Local
Comings & Goings
O’Neill to practice in Portland; Skinner heads to Rome
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
The Comings & 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].
Daniel O’Neill
Congratulations to Dr. Daniel O’Neill, who will be practicing General Internal Medicine at the Neighborhood Health Center in Portland, Ore.
O’Neill is a primary care physician specializing in HIV and LGBT Health, who recently completed his residency training in internal medicine at both Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle and the George Washington University Hospital, in D.C. After a month of intensive medical-Spanish immersion in Guatemala this summer, he will begin practice and will serve as the anchoring internal medicine physician for the new clinic site for Portland’s underserved populations.
“Although my life has taken an unanticipated detour for now, my long-term plan remains practicing HIV medicine in the D.C. metropolitan area,” he said. “My time as a volunteer at Whitman-Walker Health and the influence of my dear friend, Peter Fox, were instrumental in the decision to pursue HIV medicine and LGBT health.”
O’Neill attended the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences after working for the Institute of Medicine. While in medical school and residency he trained under Drs. Douglas Ward, Ray Martins, both in D.C., and William Owen of San Francisco, all notable HIV primary care physicians.
While in D.C., Dan helped to co-found the HIV Working Group of the DC Center and the FUK!T condom distribution campaign with Dr. Terry Gerace. He was both a 2011 Point Foundation Scholar and National Health Service Corps Scholar (NHSC).
He added, “After completing my NHSC service obligation, I may return to D.C. to continue work in one of the local community health centers or move into private practice.”
Congratulations are also due to long-time Washingtonian Bill Skinner who recently moved with his husband Murray Jolivette from their home in Brookland to Rome. Skinner has taken the position of chief of the governing bodies office at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations first established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is one of the three Rome-based agencies of the United Nations, with a special focus on eradicating poverty and food insecurity in remote rural areas around the world. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods.
Skinner and his team are responsible for the operations of IFAD’s executive board and governing council, in close coordination with management. Most recently he ran his own D.C.-based translation and interpretation company following his graduation from Georgetown University’s school of interpretation and translation. For the past 14 years, Skinner worked at the International Monetary Fund, most recently as chief of the English Section.
Bill Skinner
Finally, congratulations are also due to Jay Vilar who recently founded Nourish, LLC (www.nourishingdc.com). Vilar grew up attempting a variety of diets informed with misguided nutritional information, fluctuating weight and a constant lack of sustained energy. As he began to immerse himself in the science behind nutrition and the human body, rather than abiding by contradictory media messages, his life forever changed. He then created a vision for his life, to help others heal their bodies with food. He studied to become a Nutritional Therapist Practitioner and created his company Nourish, LLC. Vilar said, “I work with my clients to identify which nutrients are missing in their body then develop customized nutritional plans specific to their health goals.”
Jay Vilar
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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