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Comings & Goings
Nick Martin is new comms director for Rep. DelBene


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 Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE on the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) of which he is president and CEO naming an award in his honor. It is the ‘Jeffrey Shields Award for Innovation Excellence in School Business Operations.’ Shields said, “After serving as president and CEO of NBOA for 10 years, I’m humbled and honored that the NBOA Board of Directors created the Jeffrey Shields Award for Innovation Excellence in School Business Operations. My sincere hope is that the award helps NBOA tell the stories of the many creative and innovative ways business officers and business operations staff strive, every single day, to be good and effective financial stewards of their school’s resources in support of their missions.”
NBOA is the only national nonprofit membership association dedicated to developing, delivering and promoting best business practices to advance independent schools. The association has grown from 23 founding member schools in 1998 to more than 1,500 member schools from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and 23 other countries around the globe. The association offers in-person programming, including the NBOA Annual Meeting and Business Officer Institute; online professional development; original research; and an award-winning magazine, Net Assets. Each offering covers timely and relevant topics for independent school business and operations professionals, including finance, accounting, tax, compliance, human resources, risk management, facilities and information technology.
Prior to joining NBOA Shields was Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer with the National Association of College and University Business Officers. He began his career in association management as the Assistant Director for Leadership Training at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Jeffrey is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and currently serves as a director of the organization. He was a member of the 2008 Class of ASAE Fellows (FASAE) and earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 2002. He has been recognized by the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE) with the “Super Star” award as their active member of the year. He is a trustee for One Schoolhouse, an innovative online school offering supplemental education to independent schools. He previously served as a trustee for Georgetown Day School. He is a proud independent school parent of a 13-year-old daughter, Samantha, who is in 8th grade at the Edmund Burke School in Washington, DC. He earned his bachelor’s from Shippensburg University and his master’s from Ohio State University.
Congratulations also to Nick Martin who is the new communications director for Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.). Upon accepting the position, Martin said, “I’m beyond excited to join Congresswoman DelBene’s team. She is such a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and her constituents in Washington. I cannot wait to help tell that story.”
Prior to joining DelBene’s staff, Martin was a director with Forbes Tate Partners where he helped to develop and lead communications and public affairs campaigns for national health care providers, patient advocates, trade associations, and political organizations to build engagement and action around policy priorities. He has also worked for other organizations including being Communications and Outreach Director for the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care and was an Associate Director with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He has worked as a Field Coordinator with the Human Rights Campaign. He recently served as the Convener, Health Policy Committee for the Pete for America Campaign.
Nick earned his bachelor’s in International Affairs graduating summa cum laude from Northeastern University in Boston.


The Washington Blade’s second day of Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC ended with a fireworks show on Saturday, June 7. The fireworks show was presented by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

















State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) will face John Reid in the race to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor.
Hashmi won the Democratic primary with 27.49 percent of the vote. She defeated former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach), Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado and Alexander Bastani.
“Tonight, Virginians made history,” said Hashmi in a statement. “We didn’t just win a primary, we sent a clear message that we won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington.”
Reid, a gay conservative talk show host, in April won the Republican nomination to succeed Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The incumbent governor days after Reid secured the nomination called for him to withdraw his candidacy amid reports that a social media account with his username included “pornographic content.” Reid, who would become the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in Virginia if he wins in November, has strongly denied the reports.
Former state Del. Jay Jones defeated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor in Democratic attorney general primary. Jones will face Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares in November.
Youngkin cannot run for a second, consecutive term.
Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger will face off against Earle-Sears in November. The winner will make history as the first woman elected governor in the state’s history.
Baltimore
More than 15K people attend Baltimore Trans Pride
Baltimore Safe Haven organized annual event

More than 15,000 people attended Baltimore Safe Haven’s annual Trans Pride on Saturday.
“Last year we had maybe 2,500, and the year before that, we had 5,000,” Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said. “In today’s political climate, it’s absolutely amazing.”
Lau said allies and other groups “went into hiding” for about a month or two after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, but then all at once, different organizations started to reach out.
“The community has really come together to support us,” Lau said. “It was a fun, exciting day.”
Baltimore Safe Haven Executive Director Iya Dammons in a press release said the “historic turnout” showed the transgender community’s strength, as well as their unity to fight for justice and equality for all LGBTQ people.
At the event, attendees were seen waving flags and shouting “Trans Lives Matter,” showing their support for the community.
On Friday, before Trans Pride, Baltimore Safe Haven opened their new building to the public, gathering notable attendees like the Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohan, Council Member Antonio Glover, and representatives from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
“(It) was historic in itself because … we’re the only direct service providers for people in the LGBT community,” Lau said.
Providing housing for 18- to 24-year-olds, Lau said the new building also serves as a community hub and has office spaces for workers.
With only a few hiccups of arguments between attendees and fixing street blockades during Trans Pride, Lau said the event showed what the community can do.
“It was amazing that so many people came out and had that much fun. We were all giddy by Sunday morning,” Lau said. “(It gave) Safe Haven exposure and continuity. We are not just an LGBT organization, we are an organization that supports the entire community.”
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