Local
Comings & Goings
Wallace publishes new cookbook, ‘Sizzling Science’
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 Taylor Wallace, Ph.D., on the publication of his cookbook, “Sizzling Science.” Wallace wrote this cookbook for fun and to honor his Mamawl, the name he called his grandmother who first got him excited about cooking. He often worked on the cookbook at Java House on 17th and Q Street. He would talk about some of the recipes and debated book titles with friends. I think he came up with the perfect title as he is all about science.
While I am not a chef, I am lucky to have friends who generously invite me to occasional home-cooked meals. Those who have already made some of the dishes using the recipes in this great new cookbook have said they are easy to make and delicious. I am waiting for a friend to bake and let me try the Kentucky State Fair “Grand Champion” Sour Cream Coffee Cake on page 23 that Taylor and Mamawl created. Hint, Hint Taylor! It won the blue ribbon each of the eight years they entered it into the fair and won the all-around Grand Champion for all foods entered in the Kentucky State Fair three times.
Wallace wanted people to be able to use his cookbook to prepare a full day’s meals. I kidded him suggesting maybe the breakfast section should have come last. Sizzling Science is separated into eight sections with the first being the science behind great-tasting dishes. Then breakfast, appetizers and nibbles, soups salads and stews, side dishes, main dishes, and desserts. Then to complete your meal and make sure your company goes home not only full and happy but totally relaxed there is the drinks and cocktails section. Now that the cookbook is finished I can’t imagine Wallace having much time to cook. As he will tell you his real world doesn’t leave much time for cooking.
Wallace is principal and CEO at the Think Healthy Group, Inc. and an adjunct professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University. Prior to founding the Think Healthy Group, Inc., Taylor served as the senior director of science policy and government relations at the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the senior director of Scientific Programs at the National Bone Health Alliance. He has extensive experience and expertise in developing and implementing comprehensive and evidence-based legislation, policy, and regulatory programs in the fields of nutrition and food science. His academic research interests are in the area of nutritional interventions to promote health and prevent the onset of chronic disease.
Wallace earned his Ph.D. and an master’s in Food Science and Nutrition from Ohio State University and a bachelor’s in Food Science and Technology from the University of Kentucky. He currently manages and operates a large food and nutrition blog, DrTaylorWallace.com and is a co-host of the mainstream weekly radio show, Risky Behavior, where he provides science-based nutrition, food safety, and food technology information to the general public and consumer media.
Wallace is also a regular guest and contributor to the Dr. Oz Show, NBC4 Washington and has appeared on most major national news stations throughout the United States. He has served on the boards of the Institute of Food Technologists, Alliance for Food and Health, Feeding Tomorrow, Phi Tau Sigma, Capital Pride Alliance, and DC LGBTQ+ Community Research Advisory Board.
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
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
The ‘X’ returns to court
LGBTQ community explores arming up during heated political times
Risking it all for love during World War II
D.C. is the place for the Democratic Socialists of America
PHOTOS: The Bonnet Ball
Key lifestyle changes can help patients cope with diabetes
