Local
Comings & Goings
News from mayoral appointee, new schools official and Penn alumnus
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
This column highlights the accomplishments of D.C.-area LGBT professionals. To share your good news with the community, email us at [email protected].
Brian T. Carney
Brian T. Carney shared exciting news with us. Carney, a Blade freelance writer, was recently elected to a two-year term on the Steering Committee for PennGALA (the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Alumni Association of the University of Pennsylvania). PennGALA connects and represents LGBT Penn alumni and supports the needs of students.
Carney graduated cum laude in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in economics from The Wharton School, with a concentration in management and a bachelor’s in urban studies from the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a produced playwright and published author and holds an MFA in theatre from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Carney has held senior leadership positions at a number of Washington non-profits, including the Washington Project for the Arts, the Advocacy Institute, the World Resources Institute and, most recently, AIDS United. He serves as a judge for the Mentor Capital Network Annual Business Plan Collaboration. He and his husband Brian K. Long, a senior internal auditor for the State Department Federal Credit Union, live in Wheaton, Md., with their cats.
David Franco
David Franco has been nominated to the D.C. Zoning Commission by Mayor Bowser. Franco is a native Washingtonian and successful LGBT businessman and developer. Recently Jack Evans, Ward 2 Council member, asked Council Chair Phil Mendelson to hold a confirmation hearing for Franco. Mendelson has so far declined to do so, citing concerns with Franco’s work as a developer. But Mendelson has previously voted for developers to serve on the commission, raising questions about whether he is holding up the nomination for other reasons, including a dispute with the mayor. Franco is more than qualified to serve and Mendelson should schedule a hearing as soon as possible on his nomination.
Travis Wright
Travis Wright was recently appointed deputy chief of early childhood education by Chancellor Kaya Henderson at D.C. Public Schools. Travis graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a bachelor’s in College Scholars- Summa Cum Laude in 1998. I met him in 1999 where he worked for a year as a teacher at the Gage-Eckington Elementary School. We had long conversations about how difficult it was for a first-year teacher in a class with many special education students and no support from the administration. Travis committed himself to making things better here in D.C. for all children. He attended Harvard and earned his master’s of education emphasizing human development and psychology and went on to earn his doctorate of education there in June 2006. His dissertation was titled, “Making It vs. Satisfaction: Well-Being and the Lives of Women Raising Young Children in Poverty.”
Travis took a leave from his position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he is assistant professor of Early Childhood Education. DCPS, our children and their parents, are lucky to have Travis Wright back in D.C.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
