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Comings & Goings
Chavez wins Latino GLBT History Project award
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].
Yesenia Chavez
Congratulations to LGBT Congressional Staff Association’s Yesenia Chavez who received the Latino GLBT History Project’s Mujeres en el Movimiento Award.
The Latino GLBT History Project is a non-profit, volunteer-led organization whose mission is to investigate, collect, preserve and educate the public about the history, culture, heritage, arts, social and rich contributions of the Latino GLBT community in metropolitan Washington, D.C. Mujeres en el Movimiento is an annual event coordinated by LHP’s Women’s committee to recognize and celebrate Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Latina activists who have made significant contributions to empower and increase the visibility of LGBT Latinas and Latinos.
Todd Sloves, president of the LGBT Congressional Staff Association said, “We’re so proud of Yesenia for this well-deserved recognition. In her time serving on our board she has worked hard to expand our organization’s diversity and served as a mentor to numerous junior LGBT staff of color.”
On receiving the award, Chavez said, “I’m grateful to the Latino GLBT History Project for selecting me as a recipient of this distinguished honor. As vice president of the LGBT Congressional Staff Association and organizer of Latinas in the House, I have strived to build a pipeline for queer and women staffers on the Hill. I am honored to work on behalf of my community and to push for space for LGBT people and Latinas on the Hill.
Chavez has taken a leading role in organizing events focused on creating a safe space for women and queer people of color, including an annual “Galentine’s Day” breakfast, regular Queer People of Color (QPOC) and women’s events, and various guest speaker events.
Chavez currently works in the Office of Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as a legislative assistant. She has worked for the Harris County Democratic Party Houston, and for Amigos de las Américas Perez Zeledón, Costa Rica as Associate Project Director and Project Supervisor. She holds a bachelor’s in Political Science and Liberal Studies from the University of Houston.
Congratulations also to Randy Downs, on his appointment to the Advisory Committee for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. Randy is also an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner on ANC 2B05.
Downs, a native of rural Missouri, started advocating for social and environmental causes at a young age. Through his early work as a community organizer he successfully helped elect progressive candidates across the state and advanced initiatives to strengthen labor standards and campaign finance rules, improve safety and healthcare, and lift up young and working families.
He moved to D.C. in 2011 to join the Sierra Club where he is currently a campaign representative. In his role, Downs has trained thousands of community organizers across the country, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars successfully fighting to build grassroots support for policies to combat climate change and protect the health of our communities. Three years ago Randy was diagnosed with cancer and as he tells it, “I fought my way to remission using the same motivation and focus I use in my advocacy.”
Downs lives in Dupont Circle with his longtime partner Dylan and volunteers at many organizations including Whitman-Walker Health, the Smith Cancer Center for Healing and the Arts, and the DC Center for the LGBT Community. He earned his bachelor’s from Southeast MO State University where he graduated cum laude.
Randy Downs
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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