PORTLAND – Jonathan Lee, founder of the Maine Speakout Project, is resigning as the executive director of the gay rights group in January.

Lee formed the group in 1995. Since then, the project has trained about 375 people for a speakers bureau that aims to promote understanding between people of different sexual orientations.

The speakers, both gay and straight, have talked to Rotary Clubs, church organizations and other groups around Maine.

Lee, 48, said he needs a break after six years on the job.

“I’ve been working with the board and actually talking to the board for over a year that there’s going to come a day when the organization’s going to need to find another director, and I was kind of hinting that I was getting closer to that time,” Lee said.

Kate Neale, president of the board, said she hopes Lee will still be involved with the organization. She praised Lee for bringing skill, particularly as a fund-raiser and organizer, to the job.

While he served as executive director, Lee began the Walks With The Ones You Love. Participants in communities around the state walk hand in hand with loved ones, whether gay or straight.

Eliot Cherry, the board’s vice president, said he will miss Lee’s energy, but that Lee’s successor will have the chance to accomplish much.

“This is a very important step for the project,” Cherry said. “Anytime an organization invites new leadership to come in at a time when it has a strong foundation, the organization can benefit.”