After working for the University of Michigan and the Kalamazoo LGBTQ+ Center, Garcia's journey led him to Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center, a Ferndale-based non-profit organization that provides hundreds of groups and activities to establish a welcoming space where people of all sexual orientations can find support, socialize and feel safe.
Serving as the center's executive director from 2011-14, he oversaw initiatives that raised awareness of political issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. Citing a goal to take on new challenges, Garcia left Affirmations and spent five years in California working for the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Garcia said he was planning to stay on the West Coast until an unforeseen problem prompted a return to the Midwest.
"Affirmations got into some financial trouble while I was gone," Garcia said. "This was my home, and I realized Affirmations was too important. I also didn't know if there was enough time to save Affirmations, so I came back."
He re-assumed his role as the Center's executive director in March 2019 and has been part of its revival ever since.
"When I came back here three years ago, Affirmations had three employees," Garcia said. "Now, we're almost to 20 employees and doing very well financially. I needed to come home because it's my home and Affirmations was too important to Michigan to fail."
As a hub for southeast Michigan LGBTQ+ communities since 1989, Affirmations organizes several support and discussion groups intended to provide guests with support around a particular issue or identity.
"I've learned that you can't assume," Garcia said. "Just because it's a small town in Middle America doesn't mean there are not pro-LGBTQ+ people. I have found great allies in the heart of our country and in small towns."