Local
Comings & Goings
A board position, new scholarship and career change
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column will chronicle important life changes of Blade readers.
Welcome to the first Comings & Goings column, where we will share the professional achievements and milestones of our LGBT readers with the community. Have you started a new job or business? Landed a new client? Looking to hire a new employee or add a member to your board? We are interested in all of that and more.
Send your tips and story ideas to us at [email protected]. Please let us know what you or your friends are doing and when exciting things happen in your career and in your life.
Paul Hazen
It has been an exciting month for Paul Hazen, executive director of the U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Council. First he was elected to the board of the National Cooperative Bank. Then on Sept. 29 he spoke at the United Nations at the Sustainable Development Summit. His remarks focused on the need for legal and regulatory reform and increased financing for the solidarity economy, including cooperatives. The event was chaired by French President Francois Hollande and leaders from Ecuador, Morocco, Costa Rica, Senegal and a variety of U.N. agencies described the impact of cooperatives around the world.
Many in our community understand how hard it was to come out and be true to themselves during their college years. One respected D.C. resident has found a great way to help future generations accomplish their goals. It was announced by Ohio State University that, “Kevin Keller, CEO of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., has endowed the Kevin R. Keller Scholarship Fund for LGBTQ students from rural Ohio. It is the first scholarship of its kind in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Ohio State.” In making the donation, Keller said, “I was fortunate to have numerous opportunities and the support of my family and others within The Ohio State University community throughout my academic career. This is my way of expressing my appreciation to the University and giving back to our LBGTQ students is my passion and area of interest.”
Kevin Keller
Brett Zongker has had a busy and impressive career as a journalist. He was with the Associated Press for more than 11 years. At the AP, Brett reported mainly on art, culture and education and his work has been published by The New York Times, MSNBC and USA Today. He has now joined George Washington University as senior associate director of media relations. According to Candace Smith, assistant vice president of media relations at GWU, “Zongker will be a spokesperson for the university and will also work on media relations and strategy and other related projects.” In addition to his new position, Zongker will continue to teach classes at American University, where he has served as an adjunct professor since 2012.
Brett Zongker
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
