Local
Comings & Goings
Barutta assisting flood victims; Rutstein moves to Compass
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].
Congratulations and thanks to Daniel Barutta who is now in Baton Rouge, La., working as a member of Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) Disaster Services Team as Cadre Staff helping the victims of the historic flooding there.
Davild Barutta
Barutta moved to D.C. to take a job with the Peace Corps as a Placement Officer placing secondary school English teachers all over the world as volunteers. Six years later, he began work with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) as an AmeriCorps Program Officer. Barutta says his portfolio of grantees includes state commissions in Washington, California and Idaho and national programs such as the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest, the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers and Catholic Charities, USA.
When asked about his current work he said, “In 2008 I became a member of CNCS’ Disaster Services Team as Cadre Staff. When the president declares a national disaster and FEMA is activated, CNCS and FEMA sign a mission assignment agreement that allows us at AmeriCorps to send our wonderful AmeriCorps members who do all sorts of service for people including: mucking and gutting homes, debris removal, setting up of Volunteer Recruitment Centers, staffing food banks, sheltering people, etc. As the Cadre member I deploy to FEMA to coordinate all our members. It’s a pretty big assignment involving 12-hour days and lots of trouble shooting.”
Other deployments have included in 2013 helping Alaska flood victims on the Yukon and in 2015 helping people recover after flooding in South Carolina.
Barutta is from California but D.C. has been his home for the past 22 years. After college he joined the Peace Corps serving three years in Jamaica and West Indies working with youth and their families. He served two years as a VISTA Volunteer with Catholic Charities in San Francisco working with runaways and the homeless. In 1991, he became the first executive director of the first LGBTQ youth center in San Francisco.
Soon after moving to D.C., Barutta joined Dignity Washington. He has been in the choir for 22 years. In 2010 he was elected to the board, becoming president in 2012, a position he held until this past June.
Congratulations also to Mark Rutstein who has brought his team, the Evan and Mark Team to Compass Realty, a company operating with agents coast to coast. Prior to joining Compass, Rutstein worked with Coldwell Banker where he was part of the top-producing sales team in 2015 and into 2016. Over the years, Rutstein has had a couple of careers that included success in the hospitality industry. Many may have first met him through his real estate work or when he worked as the manager of Cobalt.
He went into the real estate business in 2002 and brought with him a passion to help clients achieve financial independence through home ownership. Since that time he has won numerous awards and made many media appearances showcasing his love of the business. He was voted the Best Realtor in D.C. in the Washington Blade’s annual Best of Gay DC contest in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. His media appearances include HGTV’s “Get it Sold,” Discovery Channel’s “Double Agents,” and multiple local news appearances.
Rutstein was born in Miami and attended the University of Mary Washington. He is an active member of the community volunteering his time with multiple community organizations and events. He is married to Stephen Rutgers, who works as the Washington Blade’s sales and marketing director.
Mark Rutstein
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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].
Congratulations to Vida Rangel, JD/MPP on her promotion to Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments. Rangel is now the highest-ranking transgender official in the history of District government. On accepting the position Rangel said, “I am proud to step into this leadership role and to continue serving my communities. Our District is full of passionate and knowledgeable people who are committed to public service, and it is an honor to help them explore opportunities to serve their neighbors.”
Rangel has previously served in this office as Director of Operations. Prior to this as Bargaining Committee Chair, Organizing Committee, NCTE United, Nonprofit Professional Employees Union IFTPE Local 70. As Policy Counsel, National Center for Transgender Equality; and Elizabeth Warren for President, lead organizer, Illinois 4th Congressional District. She has worked with, and served on boards of, The Black & Pink National, Federal City Performing Arts Assoc., and LAGBAC.
Rangel earned her bachelor’s in sociology from Sam Houston State University; master’s of Public Policy from Loyola University, Chicago; and Juris Doctor, Loyola University, Chicago.
Congratulations also to James Conlon new PFLAG vice president of Development & Philanthropic Partnerships. Upon his appointment Conlon said, “It is an absolute privilege to join PFLAG National and lead their Development & Philanthropic Partner team into a new era. Right now, LGBTQ+ people and their families are terrified of what the future might bring, and PFLAG must continue to be there. My job is to ensure PFLAG strongly endures and thrives, because never has there been a clearer time for our community to unite in fighting for the dignity and well-being of every LGBTQ+ person.”
Brian Bond, CEO, PFLAG National, said, “At a time when PFLAG National programs and participation in them have grown significantly, even as corporate giving has left a $1.3M gap in our funding, James is a critical new addition to the team. With his vast expertise, James will drive our growth and ensure that PFLAG continues meeting the needs of families and communities across the country.”
Conlon is a seasoned fundraiser who has spent extensive time working with advocates, supporters, and leaders, of the LGBTQ+ movement to understand how to effectively support the community. He began his career as an intern in the Massachusetts State House. He has helped raise more than $60 million for critical causes and candidates. Prior to joining PFLAG James oversaw LGBTQ+ investments and fundraising, with the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Prior to that he served in the same role for Harris-Walz 2024, and additionally served in senior fundraising positions for the Senate Majority PAC, as well as for Representatives Josh Gottheimer, and Conor Lamb.
Conlon earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
District of Columbia
D.C.’s annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade set for Jan. 19
LGBTQ participants expected to join mayor’s contingent
Similar to past years, members of the LGBTQ community were expected to participate in D.C.’s 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peace Walk and Parade scheduled to take place Monday, Jan. 19.
Organizers announced this year’s Peace Walk, which takes place ahead of the parade, was scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the site of a Peace Rally set to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Firth Sterling Avenue and Sumner Road, S.E., a short distance from Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
The Peace Walk and the parade, which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the same location, will each travel along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue a little over a half mile to Marion Barry Avenue near the 11th Street Bridge where they will end.
Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, said he and members of his staff would be marching in the parade as part of the mayor’s parade contingent. In past years, LGBTQ community members have also joined the mayor’s parade contingent.
Stuart Anderson, one of the MLK Day parade organizers, said he was not aware of any specific LGBTQ organizations that had signed up as a parade contingent for this year’s parade. LGBTQ group contingents have joined the parade in past years.
Denise Rolark Barnes, one of the lead D.C. MLK Day event organizers, said LGBTQ participants often join parade contingents associated with other organizations.
Barnes said a Health and Wellness Fair was scheduled to take place on the day of the parade along the parade route in a PNC Bank parking lot at 2031 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., S.E.
A statement on the D.C. MLK Day website describes the parade’s history and impact on the community.
“Established to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the parade united residents of Ward 8, the District, and the entire region in the national movement to make Dr. King’s birthday a federal holiday,” the statement says. “Today, the parade not only celebrates its historic roots but also promotes peace and non-violence, spotlights organizations that serve the community, and showcases the talent and pride of school-aged children performing for family, friends, and community members.”
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Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
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