Local
Comings & Goings
JEL Creative becomes Brunch Digital
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].
Josh Levie (Photo courtesy Levie)
Congratulations to Josh Levie who has just rebranded his business formerly JEL Creative and re-launched it as Brunch Digital. Levie has built the company over the last 10 years and currently has six full-time employees and three interns working for him.
He said, “I launched Brunch Digital as an open invitation for a truly inclusive experience for both my employees and client partners. Brunch is about a team, really a community, coming together to work on projects with people we would want to have over for brunch. I see everything I do as an adventure, and it’s one I want to take with my friends, colleagues, and client partners.”
One of Brunch Digital’s first projects was the development of all of the brand identity (including the mural on the bar’s patio) and website for the new LGBT sports bar, Pitchers DC. Other area nonprofits and businesses Levie has developed branding and web design for include: Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, Duplex Diner, Hummingbird Inn (LGBT-owned BnB in Easton, Md.), George Washington University’s Annual LGBT Health Forum, and LUNA+EISENLA media. Brunch Digital has developed a strategic partnership with RJ Whyte Event Production, another LGBT-owned business offering event experiences for high-profile events in the area including the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s annual RAMMY Awards Gala, and Wooly Mammoth Theatre among others. Levie grew up the D.C. area and only left when he went to college earning his bachelor’s in psychology from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.
Congratulations also to Nick Martin who began his new position as director on the Public Affairs team at Forbes Tate Partners (FTP). He brings to them nearly a decade of experience combining policy, politics, and grassroots advocacy, specializing in healthcare issues. The FTP team has a history of working with government officials, C-Suite executives from Fortune 100 companies, and leaders of some of America’s most dynamic organizations. According to its website, “Our knowledge of the complex anatomy of government decision-making processes opens doors to our clients across the nation’s capital and around the country. We have developed and continue to maintain productive working relationships with local, state, national, and international policymakers that allow us to provide successful, integrated solutions for our clients.”
Martin’s experience includes having worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, focused on implementation of the Affordable Care Act and MACRA. Working with a variety of different stakeholder groups, he also developed engagement strategies around open enrollment, delivery system reform, and public health crises. Additionally, he advised the Secretary of Health and Human Services and senior HHS officials on the priorities of industry and advocacy organizations before the department. He has also worked as a member of the grassroots field team at the Human Rights Campaign. Most recently he led communications and outreach efforts for the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care. He is a graduate of Northeastern University, where he received a degree in international affairs. He is a native of upstate New York and has called Washington, D.C. home for many years.
Nick Martin (Photo courtesy of Martin)
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
Calendar: March 21-26
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