a&e features
Paying it forward
Point Foundation scholarship program finds recipients stay involved, give back
Former Point scholar Harjant Gill with Nicole Sterling, a current scholar he mentors. She’s a student at Maryland’s Towson University, where Gill teaches anthropology. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Point Foundation: the National LGBTQ Scholarship Fund
Washington Cornerstone Event
May 8
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Room & Board
1840 14th St., N.W.
General admission: $75
Nicole Sterling’s education at Towson University got off to a rough start.
Last fall as she began her freshman year, the 19-year-old Laurel, Md., resident found herself paired with what she calls a “passive-aggressive” roommate who locked her out of their shared room and cyber-bullied her.
The next roommate also proved troublesome.
“My first year was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” she said. “It took a big toll.”
Despite a campus environment that discourages roommate changes, Sterling had some supporters in her camp. As a Point Scholar, one of 78 undergraduate and graduate students receiving aid from the Point Foundation, an organization that helps LGBT students “achieve their full academic and leadership potential,” she had a mentor, Harjant Gill, an anthropology professor and former Point Scholar himself, to help.
They text regularly and meet two or three times a month to discuss issues Sterling may be having. It’s not always big existential questions about education and life goals — sometimes they talk about practical, everyday things.
Sterling, who’s bi, says it’s been a huge help.
“He’s really gone out of his way to be a support for me,” says the communications major, who eventually hopes to start a non-profit organization to help countries such as Uganda and Rwanda that are recovering from genocide. “He was just there right from the beginning helping me with anything I needed. We were just talking today, working on finding an apartment for me next year. He helped me with the roommate situations and also looking for a summer internship.”
Gill, who finished his Ph.D. in anthropology and started at Towson in 2011, knows first-hand what it’s like to have a mentor. During his Point years, he says his mentor, Jeff Pluth (who, like Gill, is gay), was a great help.
One sometimes thinks of high academic achievers as being almost supernaturally adept at handling everyday tedium, but Gill, also a documentary filmmaker, says that wasn’t the case for him.
“There were many challenges and moments of uncertainty when I just wanted to give up everything and I thought to myself, ‘Why am I even doing this,’” says the 32-year-old Chandigarh, India native who moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 14. “He was always there to sort of talk me down off the ledge, so to speak. He always supported me and listened and tried to get me to see the bigger picture. That emotional support was really helpful. There were many times when he was my anchor in a time of chaos.”
Pluth, who lived in Washington at the time he started mentoring Gill but has since moved to Palm Springs, Calif., says he’s delighted to see Gill now mentoring another Point Scholar. Pluth had met Jorge Valencia, Point’s executive director, in Chicago at a time when Pluth was interested in supporting a non-profit outside of his professional work managing, at that time, a touring Cirque de Soleil production.
Pluth, who has a bachelor’s degree, says he initially felt unqualified to tutor a Point Scholar pursuing a Ph.D. but soon found tutoring Gill a gratifying experience.
“I always told him I expected him later to give something back,” says Pluth, 49. “He would always say, ‘Yes, I plan to,’ but until you actually see it in action, you never fully know. …. When I saw that he had become a mentor himself, it was just one of those moments when you just quietly kind of smile to yourself and say, ‘Right on. Somebody got it.’ The timing of this for me is actually quite poignant because we don’t always know or get to see how our actions or words have had an influence on someone.”
Valencia, in San Francisco last weekend to help select this year’s batch of 21-23 young people who will be named Point Scholars out of a group of 36 finalists (nearly 5,000 at least started the lengthy application process), says this kind of “paying it forward” mentality is “exactly one of the tenets the organization was founded on.”
He says of the 167 Point alumni who’ve completed their educations since Point started in 2001, close to 70 percent have stayed involved in some capacity, be it mentoring another scholar, giving money, serving on national or regional Point boards and more.
The organization has many giving opportunities for those who wish to support it. On Thursday, the group will host its annual Washington Cornerstone event at Room & Board. In June, this year’s scholars will be announced. The organization, which has a $3.7 million annual operating budget and works with a $5.1 million endowment, has 16 full-time staff members, most of whom are based in Los Angeles. The endowment is mostly untapped to ensure current scholars will have their education covered in a cataclysmic event. Point uses its fundraising efforts to support the bulk of its yearly expenses. The average scholar receives about $9,700 per year in monetary support, but more than double that when programmatic and mentoring support is factored in, Valencia says.
But with academia not typically thought of as a hotbed of homophobia and perhaps especially not for academically successful students who have proven they have ambition and tenacity by merely getting into the program, how essential is Point’s work?
Sterling, who came out as a high school freshman and helped secure a GSA (gay/straight alliance) of the year award from the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) for the one she was president of in her high school, says the support has been invaluable.
“Freshman year is always hard as you adjust to new surroundings,” she says. “With everything that’s been going on, it’s been so nice not to have to worry about money on the side or have to get a job my first year. … Without Point, it wouldn’t have been an option for me to go to college or if I had, it would have been with a huge amount of debt.”
Gill agrees.
“I certainly wouldn’t have been able to continue with my graduate studies without Point Foundation,” he says. “The whole Point family, this whole network of scholars and staff are all rooting for you. They’re basically saying, ‘We believe in you and we trust you. We’re counting on you and we’re investing in you and we want you to succeed. We believe in what you’re trying to do.’ That was so important for me, especially when I had rough moments. … There’s no way I would have been able to navigate this path on my own.”
Valencia says the process of vetting these overachievers each year in San Francisco is amazing.
“I really wish I could sneak you in so you could see this,” he says. “I’ve seen all of this year’s finalists and they’re just amazing. … It really gives you a sense of the quality of our young people and where they want to take this country and society.”
a&e features
Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
Loraine Hutchins remembered as a ‘force of nature’
The Montgomery County Pride Center will host a celebration honoring the life and legacy of Loraine Hutchins, Ph.D., on May 2. People are invited to attend the onsite memorial or a livestream event. The on-site event will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-and-greet mixer before moving into a memorial service around the theme “Loraine a Force of Nature!” at 11 a.m., a panel talk at 12 p.m., break out sessions for artists, academics, and activists to build on her legacy at 1 p.m. and a closing reception at 2 p.m.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the on-site memorial gathering or the livestreamed memorial. The goal of this event is also to collect stories and memories of Loraine. Attendees and others can share their stories at padlet.com.
An obituary for Hutchins was published in the Bladelast Nov. 24, where people can learn more about her activism in the bisexual community. A private service for friends and family was held in December but this memorial service is open to all.
Alongside her groundbreaking work organizing for U.S. bisexual rights and liberation including co-editing “Bi Any Other Name: BIsexual People Speak Out” (1991), she also integrated faith into her sexual education and advocacy work. Her 2001 doctoral dissertation, “Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary U.S. Sacred Sexuality Traditions and Trends,” offered a pointed queer and feminist analysis to sex-neutral and sex-positive spiritual traditions in the United States. Her thesis was also groundbreaking in exploring the intersections between sex workers and those in caregiving professionals, including spiritual ones.
In an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Mueller back in August 2023, Hutchins described herself as a “priestess without a congregation.” While she has occasionally had a sense of community and feels part of a group of loving people, she admitted that “I don’t feel like we have the shape or the purpose that we need.”
“I’ve often experienced being the Cassandra in the room, the Cassandra in the community. Somebody who’s kind of way out there ahead, thinking through the strategic action points that my community hasn’t gotten to yet, and getting a lot of resistance and hostile responses from people who are frightened by dissent and conflict and not ready for the changes we have to make to survive,” she said.
“For somebody who’s bisexual in an out political way and who’s been a spokesperson for the polyamory movement in an out political way, it’s very exposing. And it’s very important to me to be able to try to explain and help other people understand the connection between spirituality and sexuality,” she explained citing how even as a graduate student she was “exploring how to feel erotic and spiritual, and not feel them in conflict with each other in my own spiritual contemplative life and my own sensual body awareness of being alive in the world.”
“Every religion has a sense of sacred sexuality. It’s just they put a lot of boundaries and regulations on it, and if we have a spiritual practice that is totally affirming of women’s priesthood and of gay people, queer people’s ability to minister to everyone and to be ministered to be everyone, what does that do to the gender of God, or our understanding of how we practice our spirituality and our sexuality in community and privately?”
“There’s no easy answer,” she concludes, and she continued to grapple with these questions throughout her life, co-editing another seminal text, “Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred: Bisexual, Pansexual, and Polysexual Perspectives,” published in 2012. Her work blending spiritual and queer liberation remains groundbreaking to this day.
Rev. Eric Eldritch, a local community organizer and ordained Pagan minister with Circle Sanctuary who has worked for decades with the DC Center’s Center Faith to organize the Pride Interfaith Service, is eager to highlight this element of her legacy at the memorial service next month.
a&e features
Queery: Meet artist, performer John Levengood
Modern creative talks nightlife, coming out, and his personal queer heroes
John Levengood (he/him) describes himself as a modern creative with a wide‑ranging toolkit. He blends music, technology, civic duty, and a sharp sense of wit into a cohesive artistic identity. Known primarily as a recording artist and performer, he’s also a self‑taught music producer and software engineer who embodies a generation of creators who build their own lanes rather than wait for one to appear.
Levengood, 32, who is single and identifies as gay and queer, is best known as a recording artist who has performed at Pride festivals across the country, including the main stages of World Pride DC, Central Arkansas Pride, and Charlotte Pride.
“Locally in the DMV, I’m known for turning heads at nightlife venues with my eye-catching sense of style. When I go out, I don’t try to blend in. I hope I inspire people to be themselves and have the courage to stand out,” he says.
He’s also known for hosting karaoke at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va., on Thursday nights. “I like to create a space where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, building community, and showcasing their talents.”
He also creates social media content from my performances and do interviews at LGBTQ+ bars and theatres in the DMV. Follow the Arlington resident @johnlevengood.
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I have been fully out of the closet since 2019. My parents were the hardest people to tell because my family has always been my rock and at the time I couldn’t imagine a world without them. Their reactions were extremely positive and supportive so I had nothing to fear all along.
I remember sitting on the couch with my mom, dad, and sister in our hotel room in New Orleans during our winter vacation and being so nervous to tell them. After I finally mustered up the nerve and made the proclamation, I realized my dad had already fallen asleep on the couch. My mom promised to tell him when he woke up.
Who’s your LGBTQ hero?
My LGBTQ heroes are Harvey Milk for paving the way for gays in politics and Elton John for being a pioneer for the fabulous and authentic. My local heroes in the DMV are Howard Hicks, manager of Green Lantern, and Tony Rivenbark, manager of Freddie’s Beach Bar. Both of them are essential to creating spaces where I’ve felt welcome and safe since moving to the DMV.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
Trade tops the list for me because of the dance floor and outdoor space. It’s so nice to get a break from the music every once and a while to be able to have a conversation.
We live in challenging times. How do you cope?
I’m still figuring this out. What is working right now is writing music and spending time with family and friends. I’ve also been spending less time on social media going to the gym at least three times a week.
What streaming show are you binging?
After “Traitors” Season 4 ended, I was in a bit of a show hole, but “Stumble” has me in a laughing loop right now. The writing is so witty.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
At 18, I wish I would have known how liberating it is to come out of the closet. It would have been nice to know some winning lottery numbers as well.
What are your friends messaging about in your most recent group chat?
We are planning our next trip to New York City. If you can believe it, I visited NYC for the first time in 2025 for Pride and I’ve been back every quarter since. Growing up in the country, I was subconsciously primed to be scared of the city. But my mind has been blown. I can’t wait to go back.
Why Washington?
It’s the closest metropolitan area to my family, but not too close. I love the museums, the diversity, the history, and the proximity to the beach and mountains. It’s also nice to live in a city with public transportation.
Aging RFK Stadium has come down, but the RFK grounds are still getting lit up. Welcome back to the stage Project GLOW, D.C.’s homegrown electronic festival, on May 30-31. Back for its fifth year on these musically inclined acres, Project GLOW returns with an even more diverse lineup, and one that continues to celebrate LGBTQ antecedents, attendees, and acts.
Project GLOW 2026 headliners include house and techno star Mau P, progressive house legend Eric Prydz, hard-techno favorite Sara Landry, and bass acts Excision b2b Sullivan King, among the lineup of trance, bass, house, techno, dubstep, and others for the fifth anniversary year.
President & CEO Pete Kalamoutsos — born and raised in D.C. — founded Club GLOW in 1999. In 2020, GLOW entered into a partnership with global entertainment company Insomniac Events to produce live events like Project GLOW, which kicked off in 2022.
As in past years, Project GLOW not only makes space, but is intentionally inclusive of the LGBTQ community, one of its most dedicated fan bases. The festival’s LGBTQ-focused Secret Garden stage blooms again — a more intimate dance area that stands on the strength of DJs and musicians who draw from the LGBTQ community. D.C.’s LGBTQ nightlife mastermind Ed Bailey is the creative mind behind Secret Garden again. He joined Project GLOW in 2023.
“Kalamoustos says that “he’s proud of his partnership with Ed Bailey, along with Capital Pride and [nightlife producer] Jake Resnikow. It’s amazing to collaborate with Bailey at the Secret Garden stage, especially after the curated lineup we worked on at Pride last year.”
The Secret Garden will be a bit different from other stages: Eternal (“At the Eternal stage, time stands still. Lose yourself in the dance of past, present, and future, surrendering to the eternal rhythm of the universe”) and Pulse (“Feel the rhythm of the beat pulse through your veins as the heartbeat of the crowd synchronizes into one. Here, every moment vibrates with life as it guides you through a new dimension of euphoria”). The Secret Garden stage is in the round, surrounded by 16 shipping containers. The containers play canvas to muralists from around the world, who are coming in to paint them in a vibrant garden-style vibe. “We gave this stage some extra love with this layout,” K says, “ we finally cracked the code.”
K says that this will be the biggest lineup yet for the Secret Garden, featuring Nicole Moudaber b2b Chasewest, Riordan b2b Bullet Tooth, Ranger Trucco, Cassian, Eli & Fur, Cosmic Gate and Hayla. The stage is also the largest yet, featuring an expanded dance floor and 360-degree viewing.
Across all stages, K says that his goal for the fifth anniversary is “More art and fan interactive experience, more like a festival, strive to be like a Tomorrowland, as budget grows to add more experience.” Last year’s Project GLOW alone drew 40,000 attendees over two days.
K, however, was not satisfied with one festival this spring. GLOW recently announced a “pop-up” one-day event. Teaming up with Black Book Records, GLOW is set to throw a first-of-its-kind dance-music takeover of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., headlined by electronic music star Chris Lake. Set for April 18, this euphoric block party will feature bass and vibes blocks from the White House. Organizers expect as many as 10,000 fans to attend. Beyond music, there will be food, activations, and plenty of other activities taking place around 6th St and Pennsylvania Ave NW – a location familiar to many in the LGBTQ community, as this sits squarely inside the blocks of the Capital Pride party that takes place in DC every June.
Over the past two decades, Club GLOW has produced thousands of events, from club nights to large-scale festivals including Project GLOW, Moonrise Festival, and more. Club GLOW also operates Echostage.
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