Local
Hearing set for street-naming bill for gay Democrat
Richard Rausch was prominent LGBT activist

The D.C. City Council has scheduled a hearing on Sept. 20 for a bill calling for the ceremonial naming of a street on Capitol Hill for the late Richard Rausch, a prominent gay Democratic Party activist and advocate for LGBT rights.
Rausch was an Iowa native who first came to D.C. in 1960 after working on President John F. Kennedyās election campaign. He died in 2007 after a bout with double pneumonia. He was 77.
He was an āearly and open advocate for LGBTQ rights, womenās rights, workerās rights, civil rights, and human rightsā during his tenure as a staff member for Democratic members of Congress and in leadership positions in the party, according to a resolution approved Monday by the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club endorsing the Rausch street-naming bill.
The bill, introduced by Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), calls for designating the 200 block of 2nd Street, S.E., where Rausch lived for many years, as Richard Rausch Way.
Nine members of the 13-member Council, including Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. The Sept. 20 hearing will be held by the Councilās Committee of the Whole, which Mendelson chairs.
āWe donāt want to forget our community heroes, and Richard is definitely one we count as among those who not only have been activists in the community but have helped others,ā Bonds said in discussing her reason for introducing the bill. āSo I think itās perfectly appropriate.ā
Virginia
Virginia Beach high school students stage walkouts to support transgender rights
City’s school board approved policy to out trans students to parents

Students at five Virginia Beach high schools on Friday staged walkouts in support of transgender rights.
The walkout is in response to the Virginia Beach School Board approving policy 5-31, which the Pride Liberation Project says will require schools to out trans students to their parents.
Students have been organizing walkouts across the state since Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this year announced new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students.
āStudents like me arenāt going to be able to talk to our teachers if weāre constantly worried about our school officials calling home to forcibly out us,” AJ, a trans Kellam High School Student, told the Pride Liberation Project.
District of Columbia
Pepco, Exelon announce $2.7 million in funding for four minority-owned businesses
āItās good business sense to bring more people to the tableā

Pepco and Exelon announced a $2.7 million investment in four minority-owned businesses on Friday.
āTodayās been a long time coming,ā said Pepco Vice President of Governmental and External Affairs Valencia McClure.
Pepcoās parent company, Exelon, launched the Racial Equity Capital Fund (RECF) in 2022 to expand capital access to diverse businesses. This latest $2.7 million investment is just a portion of RECFās $36 million in funding.
At the announcement, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser spoke about the other ways Pepco and Exelon have āput their money where their mouth isā through their partnership with the D.C. Infrastructure Academy. She reported that all 22 of the residents that graduated from the program last week have a job offer from Pepco.
āWe know that is not just a job, but a career,ā she said to the crowdās applause. āWe know that working together, we can invest in D.C. residents, provide opportunity, and ensure that our D.C. businesses are a part of D.C.ās growing prosperity.ā
The four minority businesses that received funding were Gemini Energy Solutions, Public Sector Solutions Group, CJR Development Partners, and Escalate.
āItās good business sense to bring more people to the table,ā said fund recipient Nicole Cober, CJR Developmentās Principle Managing Partner.
Gemini Energy Solutions, which is Black owned, received $1 million, the most of the four companies. Its mission is to equitably scale energy efficiency to marginalized communities. For the founder and CEO Anthony Kinslow II, this investment means that he is able to get paid and advance the work of his organization.
āWe are now able to accelerate the work in our software and technology development,ā he said. āWhat we were going to do in two years, we are now going to do in six months.ā
For Escalate, a workforce development platform focused on frontline worker retention, the funding means that it will be able to double the pay for frontline workers.
Public Sector Solutions Group CEO Darryl Wiggins emphasized that this investment was not just ācharityā work, but mission-driven work.
āThe principle and the intent is greater than the money we receive,ā he said. Public Sector Solutions is Black owned.
Public Sector Solutions Group received a $600,000 debt investment; CJR Development, a minority and woman-owned small business, received a $600,000 debt investment; and Escalate, a majority Black and woman-owned company, received a $500,000 equity investment.
Exelon launched the RECF in partnership with RockCreek, one of the world’s largest diverse-owned global investment firms, in 2022. The RECF expands capital access to diverse businesses so they can create more jobs, grow their companies and reinvest in their neighborhoods and communities, according to a statement from Exelon.
New RECF applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Interested businesses may apply online or contact RockCreek at [email protected] for more information.


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].
Congratulations to Lynden C. Armstrong on his Lifetime Achievement award from the Congressional Management Foundation in recognition of his exemplary public service in Congress.
Upon receiving the award Armstrong said, āThis recognition is not just a personal achievement, but a testament to the unwavering dedication and hard work of colleagues and mentors who have been with me on this journey. I’ve dedicated my entire career to public service within the Senate, where recognition isn’t the primary motivation for our work, making this recognition even more humbling.ā He is currently Deputy Assistant Senate Sergeant at Arms and Chief Information Officer.
Armstrong started his career with Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), where he rose to Deputy Chief of Staff in his more than 13-year stint. In 2004, during his tenure with Domenici, amid a debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment, Armstrong became a co-founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Allies Senate Staff (GLASS) Caucus. In 2014, he moved to the Sergeant at Arms CIO organization, where he established a new department within the CIO that was crafted to engage Senate offices in comprehending and harnessing technologies provided by the SAA.
Lynden has previously served as Chief Clerk on the U.S. Senate, Committee on Rules and Administration, and with the U.S. Senate, Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, as Deputy Inaugural Coordinator, 2012ā2013. In that role among other responsibilities, he served as civilian liaison to the National Special Security Event Executive Steering Committee and subcommittees, including the Capitol, USCP, Crowd Management, Public Relations, Transportation, and credentialing, and as liaison to the Joint Task Force ā National Capital Region.
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