Local
Comings & Goings
Frisch elected to Fairfax County School Board
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 Karl Frisch who has been elected to the Fairfax County School Board from the Providence District. Frisch is the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to local office in Fairfax County. Upon his election, he said “I’m excited about the work ahead and grateful that voters responded favorably to my message of making sure every student has the tools they need to succeed no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much money their parents make.” A former small business owner, Frisch helped clients like the National Education Association, Rock the Vote, several technology companies, and others refine their public relations and marketing strategies to more effectively break through the cluttered national media environment.
He serves as executive director Allied Progress. Founded in 2015, Allied Progress is a watchdog organization that stands up for consumers by holding policymakers and predatory financial institutions accountable. Allied Progress is a project of Accountable. US, a nonpartisan watchdog group committed to making sure public officials are advancing policies in the public interest across a wide range of issues. Previously, he was communications director at Media Matters for America. Frisch is a member of the campaign board at the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute. He is an avid traveler and photographer. He lives next door to Mosby Woods Elementary School with his partner Evan, a product of Fairfax County Public Schools and a teacher in the system for nearly 15 years. He attended El Camino College in California.
Congratulations also to Hassan Syed Naveed, the new deputy executive director for The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. Mayor Bill de Blasio launched the OPHC in summer 2019. Embedded in the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, OPHC will take a holistic approach to preventing hate crimes, developing and coordinating community-driven prevention strategies to address biases fueling such crimes, and fostering healing for victims and their communities. The new office will coordinate city efforts to prevent and respond to hate crimes through an interagency committee, which includes the City Commission on Human Rights, Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, Department of Education, Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ThriveNYC, and Department of Youth and Community Development.
Previously, Naveed served as director of outreach for the New York City Department of Investigation’s Office of Inspector General with the NYPD. Prior to working for New York City, he worked as an associate with McKinney & Associates Public Relations Firm. His clients included civil rights organizations, human rights groups and philanthropists.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his master’s in public administration, policy and management from New York University, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He served as chair of the D.C. Anti-Violence Project and is a board member of Casa Ruby. Naveed was also awarded the “Engendered Spirit Award” from D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance in 2014, recognizing his advocacy efforts for transgender people.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
Calendar: March 21-26
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
