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 comingsandgoings@washblade.com.

Jonah Richmond (Photo courtesy of Jonah Richmond)

Congratulations to Jonah Richmond, who is starting as a Conflict Resolution Specialist in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel. Richmond most recently worked in EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, implementing several provisions of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.

Even though the Trump administration is threatening to drastically cut the staff and functions of the EPA it’s important that smart people like Richmond will still be there. He has kept his dispute resolution skills sharp as an EEO Mediator at the EPA.

Richmond is active in the LGBT community volunteering at the Whitman-Walker Health Name and Gender Change Clinic. He is married to David Olson, manager of the executive office and board engagement at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and the managing director and chairman of the board of the Pointless Theatre Company. Richmond is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, and the Vermont Law School.

Congratulations also to Jaime M. Grant, Ph.D. who is among a number of new people named to the D.C. Mayor’s Advisory Committee on LGBTQ Affairs. Grant is a social justice researcher, advocate and educator with a 25-year track record of strategic research, advocacy and leadership training catalyzing key moments of change to advance racial, economic, gender and LGBTQ justice.

Grant founded the first global transgender research and advocacy project based on the success of her U.S. report, “Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey” working with transgender leaders of color all over the Global South.  Since 2015, Grant has run an organization she founded, Trans*Formations LLC, working with clients to achieve sustainability in racial, economic, gender and LGBTQ justice work. Prior to that among the other incredible things she has done Jaime was the Founding Executive Director of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College directing the nation’s largest endowed social justice leadership center for which she secured a $23 million endowment.  Many in D.C. know Grant from her years as director of the Policy Institute at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She had previously served the organization as its director of development.

Grant has written and edited numerous books, including “Friendship as Social Justice Activism,” forthcoming, Niharika Banerjea, Debanuj DasGupta, Rohit DasGupta, and Jaime M. Grant, editors. Grant received her doctorate in Women’s Gender and Sexuality from the Union Institute and University, her master’s from Bucknell University and her bachelor’s from Wesleyan University.

The other newest members of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on LGBTQ Affairs are Saymendy Lloyd, Dwayne Bensing and Craig Langford. The committee works to advise the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs headed by Sheila Alexander Reid.

Jaime M. Grant (Photo courtesy of Jaime Grant)