From senior federal officials like White House staffers and lobbyists who need to keep abreast of international and domestic politics, to bookstore owners who need to stay informed on the latest news to provide an engaging and relevant space for customers, the city of Washington depends on the news.  

One queer-owned start-up in the nation’s capital has recognized the need for fast and extensive information collection and is working on a solution. The start-up, Delve Deep Learning, is taking steps to make finding all information on any topic as easy as a Google search through the monstrously powerful tool of AI.   

Two executives from the new information start-up Delve Deep Learning sat down with the Washington Blade to discuss how their work is attempting to change the way professionals think and work in the capital.  

To grasp how Delve is transforming the way Washington operates, it’s essential to first understand what Delve is. 

“About 10 years ago, [I] founded Delve,” Jeff Berkowitz, founder and CEO told the Blade. “It is a competitive intelligence and risk advisory firm focused on helping public affairs professionals navigate all the different stakeholders and complex policy issues that they have to deal with.”  

Kyle Huwa, Delve’s research manager, offered a simpler explanation of their work: “Delve is a consulting company specializing in public affairs intelligence.” 

Delve provides its clients with a monitoring program to keep track of challenges they may face as well as on-demand research tools to help respond to those challenges. Their clients, which range from industry associations to policymakers, use this information to look to the future to find the best path forward using AI.  

“Public affairs professionals have the daily and weekly task of staying on top of any number of issues for their clients and their companies,” Huwa said. “From news articles to bills, regulations, press releases, social media posts, from stakeholders. There’s just an overwhelming load of information that they have to process. What we’re doing is taking all of that information, bringing it into one place, and using AI models to really surface the content that is most relevant to what public affairs professionals need to know.” 

The “most relevant” information, Huwa explained, widely varies per client. Some uses of Delve include watching the progress of a piece of legislation through a state government, an old forgotten regulation passed by a government organization, or news on current events in another part of the world. Regardless of what they are tracking, Delve wants to make finding what their clients are looking for easier.  

The program, Berkowitz explains, was started initially to help its own employees but was soon found to be valuable more broadly.  

“The platform really started as an internal tool at Delve,” Berkowitz said. “When Chat GPT 3.5 came along, we started to see the promise of generative AI. It’s the first technology I saw where it can’t replace our team members, but we can train it just like we can team members and make it a real co-pilot for the analysis that public affairs professionals need to do every day.”

It soon became evident that this application could change the way research in public affairs is conducted. 

“It really became clear that this was something that every public affairs team needs and that we didn’t necessarily need to be the intermediary between the technology platform and them,” Berkowitz added. “We could really imbue the AI models with our approach and methodology, and put it directly in their hands.” 

This in turn, the duo explained, saved precious time and money for their clients to more effectively research what needed to be done next.  

To understand how this saves precious time and money for their clients, Huwa explained how it differs from any general web search. 

“Historically you do this with keywords, right?” Huwa said. “You might search in Google with a keyword, but with keywords, you have to really guess exactly the right keywords. Sometimes your search return would be too broad, other times it would be too narrow because you didn’t guess all of the keywords that impacted your issue. With AI, we’re able to really go beyond keywords and identify the content, the news, the bills, etcetera, that a user is looking for in the same way that an analyst would use critical thought to find and sift through content. Once we surface that content for users, we’re helping them organize it into reports. We’re helping them draft language insights about that content. It’s really a way to save time and help them get to those insights more effectively.”  

Berkowitz told the Blade time is extremely valuable to those in the public affairs sector. Many of which are working against the clock to push their candidates, policies, or thoughts into the spotlight before their opponent.  

“Our mission is to save public affairs teams 1 million hours in the next five years because they spend too much time trying to figure out what’s going on in the world and how it impacts their organizations or clients,” Berkowitz explained. “Right now, they spend two plus hours a day, on average, that’s 25% of their work week, which only leaves them 75% of their work week to do 100% of their actual job, advocating on behalf of their clients or their organizations.”

This information in turn allows Delve’s clients more time to develop strategies to deal with potential issues ahead.  

“Our goal is to make sure that that surprise is no longer the standard for public affairs teams, because that’s really the reality today,” Berkowitz said. “There’s just so much information flying at them so fast that it’s impossible to keep on top of everything.” 

While extremely helpful in surfacing information, there are other aspects of AI that have some people scared — particularly when it comes to abusing AI to promote misinformation as truth.  

Berkowitz said he is not worried about their platform being misused.  

“For our platform there’s not really a great risk because there’s no access to the prompt,” he said. “That’s all behind the scenes in the workflows. It’d be difficult for somebody to misuse our product. But more broadly, misinformation has been with us for longer than AI has been around. If I was working at a Chinese or Russian troll farm, I would be worried about losing my job to AI, but misinformation has been with us for a long time. It’s going to continue to be with us.” 

The way to deal with misinformation, Berkowitz said, is to inform people on how to spot it.  

“The best defense against that is a more educated populace,” he said. “The more we help folks understand what’s real and what’s not. I think that’s going to keep getting more challenging as AI gets more effective in creating videos, creating avatars, creating these different forms of content.” 

“Our platform’s job is to surface all of the content that’s out there,” Huwa added. “I think it’s an ongoing process that that kind of everyone in the data space is confronting, to figure out how you sift through, how you address misinformation when there are more than a million news articles coming online every day.” 

Berkowitz pointed out that in some cases misinformation may be what the client needs to find and if AI doesn’t show it, it would be significantly less helpful.  

“It depends on folks’ use cases,” Berkowitz said. “Some folks really only want those trusted news sources and trusted sources of information, and we’re giving them the ability to filter, to only get those. If you’re doing reputational issues as a public affairs professional, you need to see the crazy stuff, even if it’s not true, right? We’re going to surface that stuff, even if it is misinformation because we need to flag it so that the folks that have the ability to correct the record can address that.”  

While they do not fear the potential for misinformation on their AI platform, they are concerned about training the system to avoid bias. 

“I think especially when it comes to AI, there has to be an extra sensitivity to having diversity of experiences and backgrounds in representation,” Berkowitz said. “These AI models, especially these foundation models, are trying to create this foundation of knowledge of the world. If you’re only including certain types of experiences, you’re not going to get the true foundation of the world.” 

One reason Berkowitz and Huwa care deeply about preventing prejudiced thinking to impact their AI models is because of their identity as gay men and their experience with prejudiced people.  

“As LGBT founders, if you look at some of the core values that we’re bringing into Delve Deep Learning, one of our core values is to build with precision and transparency,” Berkowitz added. “I think being able to be open and clear about what we’re doing is certainly something that can be a challenge for a lot of LGBT folks growing up. One of our other core values is to make sure that we’re building without silos — that it’s a very collaborative process, and everybody is included… Isn’t it great making sure that we’re kind of building without those walls in place? I think that that sort of comes from the ethos that I think a lot of folks that identify as LGBT wish they had in more spaces.” 

Huwa sees their experience as gay men almost in parallel to being a start-up founder.  

“I think some of the journey as an LGBT person is figuring out how to confront challenges,” Huwa said. “I think starting a business that’s really pressing into a new area, a new technology, and trying to be on the cutting edge of that technology is just the process of taking risks and overcoming challenges.” 

Huwa also referenced the support Delve got from Growth Lab, a startup accelerator that provides mentoring, education, and networking opportunities for companies founded by LGBTQ entrepreneurs, for their help in providing resources to confront their challenges. 

“Having Growth Lab as a resource and having other people who’ve experienced being both LGBT founders and starting a business, which is a big undertaking, right?” Huwa said. “I think one of the benefits of being a co-founder and LGBT identifying is that you do have that community that can support you. Growth Labs has been a great resource there. It’s nice to have that community support.” 

With support from organizations like Growth Lab, the tech industry is increasingly embracing diversity.  

“I think for LGBT folks specifically, tech is fairly inclusive, particularly in the political tech space,” Berkowitz said. 

Huwa went as far as to say that he would encourage anyone within the LGBTQ community to start looking into technology and the possibilities within AI to make their world a better place.  

“Coming from the technical side, I would advise anyone even remotely interested in learning more about AI to just dive in and start learning how to prompt well and start testing out the different tools,” Huwa said. “The great thing about AI as a technology is that it is really accessible to everyone — for LGBT individuals, for anyone underrepresented in the tech space. Also you have access to these tools and can start learning how to use them. I think that can be really helpful as you look for a job, as you think about maybe trying to start and create a startup yourself.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser released a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 8, announcing she and her administration would be celebrating LGBTQ History Month 2024, which takes place each year in October, among other things, by hosting at least three LGBTQ events.

“Washington, D.C. is proud to be in the forefront of LGBTQIA progress,” the mayor said in a press release announcing the city’s support for LGBTQ History Month. 

“As we celebrate the history of the LGBTQIA+ community and prepare for World Pride 2025, we stand united in our D.C. values and our dedication to creating a city where everyone can thrive,” she said.

The mayor was referring to D.C. being selected as the host for the LGBTQ World Pride celebration in June 2025, which came about after her administration worked closely with the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes most of D.C.’s LGBTQ Pride events, in submitting a bid to the international LGBTQ group that selects the host city for World Pride.

“This event will coincide with 50 years of Pride celebrations in D.C., reinforcing the city’s commitment to visibility and economic development for all,” the mayor’s press release says.

It says under Bowser’s leadership, the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs “has become one of the nation’s most well-resourced offices dedicated to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.” It points out that the office “has awarded over $1.3 million in community grants, provided housing choice vouchers to LGBTQIA+ residents, and hosted a range of impactful events and programs.”

Japer Bowles, the LGBTQ Affairs Office director, says in the mayor’s press release that he is “proud to serve with leadership that empowers our LGBTQIA+ community and acknowledges our contributions to the District and our national movement for human rights.”

Bowles adds in his statement, “This month, we are reflecting on our progress while also shaping our present and building our future. D.C. is the District of Pride, and our community is integral to our D.C. values.”

The three LGBTQ events the press release announced included an online virtual LGBTQIA+ Estate Planning seminar held on Tuesday, Oct. 8, the day the mayor’s press release was issued. LGBTQ Affairs Office official Gaby Vincent said about 15 or 20 people participated in the event, which was facilitated by Rebecca Geller of The Geller Law Group.

The next event planned is a two-day World Pride Workshop scheduled for Monday, Oct. 21, and Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W. “This two-day event will unite government agencies, local businesses, and community leaders to lay the groundwork for an unforgettable celebration,” the mayor’s statement says.

The statement adds, “Whether you’re an ANC Commissioner, business owner, or event organizer, this workshop will help you plan impactful, legal, and licensed events for World Pride 2025.”

The third event announced is the city’s 37th Annual 17th Street High Heel Race scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 29, which takes place on 17th Street between P and R Streets, N.W. The event was initiated by one of the gay bars located on 17th Street as a Halloween costume event, but in recent years, under the Bowser administration, it has been organized by the mayor’s office.

“The Annual 17th Street High Heel Race is a time to celebrate the diversity of D.C.’s LGBTQIA+ community and join thousands of spectators cheer on costumed drag queens, drag kings, and community members as they race down 17th Street, N.W,” the press release says. “Filled with local drag entertainment and much more, you won’t want to miss this lively D.C. tradition!”

The Rev. Harry Stock, who is currently affiliated with D.C.’s LGBTQ-supportive Westminster Presbyterian Church, has invited friends, colleagues, and members of the community to “witness a miracle” on Oct. 26 by attending a ceremony at an Episcopal church in Alexandria, Va., where he will be officially reinstated as an Episcopal priest.

In a Sept. 12 invitation to the ceremony that Stock sent by email, he states that the ceremony will take place 43 years after he was ordained as an Episcopal priest by a bishop in Charleston, W.Va., and 40 years after the same bishop defrocked him from the priesthood because he “declared his love for another man at the altar” in a holy union ceremony.

“As a result of our Holy Union I received a letter from Bishop [Robert] Atkinson informing me that as a result of me declaring my love for another man at the altar he was revoking my Holy Orders and stripping me from the sacred order of priest and that I would no longer be permitted to function as a priest in the Episcopal Church,” Stock says in his message. “My world fell apart,” he wrote.

Stock notes that the Holy Union that led to his being defrocked was with his life partner Mark Kristofik. He said the two have been a couple for 45 years since 1979 and are now married.  

Biographical information that Stock provided shows that he received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University in 1969 and completed a study program at the West Virginia Episcopal Diocese School of Religion before receiving a Master in Divinity Degree in 1978 from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., in 1978.

In the years since being defrocked Stock became known as an esteemed theologian. Beginning a short time after being defrocked, he became pastor in D.C. of a newly formed branch of the LGBTQ-supportive Metropolitan Community Church called  the MCC Church of the Disciples, where he served for 21 years. Biographical information he sent to the Washington Blade says in 1991 the nationwide Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches ordained him as a minister.

The biographical write up says Stock later became the founder and president of Scrolls Revealed Ministries for which he traveled over a period of 20 years across the country to churches, colleges, retreats, and conferences facilitating a seminar he created called “Biblical Translation for Gay Liberation: How the Bible Does Not Condemn Homosexuality, An in-Depth Study.”

Stock said Scrolls Revealed Ministries is still active and he currently travels to churches as a guest preacher delivering a teaching sermon called “Homophobia and the Bible: A Deadly Combination.”  

With that as a backdrop, Stock tells of the recent developments that brought about his upcoming reinstatement as an Episcopal priest in his email message inviting friends and colleagues to the Oct. 26 ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 228 South Pitt St. in Alexandria. 

“Upon learning of my story, The Rt. Reverend Matthew Cowden, VIII, current Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, requested a meeting with me via Zoom and on July 25 of last year we met,” according to Stock’s email message. He said that was followed by an in-person meeting in October of 2023.

“During our meeting Bishop Cowden said something that in my wildest dreams I never expected to hear, by saying, ‘On Behalf of the Episcopal Church, I apologize to you for what the church did to you back in 1984.’”

Stock adds in his message, “I found myself unable to speak and felt liberated, for the first time, from a pain that had plagued me for years. But, Bishiop Cowden didn’t stop there, he went on to say, ‘I also want to make right the mistake that was made those many years ago.’”

According to Stock’s message, “After a year of endeavoring through the Canons of the Episcopal Church and completing Canonical requirements and the joyous consent of the Bishops, and other committees and bodies responsible” – his reinstatement was approved, and the reinstatement ceremony was scheduled for Oct. 26.

“Miracles happen through moments of great beauty, prayer, faith, hope and especially through acts of great love,” Stock’s message continues. “They happen through us and to us, and for me, one is about to manifest itself and turn what I thought was the greatest disappointment in my life into a blessing,” he says in his message.

“I am delighted to share this incredible blessing with you,” his message continues. “And if you are nearby, I would be honored to have you join me for this momentous occasion.” His message says a Champagne reception will take place after the ceremony.

In recent years, Stock has preached and presided over communion services at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

In Southwest D.C. in the role of Parish Partner, a title given to ministers who are not officially ordained as Presbyterian ministers. Stock said that upon his reinstatement as an Episcopal priest on Oct. 26, he will continue his role as Parish Partner at Westminster since he still will not be an ordained Presbyterian minister.   

He nevertheless said his service at Westminster is important to him and he plans to remain there. He told the Blade that at the age of 83, he considers the West Virginia bishop’s decision to reinstate him as an Episcopal priest to be an act of correcting an injustice.

“What the bishop is doing on Oct. 26 is doing what he calls making right the mistake that was made 40 years ago and validating my ministry,” Stock said.