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Comings & Goings
Zach Ford named press secretary at Alliance for Justice


The Comings and 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 and 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 Zack Ford on his new position as Press Secretary at Alliance for Justice (AFJ). According to their website “For 40 years, AFJ has been a recognized leader in advocating for a judiciary that upholds the rights of all. AFJ has longstanding ties to Senate offices, legal organizations, and state and local advocates. Senators rely on our research and know our advocacy, making us a ‘go-to source’.” Upon accepting the position Zack said; “I think a lot of people understand that President Trump has appointed many judges, but fewer understand the impact that will have on our lives, and I’m looking forward to helping change that.”
Prior to taking this position Zack had worked for 8.5 years at ThinkProgress the news source of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. While there he covered both LGBTQ issues and Trump. He also wrote the LGBTQ political newsletter Fording the River Styx. He was the Founder/Editor of ZackFordBlogs.com; and worked as a Graduate Assistant, Multicultural Student Services, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Zack received his Bachelor of Music, Music Education (Piano), magna cum laude from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY and his Master of Education, Higher Education/Student Affairs from Iowa State University, Ames, IA. There he taught a course in Gender Justice and was a Teaching Assistant, Musical Theatre I and II. He currently serves on the Ithaca College Alumni Board of Directors. In 2014 The Advocate named him me one of its 40 under 40 voices in LGBTQ media. He is an accomplished pianist and still accompanies and directs musical theatre when opportunities arise.
Congratulations also to Shane Larson on his new position as Assistant to the President, Communications Workers of America (CWA). The Communications Workers of America represents 700,000 workers in private and public-sector employment. CWA members work in telecommunications and information technology, the airline industry, news media, broadcast and cable television, health care, public service and education, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields. Prior to this appointment he was Director of Legislation, Politics and International Affairs for them. Before joining CWA Shane was Government Affairs Director for the Association of Flight Attendants. He had also worked on Capitol Hill for Sen. Tom Daschle.
Shane has served a stint as Board co-chair National Stonewall Democrats and is President of the Progressive Congress Action Fund. He has also served on the Board of Pride at Work, National LGBT constituency group of the AFL-CIO. He earned his Bachelor of Science, International Politics at Georgetown University, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Washington, D.C.

Virginia
Virginia Beach high school students stage walkouts to support transgender rights
City’s school board approved policy to out trans students to parents

Students at five Virginia Beach high schools on Friday staged walkouts in support of transgender rights.
The walkout is in response to the Virginia Beach School Board approving policy 5-31, which the Pride Liberation Project says will require schools to out trans students to their parents.
Students have been organizing walkouts across the state since Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this year announced new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students.
“Students like me aren’t going to be able to talk to our teachers if we’re constantly worried about our school officials calling home to forcibly out us,” AJ, a trans Kellam High School Student, told the Pride Liberation Project.
District of Columbia
Pepco, Exelon announce $2.7 million in funding for four minority-owned businesses
‘It’s good business sense to bring more people to the table’

Pepco and Exelon announced a $2.7 million investment in four minority-owned businesses on Friday.
“Today’s been a long time coming,” said Pepco Vice President of Governmental and External Affairs Valencia McClure.
Pepco’s parent company, Exelon, launched the Racial Equity Capital Fund (RECF) in 2022 to expand capital access to diverse businesses. This latest $2.7 million investment is just a portion of RECF’s $36 million in funding.
At the announcement, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser spoke about the other ways Pepco and Exelon have “put their money where their mouth is” through their partnership with the D.C. Infrastructure Academy. She reported that all 22 of the residents that graduated from the program last week have a job offer from Pepco.
“We know that is not just a job, but a career,” she said to the crowd’s applause. “We know that working together, we can invest in D.C. residents, provide opportunity, and ensure that our D.C. businesses are a part of D.C.’s growing prosperity.”
The four minority businesses that received funding were Gemini Energy Solutions, Public Sector Solutions Group, CJR Development Partners, and Escalate.
“It’s good business sense to bring more people to the table,” said fund recipient Nicole Cober, CJR Development’s Principle Managing Partner.
Gemini Energy Solutions, which is Black owned, received $1 million, the most of the four companies. Its mission is to equitably scale energy efficiency to marginalized communities. For the founder and CEO Anthony Kinslow II, this investment means that he is able to get paid and advance the work of his organization.
“We are now able to accelerate the work in our software and technology development,” he said. “What we were going to do in two years, we are now going to do in six months.”
For Escalate, a workforce development platform focused on frontline worker retention, the funding means that it will be able to double the pay for frontline workers.
Public Sector Solutions Group CEO Darryl Wiggins emphasized that this investment was not just ‘charity’ work, but mission-driven work.
“The principle and the intent is greater than the money we receive,” he said. Public Sector Solutions is Black owned.
Public Sector Solutions Group received a $600,000 debt investment; CJR Development, a minority and woman-owned small business, received a $600,000 debt investment; and Escalate, a majority Black and woman-owned company, received a $500,000 equity investment.
Exelon launched the RECF in partnership with RockCreek, one of the world’s largest diverse-owned global investment firms, in 2022. The RECF expands capital access to diverse businesses so they can create more jobs, grow their companies and reinvest in their neighborhoods and communities, according to a statement from Exelon.
New RECF applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Interested businesses may apply online or contact RockCreek at [email protected] for more information.


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 Lynden C. Armstrong on his Lifetime Achievement award from the Congressional Management Foundation in recognition of his exemplary public service in Congress.
Upon receiving the award Armstrong said, “This recognition is not just a personal achievement, but a testament to the unwavering dedication and hard work of colleagues and mentors who have been with me on this journey. I’ve dedicated my entire career to public service within the Senate, where recognition isn’t the primary motivation for our work, making this recognition even more humbling.” He is currently Deputy Assistant Senate Sergeant at Arms and Chief Information Officer.
Armstrong started his career with Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), where he rose to Deputy Chief of Staff in his more than 13-year stint. In 2004, during his tenure with Domenici, amid a debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment, Armstrong became a co-founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Allies Senate Staff (GLASS) Caucus. In 2014, he moved to the Sergeant at Arms CIO organization, where he established a new department within the CIO that was crafted to engage Senate offices in comprehending and harnessing technologies provided by the SAA.
Lynden has previously served as Chief Clerk on the U.S. Senate, Committee on Rules and Administration, and with the U.S. Senate, Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, as Deputy Inaugural Coordinator, 2012–2013. In that role among other responsibilities, he served as civilian liaison to the National Special Security Event Executive Steering Committee and subcommittees, including the Capitol, USCP, Crowd Management, Public Relations, Transportation, and credentialing, and as liaison to the Joint Task Force – National Capital Region.
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