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Lesbian named president of Montgomery College & more

DeRionne Pollard is the new president of Montgomery College in Maryland. (Photo courtesy of Montgomery College)
Lesbian named president of Montgomery College
DeRionne Pollard, a lesbian who has served as California Community Collegeās president since 2008, has been named president of Montgomery College, a community college in Montgomery County, Md.
The collegeās board of trustees announced her appointment May 18, saying Pollard, 39, was chosen following a nationwide search and a review of more than 50 applicants. She holds a doctorate degree in educational leadership and policy studies.
āThroughout the search process, Dr. Pollard impressed both the board and the search advisory committee by her passion and devotion to the advancement of the community college mission and the students we serve,ā the board said in a statement.
In its announcement of her appointment, the board noted that Pollard and her domestic partner of more than 20 years, Robyn Jones, āare the proud parents of a 3-year-old son, Myles Julian Pollard-Jones.ā
Pollard is the first known black lesbian to be named president of a U.S. college. Earlier this year, Grinnell College of Iowa named National Institutes of Health deputy director and physician Raynard Kington as its president, making him the nationās first known black openly gay college president.
āI am thankful and truly honored that the board of trustees selected me as the next president of Montgomery College,ā Pollard said. āI am impressed with the caliber of the faculty, staff, administrators and students at Montgomery College.ā
The Washington Post reported that Pollardās predecessor, Brian Johnson, was removed as president following allegations of overspending and ālapses in management.ā The Post said faculty and staff at the college were looking forward to Pollardās leadership after a tumultuous nine months of tension leading up to Johnsonās forced resignation.
Faculty and staff rose to their feet and greeted her with prolonged applause when she was introduced to them at an auditorium last week at the collegeās Rockville, Md., campus.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Realtors approve LGBT non-discrimination policy
The Professional Standards Committee of the National Association of Realtors voted unanimously May 13 in Washington, D.C., to approve a policy prohibiting the denial of real estate-related services to someone based on his or her sexual orientation.
The action was proposed last year by the National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals, which works closely with NAR, according to a statement by the gay group.
It calls for amending NARās code of ethics to add the term sexual orientation to a litany of other protected classes.
The amended policy, if ratified as expected by the NARās delegate body in November, would say, āRealtors shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or sexual orientation.ā
The proposal would also change the code of ethics to say, āRealtors shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or sexual orientation.ā It additionally says that Realtors or real estate firms shall not engage in discrimination based on the same litany of categories in employment practices for their offices.
If the delegate body gives final approval to the policy change, the change would take effect Jan. 1.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Stein Club endorses challenger in āshadowā House race
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club on Monday passed over the incumbent D.C. āshadowā member of the U.S. House of Representatives, whom it backed in the last two elections, and instead endorsed a little-known challenger for the ceremonial post.
In receiving 60.8 percent of the vote, challenger Nate Bennett-Fleming barely surpassed the required 60 percent threshold for obtaining the clubās endorsement, becoming the first non-incumbent to win the Stein backing this year. He beat incumbent Mike Pannetta, who the club endorsed in his 2006 and 2008 bids for the shadow seat.
āTonightās vote reflects a shift that I believe is happening within the District of Columbia, where we have younger voices standing up to take leadership,ā said Jeffrey Richardson, the Stein Clubās president. āNate Bennett-Fleming clearly has the support of his peers and a strong bloc of LGBT activists from across the city.ā
D.C. voters approved the creation of one āshadowā U.S. House seat and two āshadowā U.S. Senate seats in a ballot initiative in the 1980s as part of their support for a D.C. statehood constitution. The positions have no powers or authority in Congress and donāt come with a salary.
Backers of D.C. statehood said they modeled the positions after other U.S. territories that created shadow congressional positions when they applied for statehood in the 1800s. People in the positions generally lobby Congress to approve D.C. as the nationās 51st state and give the city budgetary autonomy and full voting rights in Congress.
Bennet-Fleming and Pannetta each expressed support for LGBT rights, including support for the cityās same-sex marriage law.
In a separate development, the club voted Monday to endorse the re-election bids of D.C. City Council members Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6). The two are running unopposed in the September primary.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].Ā
Congratulations to Ryan Levi on assuming the presidency of the D.C. chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (DCNLGJA).
“I’m incredibly excited to take on this new leadership role with an organization full of incredible journalists,ā Levi said. āIn these uncertain and challenging times for many in our queer and trans community, I hope NLGJA can continue to be a space for queer and trans D.C. journalists to connect with their peers, find support, grow in their careers, and build community.”
Leviās background includes being a reporter and producer with Tradeoffs Washington, D.C., where he reported and produced podcast episodes for the national nonprofit health policy news organization. Topics included ransomware attacks on hospitals, bias and AI in health care, and bringing Medicaid to incarcerated people. He was the lead reporter on The Fifth Branch, a special three-part series on mental health crisis response. His reporting was featured on NPR, PBS NewsHour, The Marshall Project, and Slate. He was a producer for KQED News, San Francisco, where he reported and produced sound-rich feature stories, developed, and executed engagement strategy, provided editorial feedback, and mixed pieces for the weekly Bay Curious podcast. Before that he was a producer and reporter at KBIA News in Columbia, Missouri.
Levi earned his bachelorās degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and a bachelorās degree in Spanish, College of Arts and Science. He has won numerous honors and recognition for his work, including: Region 2 Edward R. Murrow Best News Series award for Three Refugees, Three Journeys to California; and second place 2017 Hearst Journalism Awards Radio Competition (reporter).
District of Columbia
LGBTQ-friendly senior living community to open near Dupont Circle
Luxury assisted living apartments located in the former Fairfax Hotel

An upscale senior and assisted living apartment building located two blocks from Dupont Circle, which is scheduled to hold a grand opening ceremony on Feb. 12, has announced it is āLGBTQ+ friendly.ā
A statement released by the new seniors home, called the Inspir Embassy Row, located at 2100 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., says it is proud to have received recognition as a SAGECare Platinum Credentialed Provider from the New York City-based LGBTQ seniors advocacy and training group SAGE.
āTo earn this prestigious credential, a minimum of 80 percent of Inspirās management and non-management staff completed comprehensive training in LGBTQ+ aging cultural competency,ā the statement says.
āThe program covered crucial topics including historical and contemporary LGBTQ+ struggles, proper terminology usage related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and strategies to address the unique challenges faced by this demographic,ā according to the statement sent to the Washington Blade.
Inspir Embassy Rowās general manager, Tim Cox, who is gay and said he lives with his husband just five blocks from the soon to open facility, provided the Washington Blade with a tour of the senior living building. He said it includes 174 apartments, including studio apartments and one and two-bedroom apartments.

Residents have signed up for about 45 of the apartments so far, Cox said, including some LGBTQ residents, who will begin moving in on Feb. 18. He said the upscale building is open to seniors who currently do not need assisted living services as well as those who need different levels of care, including memory loss care.
He said a doctor and nurse practitioner will be among the staff team providing services for residents. Although most of the apartments haveĀ a kitchenette with a refrigerator and microwave but no cooktop and a limited number have full kitchens, Cox said three meals a day will be served in the buildingās large, first floor dining room. The building also includes common areas with spaces for entertainment such as the showing of movies and a large grand piano for visiting performers.
āAt Inspir Embassy Row, weāre dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of our residents,ā Cox said in the statement released by the building, which is the former home of the Fairfax Hotel.

āThis SAGECare certification is a testament to our commitment to providing personalized, compassionate care that respects and honors the identities and experiences of all our residents, including those in the LGBTQ+ community,ā Cox said.
He added, āOur goal is to create a home where every resident feels valued, respected and free to be themselves. The SAGECare certification is just the beginning of our journey to set a new standard for inclusive senior living in Washington, D.C.ā
But the monthly rent for residents of Inspir Embassy Row will likely place it out of reach for many potential senior residents. Cox said the monthly rent for a one-room studio apartment is $8,100, with the monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment ranging from $11,500 to about $15,000. A two-bedroom apartment will cost $18,500 per month.
Some of those costs will be covered for residents who have long-term care insurance, Cox said.
Asked if potential residents who can afford the monthly costs at Inspir Embassy Row would be better off staying in their own homes and hiring staff and others to comfortably assist them, Cox said Inspir provides far more than just meals and a place to stay.

When remaining at your own home āyouāre isolated, youāre lonely, you donāt have activities,ā he said. āWhen you have people coming to care for you, theyāre not there as companions,ā Cox said. āSo, for this, we give them opportunities. We take them to the Kennedy Center. We have music here on a daily basis.ā
Cox added, āWe have authors come in. We have speakers that are renowned coming in. Since weāre on Embassy Row, weāll have ambassadors come in to introduce their country. So, really it is being able to get to know our community better and being social, interactive.ā
The statement released by Inspir Embassy Row says the facility will provide āLGBTQ+ specific activities, events, or support groups to allow residents the opportunity to share similar experiences with other residents,ā and there will be āpartnerships with local LGBTQ+ organizations.ā

District of Columbia
Officials praise D.C. Office of LGBTQ Affairs, raise concern over funding delays
Leaders of local advocacy groups testify at Council oversight hearing

Officials with five local LGBTQ community organizations and officials with another four groups that also provide services for LGBTQ D.C. residents testified before a D.C. Council performance oversight hearing on Jan. 30 that examined the work of Mayor Muriel Bowserās Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
The hearing, which also examined the Mayorās Office of Veterans Affairs and Office of Religious Affairs, was called by D.C Council member Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) in her role as chair of the Councilās Committee on Public Works and Operations.
Nearly all the witnesses praised what they called the LGBTQ Affairs Officeās longstanding support for the D.C. LGBTQ community through a wide range of services and programs and what they called the ādedicatedā work of its director, Japer Bowles.
Officials with at least four of the LGBTQ organizations, including the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition and the LGBTQ youth advisory group SMYAL, expressed concern over what they called long delays in funding from grants awarded to LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive groups by the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Several of the witnesses, including Kimberley Bush, executive director of the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, who submitted written testimony, said the funding delays were being caused by other D.C. government agencies that administer city grant programs.
Bush stated that the delays in funding for the LGBTQ+ Community Center for a $50,000 Community Development Grant and a $50,000 Violence Prevention and Response Team (VPART) Grant, āby no faultā of the LGBTQ Affairs Office, ācaused extraordinary and substantial financial strain on our cash flow.ā
Heidi Ellis, coordinator of the D.C. LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, raised a related issue of concern that the mayorās office, based on āshifting priorities,ā sometimes significantly lowers the level of grant funds from the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to community-based LGBTQ grant recipients.
Ellis and other witnesses at the hearing referred to this as āyo-yo funding and shifting of mayoral prioritiesā that they said makes it difficult for LGBTQ groups receiving city grants to continue their programs and services.
In his own testimony, and in response to questions from Nadeau and D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), who is the Councilās only gay member, LGBTQ Affairs Office Director Bowles said some of the delays in grant payments were due to a vacancy in the office staff position that administers the grants, which he said has now been filled.
Among other things, Bowles said the complexity of the grant approval process, which he said involves ādifferent layers of funding decisionsā by other D.C. government offices, also has caused some delays. He said that despite what he called some of his officeās challenges, the office continues to expand its role in supporting the local LGBTQ community.
āWith Mayor Bowserās leadership and support, Iām proud to have led efforts that transformed the office,ā he stated in his testimony. āWe secured the bid for WorldPride 2025, expanded our grant programs from $75,000 to over $6 million, revamped our community engagement strategy, and much more,ā he said.
āThese changes have had a direct impact on addressing public safety concerns and providing housing and support to vulnerable residents,ā he added. According to Bowles, his officeās LGBTQIA+ Community Development Grant program saw a record expansion in fiscal year 2024, with more than $1 million awarded to 29 community-based organizations. (The Washington Blade has been a recipient of a grant that funds a journalism fellow who reports on local LGBTQ community news.)
āThese grants support a wide range of LGBTQIA+ dedicated initiatives, including mental health counseling, youth leadership, and arts and culture projects,ā he said. āAs part of our broader advocacy efforts, we secured funding for the Violence Prevention and Response Team, which provides trauma-informed legal and counseling services to survivors of hate-based incidents.ā
Among the LGBTQ officials who praised Bowlesās work and the LGBTQ Affairs Office while raising concerns about the officeās ability to carry out its ambitious programs was Vincent Slatt, chair of the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commissionās Rainbow Caucus. The caucus currently consists of 38 out LGBTQ ANC commissioners based in all eight D.C. wards.
Slatt called on Mayor Bowser and the D.C. Council to increase the number of full-time staff members for the LGBTQ Affairs Office from its current six staff members to 10 or 11 full-time staffers.
āTo address these challenges, we strongly recommend increasing the officeās staff to match the scale of its responsibilities and the growing needs of our community,ā Slatt told the committee. He added that the officeās current āchronic staffing and budget shortage disparities will become even more concerning in light of the recent and anticipated homophobic and transphobic attacks expected from the White House and Congress.ā
The other LGBTQ community witnesses who praised the LGBTQ Affairs Officeās overall work were Rebecca York, SMYALās director of Youth Development and Community Engagement; Justin Johns, director of operations for the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center; Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance; and Bo Belotti, development manager for the community services organization HIPS.
In response to a request from the Washington Blade for comment on whether the mayor and other city officials were taking steps to address the issue of grant funding delays raised at the D.C. Council hearing, the office of the mayor released this statement: āWashington, D.C. is proud to support the LGBTQIA+ community. The Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs continues to deliver impactful programs with its dedicated staff, and we are always assessing ways to enhance support across all community affairs offices.ā
The Office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) responded to the Blade inquiry with its own statement: āDMPED has been working closely and collaboratively with the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center to finalize their grant agreement. We are proud to support this transformative project that is delivering a world-class services center for our LGBTQ community.ā
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