Local
Comings & Goings
Barrio joins SAGE as development officer
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 and a warm welcome to Washington to Michael Ubertini who has started his new position with Long & Foster as Director of Growth and Partnerships. Upon accepting the position Michael said, “The family that Long and Foster has built over the last 50+ years is pretty inspiring, and the true testament to that is shown through the tenure of our agents. With all the Long and Foster resources, our agents can launch their career in real estate to the next level and know there are those who will be there every step of the way to support them.”
Prior to joining Long & Foster, Ubertini held a number of positions including with WeWork in both Boston and New York as sales lead account manager and special community lead for high-profile clients, including the U.S Air Force, Amazon Inc., J.P Morgan Chase Bank, and government agencies. He has worked as a property manager with tenant relations and community experience in 12 residential buildings. He also had what he describes as a fun position as executive assistant and business manager and brand negotiator for Kelly Bensimon, who appeared on the “Real Housewives of New York City.”
Congratulations to Jonathan Barrio on his new position as a development officer with SAGE located in their New York office. According to its website, the mission of SAGE is “to lead in addressing issues related to LGBT aging.”
Barrio has had a lot of experience in LGBTQ organizations and is an experienced fundraiser. Just prior to accepting the position with SAGE, he was founder and executive director of Queen City Prism, Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to that he was with Equality Florida as a Development Officer and with SAVE in Florida as Development Manager.
And congratulations to Blade editor Kevin Naff, who has joined the board of the Daily Collegian Alumni Interest Group at Penn State University, his alma mater. The AIG works to connect alumni of the student newspaper while assisting and mentoring current students. Naff worked as campus news editor and opinions editor during his four years at the award-winning Daily Collegian.
“The Daily Collegian remains one of the nation’s best college newspapers and it’s an honor to reconnect with this important institution and play a small role in its continued success,” Naff said.
Collegian alumni interested in getting involved can email Naff at [email protected].
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 Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
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.).
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
Comings & Goings
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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