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Comings & Goings
CAGLCC announces new officers, board members
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
The Comings and 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 Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC) is the local affiliate of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). CAGLCC began as the Potomac Executive Network many years ago, founded to provide LGBT professionals in D.C. with a place to meet. As an original member of the group there are fond memories when together with Jay Muzychenko we started the PEN Association Network bringing together association professionals to share information and ideas intended to further their careers and organizations with businesses having products and knowledge they wanted to sell. We held monthly luncheons and had an informal membership list of 250.
Nearly 12 years ago, I wrote a column in the Blade suggesting we needed an organization to demonstrate the strength of LGBT business and the clout we could have as a business community to promote full LGBT civil and human rights. Shortly after, two young men began such an organization and their hard work and dedication has seen it grow into a powerful group with influence around the world. PEN then morphed into its local affiliate.
Today, CAGLCC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, largely volunteer network of more than 430 LGBT members in addition to the nearly 5,000 LGBT professional supporters who own or are employed by businesses, nonprofits and government agencies in D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
The chamber’s primary focus is to further acceptance of LGBT people, help overcome adversity and then advocate, empower, promote and facilitate the common economic interests of all the commercial enterprises of LGBT businesses, professionals and their allies in the metropolitan D.C. region. The chamber has a full slate of activities each month. It recently announced its new officers and board members for 2016.
The president is Donald Uttrich, an attorney at Jackson & Campbell, and longtime active member of the LGBT community. The new vice president is Brian Haney, an agency managing associate at MassMutual Greater Washington Area and vice president at the Haney Company. New members of the board include; Mike Boyd, principal/owner of Nice Work Company; Frantzces Lys, a Realtor with Keller Williams; Van Goodwin, owner of Van Allen; and Phillip Cotton, vice president and branch manager at SunTrust Bank. Members continuing on the board for 2016 include John Quattlebaum, Eleasa Du Bois, JC Cummings and Holly Goldmann.
Each of these individuals deserves our congratulations and thanks for the time and effort they commit to ensuring that CAGLCC continues to make a difference in the community. For more information on the organization and how to become involved, visit caglcc.org.
Donald Uttrich is the new president of CAGLCC.
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.”
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary gala draws sold out crowd
Protesters say SAVE Act targets voters, transgender youth
Housewives take Capitol Hill by storm
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
