Local
College students convene at leadership summit
University of Maryland hosts annual event
Patrick Paschall was the keynote speaker at the B’More Proud LGBTQIA Student Leadership Summit. (Photo public domain)
Nearly 100 LGBT students and allies representing 15 Baltimore area campuses attended the annual B’More Proud LGBTQIA Student Leadership Summit on March 28. This year’s event, which was themed “Growing Out,” took place at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The host sites rotate each year.
One keynote speaker was Patrick Paschall, the newly appointed executive director of FreeState Legal, a non-profit legal advocacy organization serving low income LGBT individuals. He discussed his journey as a straight man in becoming a fervent ally of LGBT equality. Paschall had been the senior policy counsel at the National LGBTQ Task Force and held positions in a number of other LGBT organizations.
The other speaker was Rev. Jamie Washington, who has been an educator, administrator and consultant in higher education for 30 years. Among his many posts, he is the president and founder of the Social Justice Training Institute.
Entertainment was provided by QueenEarth (Melissa Smith), a singer/songwriter and college professor. She says her greatest joy is when she can bring her experience together to further life skills, education, music and creativity.
Besides a resource fair whereby a several LGBT or LGBT-friendly organizations disseminated information, there were three breakout sessions throughout the course of the day. Among the topics were “Queer Art and Social Media,” “If I Knew Then,” “The Role of the LGBT Press,” “Systems of Privilege—Racism and Sexism in the LGBTQ Community,” “Analog vs. Digital Leadership,” “QueerCore: Behind the Music” and “Microaggressions: It’s the Little Things.”
Zach Kosinski, graduate coordinator for LGBTQ Programs at the university, said it was a success.
“The conference has continued to grow since its inception in 2010, and the trend shows no sign of stopping as we move forward,” he said. “The planning committee is excited and hopeful that the host institution for the upcoming year will be selected and announced by the time school lets out for the summer.”
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].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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