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Comings & Goings
Schleusener joins Fractal Industries; Cendana to Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop!
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].
Lucas Schleusener
Congratulations to Lucas Fox Schleusener on joining Fractal Industries as the director of public policy. Schleusener is a veteran of the Obama White House having worked in the Presidential Personnel Office as an associate vetting and recruiting for national security personnel and then worked in the Defense Department.
Before joining Fractal Industries, Schleusener worked for Avicenna Strategy as a speech writer/editor. As a speechwriter for the Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration he worked on a number of issues including enhancing U.S.-Indian security cooperation through drafts of speeches and op-eds for both Indian and American audiences as well as direct bilateral engagements, carefully selecting newspapers in both countries reflecting a range of economic and political preferences. He also worked on a study begun under Secretary Leon Panetta to consider combat roles for women where he analyzed, tested and strengthened the communications strategies for the Women in Service Review.
Schleusener has published “From Blog to Street: The Transformation of the Bahraini Public Sphere,” in Arab Media and Society, in 2007 and is currently working on a piece, “We Have Always Fought: The Lives of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Soldiers in the American Military from the Civil War to the War on Terror.” He was a Penn Kemble Fellow, National Endowment for Democracy; and is founder and director, Washington, D.C., Middle East Round Table. Schleusener serves as vice chair of the Board of No One Left Behind, a non-profit that supports Iraqis and Afghans who’ve received Special Immigration Visas following their work for the U.S. government. He received his bachelor’s in history from Wesleyan University and his master’s in Middle East Studies from the University of Chicago.
Congratulations also to Gregory Cendana now working full-time as president and co-founder of Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! a consulting firm working with nonprofits, philanthropic organizations and diverse leaders across the globe. Their goal is to ensure that historically marginalized communities feel empowered within campaigns, organizations and the world writ large to excel their power to make social and cultural change, work and live in inclusive and nurturing spaces, and break down systemic barriers to socio-economic and societal freedom.
Prior to this, he was executive director of the Asian Pacific America Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, D.C. He has also served as president of the United States Student Association & Foundation; and was a Resident Assistant with the UCLA Office of Residential Life.
Cendana has been an active member of the LGBTQ+ community in D.C. for many years. He has volunteered with 18MillionRising.org; the D.C. Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus; was a co-founder of Inclusv, a diversity hiring initiative; and in 2012 was an elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Cendana has been honored by a number of groups, including The Young and the Guest List: Washington’s Most Influential 40-and-under leaders, Washington Life; Washington, D.C.’s Inaugural Power 30 Under 30 Award; and he was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame, New Leaders Council. He is also the founder and co-captain of SOULcial Justice Dance Team. He earned his bachelor’s in sociology, labor & workplace studies, from the University of California Los Angeles.
Gregory Cendana (Photo by Ron Simms)
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
Rehoboth Beach
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Labor Day Weekend bustling with events, including David Archuleta performance
Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end of summer in Rehoboth Beach, but there will be no shortage of LGBTQ events, with CAMP Rehoboth’s annual SUNFESTIVAL taking over town this weekend.
Thursday (9/3)
Get your Labor Day Weekend started early Thursday night with happy hour from 5-7 p.m. at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, followed by Naughtee Bingo hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 8:30 p.m.
After bingo, the party continues with Dancing at Diego’s from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Aqua Bar & Grill will also kick off its Labor Day Weekend festivities Thursday with a DJ spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Friday (9/4)
The weekend ramps up Friday night at Aqua, where DJ Matt Bailer will keep the dance floor moving from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Over at Diego’s, DJ Steve Sidewalk will then take over Diego’s for Freedom Friday from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Saturday (9/5)
The main event of the weekend arrives Saturday with the opening night of CAMP Rehoboth’s SUNFESTIVAL.
Billed as the ultimate party to close out the summer, SUNFESTIVAL has become one of Rehoboth’s signature Labor Day Weekend events. The annual celebration sells out each year, with proceeds benefiting CAMP Rehoboth.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments available at the cash bar while attendees are invited to socialize and find their seats.
Saturday night will feature local singer Ashley Williams as the opening performer, followed by headliner David Archuleta. The event will also feature a live auction.
Back across town Saturday, Aqua will continue its Labor Day Weekend DJ lineup from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Diego’s will also have plenty happening, with ‘Splash Party’ hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 5 p.m., followed by a Saturday Dance Party with Brett Oosterhaus from 9 p.m.- 1:30 a.m.
The Blue Moon hosts its popular Legends Show at 9 p.m. It’s an all-live singing show by the Blue Moon cast of celebrity impersonators.
Etienne Pilon has taken Rehoboth by storm this summer. Check out the talented singer/pianist at The Pines from 7-10 p.m.
Sunday (9/6)
Sunday’s SUNFESTIVAL event will shift the focus to the dance floor, with globally renowned DJs Robbie Leslie and James Anthony scheduled to perform. Doors open at 7 p.m., with dancing continuing until 1 a.m.
On Sunday, Aqua will throw its annual White Party, with DJs spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress in white for the holiday weekend celebration.
Diego’s will host its Sunday High T-Dance with Pamala Stanley at 5 p.m. Later that evening, DJ Tannr will be spinning at 9 p.m.
John Flynn is on the piano from 6-8 p.m. at the Blue Moon.
Monday (9/7)
The final day of Labor Day Weekend brings one last chance to hit the dance floor before summer officially winds down.
Aqua will close out its five-day Labor Day Weekend celebration with DJ Biff from 3-7 p.m.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Conservative groups challenged system’s policy
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff cannot use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it, according to an internal document reviewed by the Banner, a change that comes after conservative groups challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity.
Teachers union president Kristina Korona told members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance undermines district policy on acceptance and inclusivity and “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
Previously, the district didn’t require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity, the internal document says. Now it does. The change comes as parents challenge the suburban school system’s gender identity policy and regulation in court and the Trump-Vance administration threatens the district’s funding.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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