Local
Comings & Goings
New roles for locals at ConferenceDirect and EDF
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].
Michael Sicheri
Michael H. Sicheri has taken a new position as Global Account Executive with ConferenceDirect, a leading provider of global meeting planning solutions. Sicheri said he is proud to be working with them the company because, “We help clients save time and money by securing the best hotel accommodations, meeting space, conference venues and hospitality services available at the most favorable terms possible.”
Sicheri has more than 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. He has worked at hotels including the Omni Shoreham Hotel, as a senior sales manager; the Loews Madison Hotel, as a national sales manager; and the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, as sales manager. In addition to his work with ConferenceDirect he is an owner of Cruise Planners, Travelisto.
Sicheri is a past vice president of Alexandria Gay Lesbian Association; past president of Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. He also served in the United States Navy. He is a Persian Gulf War veteran stationed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. He graduated from Mercyhurst University with a bachelor’s in Business/Hotel Restaurant and Institutional Management.
Mark W. Rupp recently began a new position with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) as director, Wildlife Campaign. Within the organization he will coordinate the activities and strategies among several EDF functional areas: political affairs, ecosystems, marketing and communications and legal. He will also facilitate activities and strategies with outside partners and coalitions and represent EDF to elected officials and members of the administration.
After President Trump’s election, Rupp left his position at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he served as deputy associate administrator for intergovernmental relations. Prior to that, he worked for former Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire as director of her D.C. office and as legislative counsel to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).
He worked as a law clerk for both the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the San Francisco Environmental Law and Justice Clinic. Rupp has been active in the community as a member of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., and was on the board of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice. He has received numerous awards including a 2016 Recognition for Service to the Environment and the States, Environmental Council of States (ECOS); 2012 Appreciation for Leadership on behalf of the Chair, Western Governors Association; and 2005 Distinguished Congressional Staff Award, National Association of Community Health Centers.
Mark Rupp
Scott Widmeyer was recently named chair of the School of Media and Public Affairs Council at The George Washington University. The National Council for Media and Public Affairs functions as the director’s advisory body for the School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA). Comprised of distinguished national and international alumni and friends, the Council works to address issues impacting the growth and development of SMPA. In addition, members help to promote the mission of the university and SMPA through their work on the Council.
Widmeyer is a founding managing partner at Finn Partners and founder of Widmeyer Communications. Talking about Finn Partners, he said, “In June, we celebrated the fourth anniversary of Widmeyer Communications joining Finn Partners. It’s been a good and evolving endeavor. At mid-year, Finn Partners, a global marketing communications firm, is approaching nearly 600 employees in 14 offices throughout the U.S. and globally. Our most recent acquisition of Ying Communications enables Finn to establish its Asia-Pacific hub in Singapore.”
Scott Widmeyer
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
