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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.Ā 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, āIn 2008 I became a member of CNCSā Disaster Services Team as Cadre Staff.Ā 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.Ā As the Cadre member I deploy to FEMA to coordinate all our members. Itās a pretty big assignment involving 12-hour days and lots of trouble shooting.ā
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.Ā 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 Bladeās annual Best of Gay DC contest in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. His media appearances include HGTVās “Get it Sold,” Discovery Channelās “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 Bladeās sales and marketing director.

Mark Rutstein
Virginia
New campaign challenges Va. guidelines for transgender, nonbinary students
Students4Trans planning rallies, walkouts across the state

A group of Virginia students have launched a campaign that challenges the state’s new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students.
The Pride Liberation Project on Sept. 20 announced the formation of Students4Trans.
Students4Trans held a rally outside the Virginia Department of Education in Richmond on Sept. 22. Another rally will take place during the Virginia Beach School Board meeting on Tuesday.
The Virginia Department of Education in July announced the new guidelines for which Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked. The regulations, among other things, require parents to be informed of a student’s name and pronoun change, with the exception of āimminent risk of suicide related to parental abuse or neglect.ā
Arlington County Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools and Prince William County Schools are among the school districts that have refused to implement the guidelines.
The Spotsylvania County School Board announced last month that students are required to use the bathroom that aligs with their assigned sex, and parents could choose the names and pronouns their children use at school. Two parents in Virginia Beach have filed a lawsuit that seeks to force the cityās school district to implement the new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students.
Students4Trans has organized a student walkout on Friday to protest the Spotsylvania County School Board’s new policies.
Michael K. Lavers contributed to this story.
District of Columbia
Dignity Washington holds Catholic mass in honor of woman priest
LGBTQ group celebrates its support for ordination of women priests

The D.C. LGBTQ Catholic group Dignity Washington says it dedicated its weekly Catholic mass on Sunday, Sept. 24, to honor a woman priest who has served as one of its priests since 2017 in a gesture of support for the womenās priest movement.
āThis Mass commemorates the ordination of Ann Penick as a Roman Catholic Woman Priest and celebrates the invaluable contributions of women who have served the church in various capacities,ā the group said in a statement.
āRev. Ann Penickās ordination as a Catholic priest, and the ordination of female priests like her, represents a step forward in the Catholic Churchās ongoing journey towards greater inclusivity and recognition of diverse vocations within its ranks,ā the statement says. āDignity Washington is deeply honored to support her ministry and those of other women priests,ā it says.
The fact that the Dignity mass in honor of Rev. Penick, who presided over the mass, and all of its weekly Sunday masses are held at St. Margaretās Episcopal Church near Dupont Circle highlights the fact that the official Catholic church recognizes neither Dignity nor women priests.
Dignity, a nationwide LGBTQ Catholic group with chapters across the country, is banned from holding any of its masses in Catholic Churches.
Penick told the Washington Blade in an interview the week prior to her saying the Dignity Mass on Sept. 24 that she was ordained as a priest in June 2011 by a woman bishop associated with a breakaway Catholic organization, the Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests. The organization was formed shortly after three male Roman Catholic Bishops ordained the first known women priests on a ship sailing along the Danube River in Europe in June 2002.
Two of the bishops who publicly disclosed their decision to ordain the women were excommunicated by Catholic Church officials at the Vatican in Rome. The third bishop acted anonymously and is believed to be continuing to serve as a bishop.
One of these bishops subsequently ordained female bishops who, in turn, began ordaining other women Catholic priests in Europe and in the U.S.
Information posted on the Association of Roman Catholic Womenpriests website says it and others associated with the women priest movement believe the ordination of women bishops and priests is valid under the biblical concept of āapostolic succession.ā
Under that concept, the spiritual authority that Jesus bestowed on his original apostles has been handed down to subsequent generations of clergy, and the ordained women bishops and priests can pass that spiritual authority on to other female clergy.
A spokesperson for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, which oversees Catholic churches in D.C. and parts of Maryland, did not respond to a request by the Blade for comment on the womenā priest movement.
Penick, who is married and has two stepchildren with her husband, points out that the womenās priest movement has also broken with the official church over the longstanding church requirement that priests practice celibacy and cannot marry.
āThe Roman Catholic womenās priest movement sees celibacy as a personal calling,ā Penick told the Blade. āIf a woman is personally called to celibacy, she follows that call,ā Penick said. āBut a woman can also be married and have children, and thatās always been a vision of the Roman Catholic Womenās priest movement.ā
Penick notes that it was not until the early 1100s that the church put in place a celibacy requirement for its priests.
She has been active in the Catholic Church for most of her life in several states where she has lived and worked. She received a certification in lay ministry from the Diocese of Birmingham, Ala. in 1993, a masterās in counseling degree from the University of Birmingham in 1995, and a masterās in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College in 2008.
She and her family currently live in Alexandria, Va., and she currently works as a mental health counselor at the Counseling and Psychological Services department at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Penick said while living in Maryland she served as a priest for Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community in Catonsville, and currently serves as a priest for the D.C. Living Family Mass Community in D.C. as well as serving as one of Dignity Washingtonās rotating priests.
āWe are so lucky to have her,ā said Dignity Washington former president Daniel Barutta, who noted that Penick and her husband are Dignity members. āSheās just a shining star for women,ā he said. āAnd we really hope that Dignity Washington is leading the church, showing the church which direction to go in terms of empowering women and having them as our spiritual leaders.ā
Barutta said Penick has joined the Dignity Washington contingent in D.C.ās LGBTQ Pride parade and the cityās St. Patrickās Day Parade and has led Dignity prayer services on various occasions.
Peter Edwards, Dignity Washingtonās vice president, said following its Sunday mass that the organization ācertainly does affirm that women can serve as priests in our community.ā Edwards added, āWe had a wonderful congregation tonight for a mass in celebration of Rev. Ann.ā
Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of the Mount Rainier, Md., based LGBTQ Catholic advocacy organization New Ways Ministry, said she believes the fully approved ordination of women priests in the Catholic Church will someday happen.
āThere is no theological reason, only cultural ones, why women have not been ordained priests,ā she said in referring to the official church. āI believe that a Catholic organization that ordains women priests is living out their sincere and deep-seated beliefs and preparing the wider community for what will eventually come to pass,ā she said.
āNot all arrive at the destination at the same time, and I admire those with the courage of their convictions who lead the way,ā she added.
District of Columbia
Activists, policy makers mark Celebrate Bisexual Day in D.C.
BiPlus Organizing US hosted event at HRC

BiPlus Organizing US on Saturday hosted a Celebrate Bisexual Day event at the Human Rights Campaign.
Fiona Dawson, co-founder of BiPlus Organizing US, and MƩlanie Snail, committee member of the organization, emceed the event. HRC Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Rebecca Hershey welcomed attendees.
Heyshey discussed her journey as a bisexual, mixed race, Jewish woman. Hershey paraphrased Adrienne Maree Brown, stating āchange is coming, we are creating change.ā
PFLAG Learning and Inclusion Manager Mackenzie Harte gave a presentation on the history of bisexual identities, defined terms surrounding gender and sexuality and went over statistics of discrimination and health disparities that bisexual individuals face.
Harte’s presentation noted 48 percent of bisexual individuals reported an annual income of less than $30,000, compared to 30 percent of gay men, 39 percent of lesbians and 28 percent of all adults in the U.S.
Harte went on to say 28 percent of bisexual students report having attempted suicide; and bisexual people have a higher risk of mood disorders, substance abuse and mental illness than their lesbian, gay, or straight cohorts. Bisexual people of all genders face higher rates of sexual assault than those same peers. One reason for these statistics is isolation: 39 percent of bisexual men and 33 percent of bisexual women report not being out to any health care provider, and only 44 percent of bisexual youth report having an adult they could turn to if they were sad.
Harte also spoke about the Bisexual Manifesto, which the Bay Area Bisexual Network wrote in 1990.
āThe bisexual manifesto very intentionally was not binary,ā Harte said.
They said the text works against the stigma and stereotypes that claim bisexuality is confined to āmale, female.āĀ
Tania Israel, a bisexual advocate and psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, shared some of her bisexual haikus, which she calls, ābikus.ā
Dawson moderated the next panel.
Panelists included Nicole Holmes, a bisexual advocate and public health professional, National Center for Transgender Equality Communications Director Leroy Thomas and NCTE Policy Counsel Kris Tassone.
The panel talked about how shame and stigma drive the statistics that negatively impact the bisexual community. Another word that came up as a driving force was āintersectionality.ā
Holmes said that when it comes to intersectionality, itās important to not just ālist identities,ā but to look deep into āthe purpose behind why we are talking about intersectional identitiesā in the first place.
Adrian Shanker, senior advisor on LGBTQ+ Health Equity for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, spoke about health equity for the bisexual community.
āStriving for health equity remains a core priority. It also remains an unmet dream,ā said Shanker. āQueer people have always had to be our own health advocates.ā While health equity may not be here yet, Shanker says there is much in the works for the LGBTQ community, bisexuals specifically.
Shanker cited a National Cancer Institute funding opportunity that invites research proposals to cancer care for sexual and gender minorities, stating bisexual specific proposals are welcome. The impending potential government shutdown may postpone it.
The Biden-Harris administration is also working to ban so-called conversion therapy at the federal level. Additionally, 988, the national suicide prevention hotline, began a program to offer specialized support for LGBTQ youth and young adults last year.
Shanker said bisexual people should prioritize preventative screenings for skin cancer, oral cancer, lung cancer, regular cervical and anal pap tests, mammograms, prostate exams and colonoscopies.
āIf you have a body part, get it screened,ā said Shanker.
Megan Townsend, senior director of entertainment research and analysis for the GLAAD Media Institute, did a presentation on bisexual representation in the media and opportunities for advancement.
Ā āI want to see bi+/pan colors displayed on the White House,” said Dawson. “I want every national LGBTQIA+ organization to be talking about us, to put our concerns front and center.”
The data presented can be found here.
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