Michael Kors and his husband, Lance Le Pere, have joined the board of trustees of The American LGBTQ+ Museum.

Their appointment comes at a pivotal time for the museum, which has been expanding its public programming offerings ahead of the opening of its inaugural physical location at the New York Historical at 170 Central Park West in the fall of 2027.

The American LGBTQ+ Museum will occupy 5,000 square feet of gallery space and is expected to attract thousands of visitors each year.

Founded in 2017, The American LGBTQ+ Museum preserves, investigates and celebrates the dynamic histories and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, as well as those of the emergent and adjacent identities among its communities.

“We are honored to have Michael and Lance join our board. They bring an enormous amount of expertise in philanthropy at a local and global scale, and we are excited to have their incredible leadership, dedication and generosity on our side,” said Ben Garcia, the museum’s executive director.

In a statement, Kors and Le Pere said, “We are thrilled to join the board of trustees and be a part of such a historic endeavor. It’s more important than ever to preserve and celebrate LGBTQ+ history and culture. Our community has such a rich history and so many stories to tell.”

Longtime residents of New York City, Kors and Le Pere are active philanthropists and support multiple causes. They have been passionate champions for God’s Love We Deliver, a New York City-based nonprofit that provides medically tailored meals to people living with critical illnesses in the tri-state areas since the late 1980s. In 2013, Michael Kors, the company, launched Watch Hunger Stop, a philanthropic campaign supporting the United Nations World Food Programme, and Kors serves as a WFP goodwill ambassador. In addition, the Kors Le Pere Foundation is a founding supporter of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in New York. Opened in June 2024, it is the first U.S. National Parks Services visitor center dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and history.

The pair support many other organizations locally, nationally and globally including the New York Restoration Project, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City Center, Lincoln Center Theater, FIT, amfAR, the New York-Presbyterian Fund, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the LGBT Community Center, the NYC AIDS Memorial Park, of which they were founding supporters, the NAACP, The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lambda Legal, the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and the World Wildlife Fund.