Local
Comings & Goings
New leadership for the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus
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 Heine Lund who has a new position in customer service with Colorado Grand Vacations in Breckenridge, Colo. Lund said, “I am thrilled to be working in the mountains where it is truly God’s country.” Many will know Lund from his years of living in D.C. and Rehoboth Beach, Del. He has always been an avid skier and has worked in many different areas but one of the most interesting was as instructor with the Twin Cities Trapeze Center.
Prior to moving to Colorado he worked in retail as a sales consultant with Allen Edmunds. He continues his work on a contract basis as a personal trainer and Stretch Zone Practitioner. For 14 years he was a flight attendant with Delta Airlines.
Congratulations also to Philip Shelly who begins his new position as a staff assistant to Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-Minn.). On starting the position Shelly said, “I am proud to work for the first LGBTQ mom in Congress and I thank everyone who has helped me to earn this opportunity.” He moved to this position after completing an internship with Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.).
Prior to that he worked as in intern with the Human Rights Campaign in the Major Gifts Office. He has also worked for Correct The Record as Digital Media Manager. While in school Shelly worked with the Galesburg Downtown Council in Galesburg, Ill., where he organized a committee of local government and business leaders to discuss expansion of access to recycling facilities in the downtown and designed a new website and refined its content to improve availability of information to members of the Special Service Area, board members, and grant applicants. He graduated cum laude from Loyola University Chicago with a bachelor’s in history and political science.
Congratulations also to Shawn Gaylord, the new executive director of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. The mission of the caucus is to work for LGBT rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence, and improved health and well-being for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The caucus serves as a resource for members of Congress, their staffs, and the public on LGBT issues. Membership in the LGBT Equality Caucus is open to any member who is willing to advance LGBT rights, regardless of their sexual identity or orientation. It has historically been co-chaired by every openly LGBT member of the House. In February 2016 the caucus formed the Equality PAC to support candidates running for federal office who are LGBT or seek to advance LGBT rights. Upon accepting the position Gaylord said, “I am excited to be stepping into this role at such an important moment. The expanded leadership of the Equality Caucus and the momentum behind important legislation such as The Equality Act make this an exciting time to be engaged in this work.”
Prior to joining the Equality Caucus he worked for a number of different organizations including PL+USas legislative director where he worked on paid family leave issues. He worked for Human Rights First as Advocacy Counsel and for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network in a number of positions including Public Policy Director.
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].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
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.).
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