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Comings & Goings
DeMiglio earns promotion at AACOM; Stensrud joins Sidwell
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 Paul DeMiglio recently promoted to the position of Manager of Media Relations at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). In this capacity, he will work to further increase the Association’s social media presence and earned media coverage to elevate awareness and support for the role of osteopathic medical education in training the nation’s future health care workforce.
DeMiglio has worked as part of a team in AACOM’s Marketing and Communications Department since 2014. Upon his promotion he said, “It is an honor and privilege to serve AACOM at this pivotal time in the history of medical education when for the first time ever more than 25 percent of all medical students in the United States are training to be doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs). I look forward to continue collaborating with an amazing team and our growing family of member colleges of osteopathic medicine to tell the stories of current and future doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs). These doctors are saving lives, improving the health of communities worldwide, and serving the under-served in powerful ways every day.”
Prior to joining AACOM he worked at Whitecoat Strategies, LLC; the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA); and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). Before coming to D.C., he worked with the Ohio Senate Minority Caucus as its Deputy Communications Director and The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind. as a Universal Desk Editor.
He has his bachelor’s in Communications and Public Relations from Capital University. He was a member of the Congressional Chorus of Washington and a board member of the Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
Congratulations also to Matthew Stensrud on his new position as a Lower School Music Teacher at Sidwell Friends in Bethesda. Previously he worked for the Alexandria City Public Schools at George Mason Elementary School as a General Music Teacher. Prior to that he worked with the Fairfax County Public Schools and as a communications intern with the Education Trust.
Stensrud spent three weeks this summer in China working with Chinese music teachers across the country focusing on early childhood music education through singing, dancing, and playing. He also taught Movement in an Orff Schulwerk Levels Course in Portland, where he taught fellow music teachers how to incorporate creative movement and folk dance into their elementary music rooms.
He has published numerous articles and his latest is in the Kentucky Music Educators Association Bluegrass Music News entitled, “Setting Students for Success: Incorporating Responsive Classroom into the Elementary Music Room.” Stensrud serves as chair of the Alexandria Commission on the Arts. He received a 40 under 40 award from the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.
He earned his bachelor’s in Music Education, summa cum laude, from the University of Cincinnati College, Conservatory of Music and his master’s in Music Education from the George Mason University. He also holds various certifications from the American Association of Orff Schulwerk.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
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