Local
Equality Maryland names interim leader
Lynne Bowman not pursuing permanent role
Equality Maryland, in a statement released to the Blade, announced this week that Lynne Bowman would become the group’s new interim executive director effective May 2.
Bowman has served as director of programs and services for the Equality Federation, a national association of state LGBT groups. She is also a founder of Equality Ohio and most recently served as campaign manager for Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher’s U.S. Senate bid.
“During Lynne’s time with the Equality Federation and as executive director of Equality Ohio, Lynne consistently demonstrated strong, visionary leadership,” said Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of the Equality Federation in a statement.
Equality Maryland said it would now begin the search for a permanent executive director.
Bowman told the Blade that she is not in the running for the permanent director’s position. She said her appointment lasts until the end of August but can be extended if a new permanent director isn’t in place at that time.
“I will be assisting the board in conducting the search,” she said. “That’s something I’ve done a number of times in my background. So rather than focusing on trying to secure a job for myself, I’ll be focusing on stabilizing the organization and moving the agenda forward.”
She acknowledges that she has never worked with the Maryland Legislature before. But Bowman said she believes her background in working with legislators in other states and her experience in managing non-profit organizations will enable her to keep Equality Maryland on track in pushing its legislative goals in the eight months before the Maryland Legislature convenes its 2012 session in January.
“I think that every legislature or assembly is similar in that fact that they are different,” she said. “And it takes figuring out the personalities and some of the targets and the issues, which could be done, I would say, fairly easily by partnering with the people who are already there.”
Bowman added, “So I’m not going to come in and assume that I know anything or anyone without working with the folks who have been doing the work in the General Assembly. And it’s going to be very important for me to create those partnerships, get to know those personalities so that we can move the strategies forward and make sure that we’re ready.”
She plans to take steps to arrange meetings with members of the State Senate and House of Delegates – including the contingent of eight openly gay or lesbian legislators — as soon as she arrives for work next week, she said.
Bowman said she has considerable experience in fundraising and is looking forward to strengthening Equality Maryland’s donor base. But she said she hadn’t had a chance to examine the group’s finances in detail and could not determine, at least until she arrives on the job on Monday, whether it would be prudent to hire a new development director immediately or to do so at a later date.
“If I would say anything else at this point it would be that a strong state-based organization is critical to passing state based legislation” like the marriage equality and gender identity non-discrimination bills that came up but failed this year, she said.
“And regardless of the bumps and bruises that may have happened in the last couple of months, getting behind Equality Maryland and the coalition of groups – local, state and national organizations that are trying to pass legislation – is going to be critical if folks want to see things move forward,” she said.
“Equality Maryland is thrilled to have a nationally known and respected leader at the helm of the organization,” the group said in a joint statement to the Blade from Chuck Butler, board chair of Equality Maryland, and Patrick Wojahn, chair of the Equality Maryland Foundation.
The announcement follows the departure of former executive director Morgan Meneses-Sheets after a tumultuous tenure in which the Maryland Legislature failed to pass marriage equality and transgender non-discrimination measures. The board said her departure was a mutual decision, but Meneses-Sheets said last week that the decision was not hers.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
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