Local
Equality Md. names new exec director
Evans brings HRC, Task Force experience to state marriage fight
Carrie Evans is the new leader of Equality Maryland. (Courtesy photo)
Equality Maryland has selected veteran activist Carrie Evans, a former Human Rights Campaign staffer, as its new executive director after conducting a national search.
In an exclusive interview with the Washington Blade, Evans expressed confidence that Maryland will become the next state to enact same-sex marriage rights.
“The stars are aligned this year,” Evans said. “We have the votes in the Senate … and in the House the governor, along with a coalition of supporters, will work the House like it wasn’t worked last year.”
Evans previously worked for Equality Maryland as director of policy and planning from 2007-2009. She left the organization shortly after its then-executive director, Dan Furmansky, resigned in late 2008.
Prior to that experience, Evans spent time at both HRC and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. She served as state legislative lawyer for the Task Force in the early 2000s and later in a similar role at HRC, where she worked from 2003-2007.
Since leaving Equality Maryland in 2009, Evans has worked for the City of Baltimore in the housing department.
“It feels like coming home,” Evans said. “This is an organization that is like a dear friend to me … and the stakes are high, marriage is on the table, as well as the gender identity bill. We have a whole new board of tremendously accomplished people and I can hit the ground running — it’s full speed ahead.”
The board expressed confidence in its new executive director.
“The executive director search committee, led by board treasurer Rosemary Nicolosi and comprised of local and national leaders in the LGBT movement, spent hundreds of hours sifting through resumes and conducting interviews,” said Equality Maryland board chair Lisa Polyak. “We were charged with finding a leader who possessed courage, intelligence, strategic thinking and passion for achieving justice for the LGBT community of Maryland — and we believe we have found that leader in Carrie Evans.”
As for the marriage bill, Evans said the House of Delegates will become her focus.
“It’s a freshman class in the House that I’ll have to get acquainted with,” she said. “The House is where we need to pick up some votes.”
Reflecting on the 2011 effort to pass a same-sex marriage bill, which died in the House after passing the Senate, Evans said there was a lack of familiarity with the freshman class.
“The House changed more than folks had realized,” she said. “So we were used to the old House, but we had more Republicans and untested Democrats, like Tiffany Alston, so … it was a crap shoot with the vote count.”
One key difference looking ahead to the 2012 session, which begins in January, is the overt support of Gov. Martin O’Malley.
“It’s a totally different ballgame this year with the governor behind it,” Evans said. “The governor’s office is going to be more hands on.”
The marriage bill isn’t Equality Maryland’s only priority. It’s also pushing a measure to bar discrimination based on gender identity and expression.
“They took out public accommodations this year because of the misinformation about bathrooms and locker rooms … so we just have to give voice to our transgender supporters,” Evans said. “We have work to do in forging those relationships so it’s a lot of heavy lifting; hopefully the governor will put his support behind the trans bill like he has for the marriage bill. We want to move him to that place, that’s essential.”
If the marriage bill passes, many are concerned about a likely referendum to repeal the measure in 2012. Evans acknowledged the uphill fight in taking on a referendum fight.
“In referendums, wins are few and far between,” she said. “ It takes an infusion of resources that may not transpire. It’s refreshing that the coalition is together now, so that come April when the session ends we can move into executing a plan to keep this off the ballot or win at the ballot box. It’s winnable but will take a large effort and the community will have to step up like never before.”
It’s been a tough year for Equality Maryland, which saw both a transgender rights bill and a same-sex marriage measure fail in the 2011 legislative session. And the announcement of the new executive director comes less than a year after Equality Maryland struggled with financial problems and disagreements among board members that led to the firing of its executive director and the layoff of most of its staff due to a lack of funds to pay salaries. Its former board chair, Charles Butler, stepped down in May just one week after he publicly blamed the group’s former executive director, Morgan Meneses-Sheets, for the organization’s financial problems.
Meneses-Sheets, whom the board fired in April, rejected Butler’s claim that she entered into expensive contracts on behalf of Equality Maryland and hired staff without the board’s approval or knowledge. In a messy public fight, Butler and Meneses-Sheets each told the Blade that the other shared the blame for a funding shortage that threatened to force the group to close its doors.
In the wake of the group’s troubles, a new organization called Gender Rights Maryland was launched to lead efforts for a comprehensive gender identity non-discrimination bill and a new coalition of groups including HRC came together to advocate for a same-sex marriage bill in 2012.
Carrie Evans and spouse Pam Bennett were married in 2009. (courtesy photo)
But several recent developments suggest that Equality Maryland is getting back on its feet. The group held a fundraiser headlined by Gov. Martin O’Malley in September that brought in about $70,000. Another fundraiser is planned for December in Baltimore. Last month, Equality Maryland announced the appointment of 16 new members to its board of directors and its tax-exempt educational arm, the Equality Maryland Foundation.
Equality Maryland is a full partner in the Marylanders for Marriage Equality coalition and part of its steering committee, according to Polyak. She added that the organization is debt-free and operating in the black.
In addition to Evans, the organization employs two full-time staff members — an office manager and a field organizer.
Evans lauded the efforts of the marriage coalition.
“I think this is where we’re going as a movement,” she said. “We saw it in New York. All the players get to the same table and work as partners. I think it’s a good thing.”
Evans, 41, starts her new position the first week of December. She lives in Baltimore with her spouse, Pam Bennett, a professor at Johns Hopkins University. The two married in 2009 on their 10th anniversary.
Lou Chibbaro Jr. contributed to this report.
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].
Congratulations to RODRIGO HENG-LEHTINEN on his new role as Trevor Project Senior Vice President of Public Engagement Campaigns. On accepting the position, he said, “My mission has long been to stop LGBTQ, and especially trans, people from being perceived as political footballs and start getting us seen as real people – your friends, your families, your neighbors. Now I get to focus on that 100% at The Trevor Project.”
Prior to this, he was executive director, Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), where he co-led the merger of two national transgender rights organizations, NCTE and TDLEF, to create the new organization. He had served as executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, leading that organization through a period of growth, restoring organizational size and stability. He had served as deputy executive director prior to that. Previously he served as vice president of Public Education, Freedom for All Americans, where he led a successful campaign for transgender nondiscrimination protections in New Hampshire. He oversaw a full range of legislative lobbying, field organizing, and communications strategies and oganized a leadership coalition, established structure, and divided roles for key committees of 17 state and national partner organizations and local activists.
Heng-Lehtinen conducted English-language interviews with outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and Politico. He planned a Transgender Leadership Summit for the Transgender Law Center and served as Development & Donor Services Assistant, Liberty Hill Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from Brown University.
Local
D.C., Va., Md. to commemorate World AIDS Day
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle will hold a Mass, candlelight prayer vigil
The D.C. area will observe World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 through a variety of community events.
Established by the World Health Organization in 1988, World AIDS Day aims to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and honor the individuals affected by the epidemic. The global theme for 2025 is “overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.”
Washington
DC Health will host a World AIDS Day event at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library from noon to 9 p.m on Dec. 1. Attendees can expect live performances, free food and free HIV testing.
The all-day event will also feature community resources from DC Health, DC Public Library, DC Health Link, Serve DC, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
The Lily and Earle M. Pilgrim Art Foundation is partnering with Visual AIDS, a New York-based non-profit that uses art to fight AIDS, to reflect on World AIDS Day with a film screening on Dec. 1.
The David Bethuel Jamieson Studio House at Walbridge in Mount Pleasant will premiere “Meet Us Where We’re At,” an hour-long collection of six videos. The free screening highlights the complexity of drug use in intersection with the global HIV epidemic.
The videos, commissioned by artists in Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, Puerto Rico and Vietnam, showcase the firsthand experience of drug users, harm reduction programs, and personal narratives. The program intends to showcase drug users as key individuals in the global response to HIV.
In addition to streaming the videos, the event will include an evening potluck and conversation led by Peter Stebbins from 6-8 p.m.
The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle will hold a 5:30 p.m. Mass and candlelight prayer vigil at 6 p.m. in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. The event is open to all and includes a subsequent reception at 6:30 p.m.
The Capital Jewish Museum is hosting a speaker series on Dec. 2 from 6:30-8 p.m. that explores the response to AIDS within the Jewish community. Speakers include LGBTQ psychiatrist Jeffrey Akman, physician assistant Barbara Lewis and Larry Neff, lay service leader at Bet Mishpachah, a synagogue founded by LGBTQ Washingtonians. Heather Alt, deputy director of nursing at Whitman-Walker Health, will moderate the event.
The program is free for museum members. General admission is $10 and Chai tickets, which help subsidize the cost of general admission, are $18. Tickets include access to LGBT Jews in the Federal City, a temporary exhibition that collectively explores Washington, Judaism, and LGBTQ history. The exhibition is on view through Jan. 4, 2026.
Virginia
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins and local residents will commemorate World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 at the Lee Center.
The event, which is free to attend, will include music, choir performances, educational moments and more. The commemoration will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Maryland
The Frederick Center will host talks, tabling and a raffle in honor of World AIDS Day. The Frederick County Health Department will conduct free HIV testing.
The event, which is free to attend, will be held on Nov. 30 from 1-4 p.m. The Frederick County Health Department always offers free, walk-in HIV testing on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will host a community day of awareness in honor of World AIDS Day on Dec. 6 from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event will feature free, confidential HIV testing, private talks with medical professionals and health workshops.
The event will be held at Suitland Community Center in Forestville and will include breakfast and snacks.
Damien Ministries is commemorating World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 through the grand opening of the We the People Community & Wellness Collaborative. The event, held at 11:30 a.m. at 4061 Minnesota Avenue, N.E., is free to attend.
Damien Ministries is a faith-based non-profit committed to supporting those with HIV/AIDS.
Begin Anew, a Baltimore non-profit that provides education, outreach and resources to improve public health, wellness and economic stability, is hosting its 4th Annual World AIDS Day Community Celebration on Dec. 1 alongside community partners.
Hosted at the University of Maryland BioPark from noon to 3 p.m., the program will feature keynote speaker Jason E. Farley of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The celebration will also dedicate awards to local heroes focused on fighting HIV/AIDS and promoting health equity.
The free event includes lunch, live entertainment and networking opportunities with health advocates and partners.
District of Columbia
Bowser announces she will not seek fourth term as mayor
‘It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a longtime vocal supporter of the LGBTQ community, announced on Nov. 25 that she will not run for a fourth term.
Since first taking office as mayor in January 2015, Bowser has been an outspoken supporter on a wide range of LGBTQ related issues, including marriage equality and services for LGBTQ youth and seniors.
Local LGBTQ advocates have also praised Bowser for playing a leading role in arranging for widespread city support in the city’s role as host for World Pride 2025 in May and June, when dozens of LGBTQ events took place throughout the city.
She has also been credited with expanding the size and funding for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which was put in place as a Cabinet level office by the D.C. Council in 2006 under the administration of then-Mayor Anthony Williams.
It was initially called the Office of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Affairs. At Bowser’s request, the D.C. Council in 2016 agreed to change the name as part of the fiscal year 2016 budget bill to the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Affairs.
As she has in numerous past appearances at LGBTQ events, Bowser last month greeted the thousands of people who attended the annual LGBTQ Halloween 17th Street High Heel Race from a stage by shouting that D.C. is the “gayest city in the world.”
In a statement released after she announced she would not run for a fourth term in office; Bowser reflected on her years as mayor.
“It has been the honor of my life to be your mayor,” she said. “When you placed your trust in me 10 years ago, you gave me an extraordinary opportunity to have a positive impact on my hometown,” her statement continues.
“Together, you and I have built a legacy of success of which I am immensely proud. My term will end on Jan. 2, 2027. But until then, let’s run through the tape and keep winning for D.C,” her statement concludes.
Among the LGBTQ advocates commenting on Bowser’s decision not to run again for mayor was Howard Garrett, president of D.C.’s Capital Stonewall Democrats, one of the city’s largest local LGBTQ political groups.
“I will say from a personal capacity that Mayor Bowser has been very supportive of the LGBTQ community,” Garrett told the Washington Blade. “I think she has done a great job with ensuring that our community has been protected and making sure we have the resources needed to be protected when it comes to housing, public safety and other areas.”
Garrett also praised Bowser’s appointment of LGBTQ advocate Japer Bowles as director of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs,
“Under the leadership of the mayor, Japer has done a fantastic job in ensuring that we have what we need and other organizations have what they need to prosper,” Garrett said.
Cesar Toledo, executive director of the D.C. based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth, credits Bowser with transforming the Office of LGBTQ Affairs “into the largest and most influential community affairs agency of its kind in the nation, annually investing more than $1 million into life-saving programs.”
Toledo added, “Because of the consistent support of Mayor Bowser and her administration, the Wanda Alston Foundation has strengthened and expanded its housing and counseling programs, ensuring that more at-risk queer and trans youth receive the safety, stability, and life-saving care they deserve.”
Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein is among those who have said they have mixed reactions to Bowser’s decision not to run again.
“I am sorry for the city but happy for her that she will now be able to focus on her family, and her incredible daughter,” Rosenstein said.
“She has worked hard, and done great things for D.C,” Rosenstein added. “Those include being a stalwart supporter of the LGBTQ community, working to rebuild our schools, recreation centers, libraries, gaining the RFK site for the city, and maintaining home rule. She will be a very hard act to follow.”
Local gay activist David Hoffman is among those in the city who have criticized Bowser for not taking a stronger and more vocal position critical of President Donald Trump on a wide range of issues, including Trump’s deployment of National Guard soldiers to patrol D.C. streets. Prior to Bowser’s announcement that she is not running again for mayor, Hoffman said he would not support Bowser’s re-election and would urge the LGBTQ community to support another candidate for mayor.
Bowser supporters have argued that Bowser’s interactions with the Trump-Vance administration, including her caution about denouncing the president, were based on her and other city officials’ desire to protect the interests of D.C. and D.C.’s home rule government. They point out that Trump supporters, including Republican members of Congress, have called on Trump to curtail or even end D.C. home rule.
Most political observers are predicting a highly competitive race among a sizable number of candidates expected to run for mayor in the 2026 D.C. election. Two D.C. Council members have said they were considering a run for mayor before Bowser’s withdrawal.
They include Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who identifies as a democratic socialist, and Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who is considered a political moderate supportive of community-based businesses. Both have expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community.
The Washington Post reports that Bowser declined to say in an interview whether she will endorse a candidate to succeed her or what she plans to do after she leaves office as mayor.
Among her reasons for not running again, she told the Post, was “we’ve accomplished what we set out to accomplish.”
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