Local
Federal GLOBE founder Len Hirsch dies at 59
Spent 26 years at Smithsonian
Leonard Hirsch (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Leonard P. “Len” Hirsch, a senior policy adviser at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for 26 years and founder of the organization representing LGBT employees of the federal government known as Federal GLOBE, died June 12 at the National Institutes of Health Hospital in Bethesda, Md. He was 59.
Friends said the cause of death was cancer.
Hirsch has been credited with playing a key role in bringing together scientists and public policy makers in his role as senior policy adviser at the Smithsonian’s Office of International Relations and the Office of the Under Secretary for Science from 1988 to 2014.
A statement released by those who knew him at the Smithsonian says Hirsch, who specialized in global environmental issues, helped to found the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), an international data gathering operation that “allows anyone, anywhere to access data about all types of life on earth, shared across national boundaries via the Internet,” according to its website.
The statement says Hirsch represented the Smithsonian before national and international meetings and organizations, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, a group founded by a 1992 international agreement on conservation of natural resources.
“He also dealt with a wide range of issues in history, art and culture, as well as astronomy,” the statement says.
Information released by D.C.’s Rainbow History Project says Hirsch in 1988 organized the first meeting of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees of the U.S. government that became known as Federal GLOBE. It happened during his first year working at the Smithsonian.
A short time later he was elected president of Federal GLOBE, a position he held for more than 10 years.
Hirsch also played a lead role in founding a GLOBE chapter at the Smithsonian and helped others form GLOBE chapters at more than a dozen federal government agencies.
“He was an important, early voice for LGBT rights for U.S. federal government personnel,” said Selim Ariturk, president of GLIFAA, the GLOBE-affiliated group representing LGBT employees in U.S. foreign affairs agencies. “Len was a great friend and supporter of GLIFAA since our organization’s inception in 1992.”
Richard Socarides, who served as the White House liaison to the LGBT community during the administration of President Bill Clinton, said Hirsch worked hard behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for an executive order that Clinton issued in his second term banning sexual orientation discrimination in the federal workforce.
“I remember Len as a tireless advocate not only for LGBT federal employees but for civil rights for all Americans,” Socarides said. “He was such a warm and dignified presence, even while a most vigorous advocate.”
Hirsch was born and raised in Queens, N.Y. Nancy Gray, a friend since the two were teenagers, said Hirsch graduated from Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens before starting at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., where he received a bachelor’s degree in International Relations in 1976.
He received both a master’s degree in 1978 and his Ph.D. in 1980 in political science at Northwestern University in Chicago.
After completing his doctorate degree Hirsh landed a teaching job at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he helped start an LGBT faculty organization, according to a Rainbow History Project write-up on Hirsch at the time he was named one the of group’s LGBT Pioneers.
The write-up says that during the 1984 annual conference of the American Political Science Association, Hirsch helped organize the first meeting of what became the association’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.
It says Hirsch moved to D.C. in 1985 to join his partner, Kristian Fauchald, whom he met in 1983. Fauchald, a marine biologist, began a 35-year career at the Smithsonian in 1979, where he conducted research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
In his first three years in D.C. prior to joining the Smithsonian, Hirsch worked for a data management firm, started a company that produced a personal computer, and conducted research under a U.S. Department of Education grant at Prince George’s Community College, the Rainbow History Project’s write-up says.
During their years together in Washington, Hirsch and Fauchald became domestic partners in 2001 and married in 2008 in California. The couple’s 32-year relationship ended when Fauchald died in April of this year at the age of 79.
“We are heartbroken from the loss of Len so soon after Kristian passed away, but find comfort believing they are now together again,” said Merete Fauchald, a member of the Fauchald family, in a Facebook posting earlier this week.
Scott Miller, the Smithsonian’s Deputy Undersecretary for Collections and Interdisciplinary Support, said he worked closely with Hirsch for 15 years.
“He knew what was going on in both the science community at large and across the Smithsonian very well,” said Miller. “He was one of those people who were good at building bridges between what was going on somewhere else, what was going on at the Smithsonian, and who should know each other,” he said.
“He was a professional networker before the term was trendy,” said Miller.
Gray, an attorney in Los Angeles, called Hirsch a “brilliant and generous” person. “Len was dedicated to the pursuit of truth and scientific fact,” she said. “And he was blessed to have an extraordinary group of friends around him, and several of us were there when he died.”
She said that in keeping with his wishes, Hirsch was to be cremated. Gray said a memorial service is being planned for July 28 in Washington at a location to be announced soon.
He is survived by his father, Michael Hirsch, and a wide circle of friends and relatives.
Maryland
Md. Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs released updated student recommendations
LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, suicide
The Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs has released updated recommendations on how the state’s schools can support LGBTQ students.
The updated 16-page document outlines eight “actionable recommendations” for Maryland schools, supplemented with data and links to additional resources. The recommendations are:
- Developing and passing a uniform statewide and comprehensive policy aimed at protecting “transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive students” against discrimination. The recommendation lists minimum requirements for the policy to address: name, pronoun usage, and restroom access.
- Requiring all educators to receive training about the specific needs of LGBTQ students, by trained facilitators. The training’s “core competencies” include instruction on terminology, data, and support for students.
- Implementing LGBTQ-inclusive curricula and preventing book bans. The report highlights a “comprehensive sexual education curriculum” as specifically important in the overall education curriculum. It also states the curriculum will “provide all students with life-saving information about how to protect themselves and others in sexual and romantic situations.”
- Establishing Gender Sexuality Alliances “at all schools and in all grade levels.” This recommendation includes measures on how to adequately establish effective GSAs, such as campaign advertising, and official state resources that outline how to establish and maintain a GSA.
- Providing resources to students’ family members and supporters. This recommendation proposes partnering with local education agencies to provide “culturally responsive, LGBTQIA+ affirming family engagement initiatives.”
- Collecting statewide data on LGBTQ youth. The data on Maryland’s LGBTQ youth population is sparse and non-exhaustive, and this recommendation seeks to collect information to inform policy and programming across the state for LGBTQ youth.
- Hiring a full-time team at the Maryland Department of Education that focuses on LGBTQ student achievement. These employees would have specific duties that include “advising on local and state, and federal policy” as well as developing the LGBTQ curriculum, and organizing the data and family resources.
- Promoting and ensuring awareness of the 2024 guidelines to support LGBTQ students.
The commission has 21 members, with elections every year, and open volunteer positions. It was created in 2021 and amended in 2023 to add more members.
The Governor’s Office of Communication says the commission’s goal is “to serve LGBTQIA+ Marylanders by galvanizing community voices, researching and addressing challenges, and advocating for policies to advance equity and inclusion.”
The commission is tasked with coming up with yearly recommendations. This year’s aim “to ensure that every child can learn in a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment.”
The Human Rights Campaign’s most recent report on LGBTQ youth revealed that 46.1 percent of LGBTQ youth felt unsafe in some school settings. Those numbers are higher for transgender students, with 54.9 percent of them saying they feel unsafe in school.
Maryland’s High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey reveals a disparity in mental health issues and concerns among students who identify as LGBTQ, compared to those who are heterosexual. LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, feelings of hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. Nearly 36 percent of LGBTQ students report they have a suicide plan, and 26.7 percent of respondents say they have attempted to die by suicide.
The commission’s recommendations seek to combat the mental health crisis among the state’s LGBTQ students. They are also a call for local and state governments to work towards implementing them.
Virginia
Va. lawmakers consider partial restoration of Ryan White funds
State Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million from Part B program
The Virginia General Assembly is considering the partial restoration of HIV funding that the state’s Department of Health cut last year.
The Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million — or 67 percent of total funding — from the Ryan White Part B program.
The funding cuts started with the Trump-Vance administration passing budget cuts to federal HIV screening and protection programs. Rebate issues between the Virginia Department of Health and the company that provides HIV medications began.
Advocates say the funding cuts have disproportionately impacted lower-income people.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a federal program started in 1990, provides medical services, public education, and essential services. Part B offers 21 services, seven of which remained funded after the budget cuts.
Equality Virginia notes “in 2025, a 67 percent reduction severely destabilized HIV services across the commonwealth.”
Virginia lawmakers have approved two bills — House Bill 30 and Senate Bill 30 — that would partially restore the funding. The Ryan White cuts remain a concern among community members.
Both chambers of the General Assembly must review their proposed changes before lawmakers can adopt the bills.
“While these amendments aren’t a full restoration of what community-based organizations lost, this marks a critical step toward stabilizing care for thousands of Virginians living with HIV,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “Equality Virginia plans to continue their contact with lawmakers and delegates through the conference and up until the passing of the budget.”
“We appreciate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who recognized the urgency of this moment and will work to ensure funding remains in the final version signed by the governor,” added Rahaman.
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
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