still managed to capture a few gigs at low caliber venues in smaller towns in the surrounding area.
Recently, details have emerged that Buff Faye has been booked for an appearance at Charlotte venue The Fillmore on June 8 for a presentation called Icons of Pride. She’s also slated for the upcoming Rock Hill Pride celebration in South Carolina on June 22. QNotes attempted to contact Rock Hill Pride founder and organizer Brittany Kelly by phone twice, but received no response.
Jonny Saldana is a politically active member of Charlotte’s LGBTQ+ community and the executive director of the non-profit organization Charlotte Gaymers Network (CGN). He expressed concern over Buff Faye’s Rock Hill Pride appearance when CGN members who live in the city shared their feelings about the upcoming performance.
“Young LGBTQ+ people have to wonder why someone like Shane Windmeyer, or Buff Faye is being platformed, when she has admitted to exploiting teens for personal financial gain,” Saldana offered. “I received messages from members who live in Rock Hill, and they’re concerned Shane has taken large amounts of Campus Pride donations, as if it was a personal account at an ATM, and used it to buy wigs and costumes and drag. It’s definitely important that she apologize to the people she has taken advantage of.”
It was the concern from Rock Hill members of CGN that led him to reach out to Pride organizers there and speak with Kelly.
“Rock Hill Pride is not led by the LGBTQ+ community,” Saldana continued. “The founder considers herself an ally, but she is a straight … cisgender [business] woman who is seemingly capitalizing on the LGBTQ+ community. She knows what is going on. She read the article in QNotes. But Shane has told her he is under a gag order, which prevents him from talking about it. So the organizers decided to refuse to do business with Buff Faye for this arbitrary period of six months and it appears they hoped the story would blow over and the community would forget.”
Christopher Bylone, a relatively new board member who serves as the treasurer and spoke with QNotes in a follow-up story dated Jan. 29, responded to Windmeyer’s alleged assertion: “That’s not true. There are restrictions that prevent him from talking about Campus Pride or any members of the board, but there isn’t anything that says he can’t apologize for what he did. If that’s something he needs to do because he feels regret or needs that to move on with his life, he definitely should.”
On its face, the agreement cobbled together by Robertson between Campus Pride and Windmeyer appears as an attempt to avoid controversy and set aside the need for any legal action against him. But that doesn’t preclude state or federal authorities from taking their own deep dive into Campus Pride’s financial history to determine just how much money Windmeyer actually did take from the non-profit for his own use.
When questioned about any contact from state or federal authorities in reference to Windmeyer or the misused funds, Bylone said there had been none.
While coverage of inter-community affairs related to LGBTQ+ issues has dwindled in recent years, the story captured national attention from other LGBTQ+ outlets such as The Advocate and the mainstream college and university publication and website Inside Higher Ed.
From local performers who worked with Windmeyer’s Buff Faye and former aspiring college students who were able to utilize the organization’s resources, the news coverage and the repayment plan are simply not enough.
“The fact that her venues either dropped her or put her on hiatus after the news broke says a lot,” says Derek Kramer, a drag performer who is also known as Onya Nerves. “Admitting to embezzling $100,000 in one year alone is kind of crazy. And we’re supposed to take that as an admission of guilt, or an apology? It’s hard to believe she has done nothing to make amends to the community she stole from!”
Robert Goslee is another drag performer. They go by the stage name RC Cola. They explained they were only casually acquainted with Buff Faye, but took the news quite personally. “I knew their drag persona as Buff Faye. I saw them as a drag leader in the community before all the misuse of funds,” they offered. “I think what bothered me the most was I actually used the Campus Equality Index. It was a factor when I was looking at schools and it helped validate myself as a queer individual.”
At press time, the Campus Pride website and social media have not been updated since November 2023.
In an apparent unrelated development but previously reported in QNotes, Windmeyer is also facing charges of fraud from the state of North Carolina, reportedly for failure to pay for unemployment insurance to cover employees of Campus Pride. According to Mecklenburg district court records, the offense date purportedly occurred Dec. 5, 2023 and was filed Jan. 4, 2024. An initial hearing was held Jan. 24, but was rescheduled for July 29.