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Comings & Goings
Houdart joins Out Leadership in key role
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 Fabrice Houdart on his new position as Managing Director, Global Equality Initiatives with Out Leadership. According to its website, “Out Leadership is a global LGBT+ business advisory organization that partners with the world’s most influential companies to build business opportunities, cultivate talent, and drive LGBT equality forward. We believe that LGBT+ inclusion positively impacts business results, and that including LGBT+ people at the most senior level of executive leadership builds business.”
Out Leadership CEO & Founder Todd Sears said, “We could not be more excited to have Fabrice joining as Managing Director, Global Equality Initiatives. 2020 is a big year for us as we celebrate 10 years in business. When I started Out Leadership in 2010, we were the first organization to focus on driving LGBT+ equality in business. We’ve seen this grow from a summit in New York to become a global movement. As we’ve evolved it has become apparent that businesses are now at the forefront in driving LGBT+ equality. ”
Upon accepting the position Houdart said, “Joining Out Leadership is the next logical step for me after spending the past decade building the economic and business case for LGBTI inclusion at the World Bank and the United Nations. In a global context of populism and nationalism, the private sector will be a key ally in keeping the momentum on LGBTI equality we have known since Stonewall. I look forward to contributing to build a global coalition of companies steered by Out Leadership to push for positive social change.”
Most recently, Houdart served as the Human Rights Officer at the United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Before that he worked at the World Bank in a number of roles.
Houdart has received a host of awards, including being named second on Yahoo Finance’s Top 30 LGBT+ Public Sector Leaders 2019.
Houdart earned his bachelor’s of business administration in Business and Economics from the University of Paris, Dauphine, Paris, France, and his MBA in International Business/Information Technology from American University in D.C.
Congratulations also to Tommy Wrenn, new Associate Director of Individual Giving at Resources for the Future (RFF), which works to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. He is leaving his current position with the Public Justice Foundation where he was Development Program Assistant. Upon accepting the position with RFF, Wrenn said, “Fundraising for Public Justice has been an incredible opportunity, especially over the last three years, and such a supportive environment of my professional development. I am looking forward to this next chapter, joining an incredible team that is growing and strengthening RFF’s nearly 70 years of independent, impartial research.”
Wrenn has held positions as Program Assistant with The Nexus Fund, Washington, D.C. and as a Young Fellow for Young Adult Outreach with Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) in D.C. He began his career in Washington as an intern in the White House.
He is a board member and trustee of the Pickett Endowment for Quaker Leadership and a board member of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. He is receiving the 2020 Outstanding Young Professional in Fundraising award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals International organization.
Tommy earned his bachelor’s in political science with minors in communication and music from Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.
Congratulations also to Kevin McDuffie, Tyler Townsend and Bob Suppies the new owners of Aqua Grill in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and to Rick Hardy and David Lyons who bought Grub Market on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach and will reopen it in the spring as Coho’s Market and Grill.
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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