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Comings & Goings
Honor for Corado; new post for Nosanchuk
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].
Dan Flave-Novak
Congratulations to Roosevelt University student Dan Flave-Novak, for winning a prestigious fellowship. “Dan’s groundbreaking PsyD dissertation looks at body image in the gay community. He will have the rare honor of becoming one of only nine U.S. Veterans Administration post-doctoral fellows to be trained beginning later this year in helping veterans with LGBTQ mental health issues,” according to a press release.
“I’m very excited to be a part of this new initiative which will allow me to make a difference in the lives of veterans who have recently begun to identify as LGBTQ in the VA system,” Flave-Novak said. “I believe it will be a great opportunity for me to have influence and an impact on how the VA system works with LGBTQ veterans now and in the future.” Dan will be spending his year as a post-doctoral fellow at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.
Flave-Novak has been a doctoral student since 2011 in Roosevelt’s nationally recognized PsyD program. He trained in several psychology and counseling departments, including Chicago’s Howard Brown Center, one of the largest LGTBQ health organizations in the nation. He worked for many years for Ohio Rep. Sherrod Brown in Washington, assisting in the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”
Matt Nosanchuk
Congratulations also to Matt Nosanchuk who joined the State Department as Senior Advisor in the Office of Religion and Global Affairs in the Office of the Secretary. Nosanchuk has served President Obama in several positions prior to starting at the State Department. Most recently he was the President’s Liaison to the American Jewish community in the Office of Public Engagement and also served as Director for Outreach on the National Security Council. During the first three years of the administration, Nosanchuk was Senior Counselor in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, where he was the point person on LGBT issues and worked on challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act that led to the Supreme Court’s historic decision in United States v. Windsor.
Nosanchuk was born in Windsor, Canada, grew up in the Detroit area and went to college and law school at Stanford. Since moving to Washington, he has worked in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, including on Capitol Hill on the House Judiciary Committee Minority Staff, and as Counsel for Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida. In 2013, he received the American Bar Association’s inaugural Stonewall Award in recognition of his professional contributions to advancing LGBT civil rights and the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his work on the Defense of Marriage Act litigation.
Ruby Corado
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Congratulations also to Ruby Corado, who will be honored along with the LGBTQ women of the Obama administration at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice 2016 Fueling the Frontlines dinner.
Born in El Salvador, Corado fled to the United States at age 16 when the Salvadoran Civil War erupted. She eventually moved to Washington, D.C. Self-identifying as a “D.C. Humanist-Transgender woman” Corado has spent more than 20 years advocating for the inclusion of transgender, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in mainstream society.
In 2004, she founded Casa Ruby in D.C. Last year, Corado told NPR, “Most of the people who come to Casa Ruby don’t have a family that accepts them, or that loves them for the most part. So we have a family here, and it is the concept of a chosen family.” Casa Ruby now has three homes, which include housing for homeless youth and adults, food service, job training, and medical and employment advocates.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
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