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Comings & Goings
Jennings wins prestigious award for work with LGBT youth
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 Kevin Jennings who received the Bob Angelo Medal from the COC Netherlands, known as the oldest still operating LGBTI organization in the world. The Bob Angelo Medal was established in 1991 to honor individuals, groups or organizations that contributed in an extraordinary way to the emancipation of lesbians, homosexual men, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI). Among the previous winners are Council of Europe Commissioner of Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg (Sweden) and the South African imam Mushin Hendricks.
COC chair Astrid Oosenbrug presented the award during COC’s annual True Colors event in the sold out Paradiso venue in Amsterdam. Astrid said, “This award is presented to Kevin Jennings for his outstanding contribution to the improvement of the position of LGBTI youth in schools around the globe.”
“I was honored to receive the Bob Angelo medal from COC-Netherlands, the world’s oldest LGBTI rights organization,” Jennings said. “‘Bob Angelo’ was the code name used during the Second World War by Niek Engelschman, a Dutch resistance leader who founded the COC in 1946. I was humbled to receive an award in the name of such a brave and visionary leader who stood up for our community when the courage it took to do so was breathtaking.”
In 1988, Jennings established the world’s first Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA). It is thanks to the Gay and Lesbian School Education Network (GLSEN) that GSAs were set up in thousands of schools in the United States and worldwide. In the Netherlands there are now GSAs in about 80 percent of all high schools.
In 1994, Jennings was part of the founding committee for LGBT History Month, and also that year published the first book on the subject for young people (“Becoming Visible”). In 1997, a documentary he wrote and produced on LGBT history for young people, “Out of the Past,” won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary and in 2017 he was the executive producer for “The Lavender Scare,” a documentary detailing the 1950s witch hunts for LGBT federal employees. From 2012-2017, he worked as executive director of the Arcus Foundation, a leading international funder of LGBT human rights work. Prior to that, he served as the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe & Drug-Free Schools under President Obama. Jennings is currently president of the Tenement Museum in New York City. He has published seven books and holds degrees from Harvard, Columbia and NYU.
Congratulations also to Daniel Finkel the new vice president of Booking Experience and Supplier Strategy at TripActions. Ariel Cohen, co-founder and CEO of TripActions, said the company strives to make the lives of business travelers better by delivering a world-class experience. “We are thrilled to have Daniel join us to lead this effort and be part of the team that is focused on building an amazing experience for travelers,” Cohen said.
“I am truly excited to help continue TripActions’ journey of finding the optimal balance between customer experience, supplier differentiation and technology innovations,” said Finkel.
In his new role, Finkel will be responsible for scaling up the company’s shopping capabilities as well as expanding the depth and diversity of its content. He will also lead the company’s growing supplier relations team.
Finkel spent the past seven years at Expedia Group leading strategy and business development efforts. Prior to joining Expedia he held a leadership role at SRA International.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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