Local
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)
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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