Local
Comings & Goings
Penchina joins Voices for Progress
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].
Daniel Penchina
Congratulations to Daniel Penchina, who has been named president of Voices for Progress and Voices for Progress Education Fund. Voices for Progress is a unique organization made up of influential people advocating for the public interest. Voices for Progress Education Fund (V4PEF), and its sister organization, Voices for Progress (V4P), are progressive national advocacy organizations building a counterweight to the campaign contributors and corporations that seek policies serving their own narrow financial self-interest. A 501(c)(3) project of the Tides Center, V4PEF, and V4P, a 501(c)(4) project of The Advocacy Fund, have enlisted hundreds of philanthropists, political donors and business leaders nationwide as members. Members and staff advocate to elected officials to fight against climate change and economic inequality; to strengthen democracy through campaign finance reform and voting protections; and on other social justice issues
Penchina has 15 years of experience navigating the intersection of policymaking and politics. He was a principal at The Raben Group, a progressive public affairs firm based in D.C. where he designed and managed issue and advocacy campaigns — including developing legislative strategy, communications plans, coalitions and tools for grassroots organizing — for dozens of national nonprofits, foundations, and companies. Prior to that, he worked as a senior adviser and strategist for several members of Congress, including as legislative director to Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). He has served as a member of the board of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and of SMYAL. Penchina is a past president of Q Street, an association of LGBT lobbyists and advocates. He has a BFA with honors in cinema studies from New York University.
Congratulations also to Jordan Schwartz, who was promoted to National Development Associate at A Wider Bridge (AWB). Schwartz previously served as Regional Development Associate for the Mid Atlantic. He will now assist with AWB’s national fundraising efforts.
A Wider Bridge was founded by Arthur Slepian in 2010 to provide opportunities for LGBTQ people in North America to build meaningful relationships with Israel and LGBTQ Israelis. From its outset, AWB has provided LGBTQ people with the opportunity to engage with Israel in ways that matter to them personally, and to demonstrate they have a stake in Israel and its future. In seven years, it has sponsored dozens of Israeli LGBTQ delegations to North America. It has also given more than 200 North American LGBTQ leaders the opportunity to visit Israel and engage with LGBTQ Israeli leaders and NGOs on the ground.
Prior to working with AWB, Schwartz founded Tappan Street Productions, Brookline, MA where he produced a 15-minute documentary that screened in the Boston area for Joe Kennedy for Congress. He is also the youngest tutor hired by Advantage Testing trained in and certified to teach LSAT, GRE, GMAT, and numerous academic subjects. Jordan has a bachelor’s in political science with a minor in business from Brandeis University.
Jordan Schwartz
Congratulations also to those elected to the board of Brother, Help Thyself. Jim Slattery was re-elected to his fifth term as president of BHT. He is joined by Andrew McCarty as vice president, Mark Clark as the board’s treasurer and Mike Lentz as assistant treasurer. In addition, elected to the board of directors were Mario Ward, Jose Gutierrez and Julius Agers. Brother, Help Thyself Inc. is a community-based organization providing financial and other support to non-profit organizations serving the GLBTQ and HIV/AIDS community in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. metro area.
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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