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Comings & Goings
Barrio named Miami dev’l officer for Equality Florida
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].
Jonathan Barrio (Photo courtesy of Barrio)
Congratulations to Jonathan Barrio on being named the Miami Development Officer for Equality Florida. Equality Florida consists of two organizations — Equality Florida Institute, Inc., a 501(c) (3) educational charity and Equality Florida Action, Inc., a 501(c) (4) advocacy organization. Together, these organizations form the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s LGBTQ community. According to its website, “Through education, grassroots organizing, coalition building, and lobbying, we are changing Florida so that no one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Barrio will manage major donor cultivation and stewardship programs for Miami. He will also plan, promote and execute Equality Florida’s Miami Gala.
Prior to this he was Development Manager at Safeguarding American Values for Everyone/SAVE Foundation. He was also a real estate agent with Keller Williams Real Estate, Miami Beach. Barrio founded Gay Vista Social Club of Miami as a place where members of the LGBTQ community can find an accepting and inclusive environment. He continues to provide guidance and direction to a growing leadership team. He has also previously served as personal assistant to Opera Director David Gately. He studied psychology at Miami Dade College.
Congratulations also to Roy Harrison who has just begun his new position with CSI Group in Kentucky. He will oversee the Management Consulting division of CSI Group. CSI Group is based in Lexington, and Toyota, Japan. It specializes in project management, import/export, automation, and staffing in the Japanese manufacturing space.
Upon taking the position Roy said, “My role will be to manage and expand the consulting division inside North America and Asia, and explore entering the European manufacturing market, as well.” He added, “I’m excited to take a leadership role in the growth of this 50-person (across Japan and North America) company.” Roy is bilingual in Japanese and English and in a previous position was lead translator at Toyota in Georgetown, Ky., where he led the translation team for North America and Japan-based translation projects.
Prior to his new position, his experience includes working as Digital Program Manager with Marriott International in Bethesda, Md.; manager at Lexmark in Lexington, Ky.; and a project manager with Consultant Solutions in Georgetown, Ky.
Roy is an advisory panel member with the Lighthouse D.C. and Vice President for Membership with the Capital Tennis Association. He received his bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and studied Japanese at Sophia University in Tokyo. He was named a Kentucky Colonel by Gov. Steve Beshear for civic leadership.
Roy Harrison (Photo courtesy of Harrison)
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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)
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PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
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WorldPride events round-up
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