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Comings & Goings
Fowlkes joins Damien Ministries board
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].
Earl Fowlkes (Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas)
Congratulations to Earl Fowlkes who has joined the board of Damien Ministries, which was founded in 1987 by Louis Tesconi to serve the poorest of the poor living with HIV and AIDS. Damien Ministries, Inc., was entirely volunteer run until 1996 when the organization hired a paid executive director and expanded services to include case managers, faith-based outreach and a food bank.
Fowlkes serves as president and CEO of the Center For Black Equity, Inc. (formerly the International Federation of Black Prides). He founded the IFBP in 1999 as a coalition of organizations in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and South Africa to promote a multinational network of Black LGBT Pride and community-based organizations. There are now more than 40 Black Pride events around the globe.
Previously, Fowlkes served for 15 years as executive director of the D.C. Comprehensive AIDS Resources and Education Consortium and Damien Ministries, organizations that provide services to persons living with HIV/AIDS. He has worked on health, political and LGBTQ issues in many communities for nearly 30 years. He is the current chair of the D.C. Commission on Human Rights. In 2009, he was appointed by then-Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as an At-Large member of the Democratic National Committee and in 2013 was reappointed, and elected chair of the DNC LGBT Caucus. In December 2014, he was elected president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.
Congratulations also to John Westfall-Kwong, the new director of development for the National LGBT Bar Association Washington, D.C. The National LGBT Bar Association is the country’s largest organization of LGBT and allied legal professionals.
D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the LGBT Bar said, “As a longtime leader in the community and an individual with unparalleled development experience, I have no doubt that he will be a valued part of our organization. We are eager to see where John will help take the LGBT Bar at this time of unrest in our nation.”
He most recently served for 12 years as the director of development at Lambda Legal. Prior to that he served as vice president for Individual Giving & Development Administration at Lighthouse International and as national director of direct marketing for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. He received his bachelor’s in Business Administration & Marketing from California State University Long Beach.
John Westfall-Kwong
Finally, congratulations also to Thomas Murphy who has joined the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association as its new communications intern. Murphy is a Tennessee native majoring in foreign languages at Austin Peay State University. He spent a semester abroad studying at a French university and also interned in the Tennessee State Legislature. Outside of school Murphy writes book reviews for a Nashville-based regional LGBT newspaper. Murphy came to NLGJA through a partnership with The Washington Center, which places students with organizations whose work they show interest in.
“I am really excited to be working at NLGJA this semester,” he said. “I understand the importance of clear and accurate coverage of LGBTQ issues in the mainstream media, which is what first interested me about the organization.”
Thomas Murphy
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
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].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, landed an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a new job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Maryland
Md. groups receive state grants to fight hate crimes
Pride Center of Maryland among recipients
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy are awarding a total of $10 million in grants in the 2027 fiscal year to nonprofit organizations that work to prevent hate crimes in the state.
The funds will be used to support those who feel targeted or discriminated against because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.
The Pride Center of Maryland is among the recipients. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and LGBTQ organizations are all eligible to receive grants
“The safety and security of all Marylanders is my top priority, so we are drawing a hard line because we have no tolerance for hate,” said Moore, according to media reports. “We are committed to protecting and ensuring safe and sacred spaces stay that way by investing in non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and community centers to protect and honor every community that makes our state so diverse and special.”
“Protection Against Hate Crime funding has strengthened the Pride Center of Maryland’s ability to protect, educate, and support the communities we serve … at a time of heightened concern associated with the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ/SGL (same-gender-loving) policies and pressures,” Pride Center of Maryland CEO Cleo Manago said. “PAHC funding helps us do more than improve physical security — it strengthens our community’s knowledge, preparedness, connection to resources, and ability to respond to hate with greater awareness and support.”
Maryland’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The state’s nondiscrimination statute is also LGBTQ-inclusive.
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