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Comings & Goings
Heng-Lehtinen joins National Center for Transgender Equality
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 Jay Vilar for appearing on the cover of Natural Awakenings magazine. Vilar said he feels he was chosen for the honor because, “As a nutritional therapist practitioner, I work with clients to improve their health through proper nutrition. I was accepted into a program at the Rodale Institute (Organic Research Farm) that studies how the health of the soil impacts the health of the plant, which ultimately impacts the health of the human. I was studying how to grow nutrient rich foods that will improve someone’s health. I was commended for taking my work all the way back to the health of the soil and making that link to human health.”
Vilar is the founder and nutritional therapist practitioner of Nourish, LLC, a nutritional therapy company whose mission is to educate the world on how to heal and optimize the body with food and lifestyle. To carry out that mission he spends his time teaching people how to use food to heal their body and speaks to businesses on how to optimize focus & productivity using nutritional science. His intention is to align himself with a like-minded organization and be part of a team that shares the vision for a healthier world through proper nutrition, regenerative agriculture, and community building.
Prior to that he was Nutritional Therapy Company Vice President, Business Development with Delucchi Plus. He has had an interesting background working in strategic digital communications with Time Inc., and before that with the Washington Business Journal. He was a consultant with Plan A Consulting, a company that helps people implement their start-up business plan. Earlier in his career he was a manager and event planner with the Human Rights Campaign
Vilar received his bachelor’s from George Mason University; Nutritional Therapy Association/ Nutritional Therapist Practitioner George Washington University and was an ASC Regenerative Agriculture Fellowship
Congratulations also to Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen who joined the National Center for Transgender Equality as deputy executive director for policy and action. Upon his appointment, Executive Director Mara Keisling said, “We are so excited to have such a dedicated and thoughtful advocate on our team. Rodrigo has dedicated his career to the core values of inclusion, justice, and equality that are at the heart of NCTE and the transgender movement. His work has already changed the lives of transgender people and their families across the country, and we are so excited to have him with us.” Rodrigo said “I am honored to join NCTE at this pivotal time. The organization has consistently led the charge on groundbreaking advances for transgender people across the country. With Americans now more open to transgender rights than ever before, it’s exciting to be part of this team and grow acceptance for our community.”
Prior to joining NCTE, Heng-Lehtinen was vice president of public education, Freedom for All Americans where he oversaw a full range of legislative lobbying, field organizing, and communications strategies. Before that he was membership manager for GLAAD. Earlier in his career he was also a field organizer for the National LGBTQ Task Force and worked as campaign director for his mother, former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
He earned his bachelor’s in Latin American Studies from Brown University.
Congratulations also to Wes Combs who received an award from BEQ Pride a business magazine as one of its leaders over 50 who helped create a legacy for Stonewall.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
HIV/AIDS group NMAC is ‘destabilized’ and in financial crisis: sources
Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
