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.
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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