Local
Comings & Goings
Greer to head PAI; Micone leads Combined Federal Campaign
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].
Congratulations to Reginald Greer who has been appointed director of the Presidential Appointments Institute at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute. PAI successfully assisted hundreds of LGBT people searching for placements in the Obama administration and is expanding its efforts to secure presidential appointments for LGBT people in the next administration.
Upon his appointment, Greer said, “I am honored to further that legacy. We are continuing to build our talent bank with qualified LGBT leaders who can be the foundation for a successful administration, and we will be their allies in finding a placement. We encourage LGBT people across the country to consider public service and to register with our initiative.”
Greer previously served as Deputy Director of Public Engagement at the United States Department of Transportation where he developed strategies for effective communication and engagement with thousands of transportation stakeholders across every mode on key White House and departmental priorities. Appointed by President Obama and Secretary Anthony Foxx in May 2014, he served as the department’s liaison to the White House Business Council, engaging business leaders across the country on a wide range of transportation-related initiatives, programs and issues.
In 2016, Greer was appointed to serve on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee. He has served as a staff assistant for the political team at the Democratic National Committee, a youth organizer for the District of Columbia’s 2013 Commemorative Commission on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, a fellow for the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee’s National Day of Service team, and a field organizer for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign in Norfolk, Va.
Reginald Greer
Congratulations and thanks are also due to Vince Micone. He is the chair of the board of directors for the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area, the federal government’s workplace giving campaign. Under his leadership, the campaign has provided nearly $47 million annually in charitable contributions to more than 20,000 organizations. This year’s drive extends through December.
Micone’s full-time position is as Presidential Transition Officer and Senior Counselor Management Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This position includes leading the Department’s efforts to prepare for and successfully execute a smooth presidential transition.
Micone is a 25-year veteran of federal civil service and a long-time activist in Washington’s philanthropic community. He has served in a variety of positions in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Justice where he managed human resources programs and initiatives. These programs included policy development and implementation, ceremonies and campaigns, military affairs, voting assistance and community service efforts. He also was vice president for development for the non-profit Partnership for Public Service.
Micone is well known in our community for all the volunteer work he does with so many organizations. He helped lead the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Gaymes Inc. in 2003 in an effort to bring the Gay Games to D.C. Today he is advising those working to bring them here in 2022. Micone was recently elected vice president of the Capital Pride Alliance.
He served as chair of the District of Columbia Commission on National and Community Service, a reserve police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department and an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.
Vince Micone
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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