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Comings & Goings
Abolafia takes position at American Bar Association
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 Paavali A. Hannikainen on the publication of his paper, “Extensive Healthy Donor Age/Gender Adjustments and Propensity Score Matching Reveal Physiology of Multiple Sclerosis Through Immunophenotyping,” in Frontiers in Neurology, his first as lead author.
Hannikainen is in his first year of medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Before entering medical school he was a post baccalaureate intramural research trainee at the National Institutes of Health, where he conducted research at the Neuroimmunological Diseases Section as part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the lead of Bibiana Bielekova, MD. During his college years he did a number of internships including as a third-year research assistant at the University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, Melbourne, Australia and was a summer research intern at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
During his time at Emory University Hannikainen was on the crew team and served on the crew team’s board, helping to organize the team’s day-to-day operations. During his time in D.C., he joined Stonewall Kickball and as fundraising chair of his 35-person kickball team successfully raised more than $1,300 for TransLAW, a non-profit providing legal services for transgender people.
Hannikainen earned his bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and behavioral biology with a minor in Global Health, Culture, & Society from Emory University in Atlanta. He was an Undergraduate Honors Research Student at Emory University, Department of Neurosurgery, where he successfully completed and defended an honors thesis to establish a virally induced immunocompetent rat model of glioblastoma at the lab of Nicholas Boulis, MD.
Congratulations also to Luis Abolafia on his new position as senior program manager with the American Bar Association, Rule of Law Initiative. Upon accepting the position Abolafia said, “After eight wonderful years at the LGBTQ Victory Institute I accepted a position at the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative overseeing programs in the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico. While I am sad to leave such an amazing organization as the Victory Institute that allowed me to combine two of my passions, political participation and LGBTQ equality, I am excited for this new challenge.”
Abolafia served as the director of international programs for the LGBTQ Victory Institute where he developed, implemented, and monitored several projects focused on democracy and governance for LGBTQ people in Latin America, Southern Africa, the Balkans, and South Asia. He has also served as a social investment consultant to Grindr LLC in D.C., helping to develop a social investment assessment in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico for the company to positively impact the LGBTQ population in those countries. Prior to that he was a program manager with Asociación Candelita in Madrid, and a political party organizer for Equo – Spanish Green Party in Madrid. He has worked for Fundación Triángulo as an advocacy and human rights consultant, and authored a joint shadow report for the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in collaboration with 24 other NGOs.
Maryland
Md. Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs released updated student recommendations
LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, suicide
The Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs has released updated recommendations on how the state’s schools can support LGBTQ students.
The updated 16-page document outlines eight “actionable recommendations” for Maryland schools, supplemented with data and links to additional resources. The recommendations are:
- Developing and passing a uniform statewide and comprehensive policy aimed at protecting “transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive students” against discrimination. The recommendation lists minimum requirements for the policy to address: name, pronoun usage, and restroom access.
- Requiring all educators to receive training about the specific needs of LGBTQ students, by trained facilitators. The training’s “core competencies” include instruction on terminology, data, and support for students.
- Implementing LGBTQ-inclusive curricula and preventing book bans. The report highlights a “comprehensive sexual education curriculum” as specifically important in the overall education curriculum. It also states the curriculum will “provide all students with life-saving information about how to protect themselves and others in sexual and romantic situations.”
- Establishing Gender Sexuality Alliances “at all schools and in all grade levels.” This recommendation includes measures on how to adequately establish effective GSAs, such as campaign advertising, and official state resources that outline how to establish and maintain a GSA.
- Providing resources to students’ family members and supporters. This recommendation proposes partnering with local education agencies to provide “culturally responsive, LGBTQIA+ affirming family engagement initiatives.”
- Collecting statewide data on LGBTQ youth. The data on Maryland’s LGBTQ youth population is sparse and non-exhaustive, and this recommendation seeks to collect information to inform policy and programming across the state for LGBTQ youth.
- Hiring a full-time team at the Maryland Department of Education that focuses on LGBTQ student achievement. These employees would have specific duties that include “advising on local and state, and federal policy” as well as developing the LGBTQ curriculum, and organizing the data and family resources.
- Promoting and ensuring awareness of the 2024 guidelines to support LGBTQ students.
The commission has 21 members, with elections every year, and open volunteer positions. It was created in 2021 and amended in 2023 to add more members.
The Governor’s Office of Communication says the commission’s goal is “to serve LGBTQIA+ Marylanders by galvanizing community voices, researching and addressing challenges, and advocating for policies to advance equity and inclusion.”
The commission is tasked with coming up with yearly recommendations. This year’s aim “to ensure that every child can learn in a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment.”
The Human Rights Campaign’s most recent report on LGBTQ youth revealed that 46.1 percent of LGBTQ youth felt unsafe in some school settings. Those numbers are higher for transgender students, with 54.9 percent of them saying they feel unsafe in school.
Maryland’s High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey reveals a disparity in mental health issues and concerns among students who identify as LGBTQ, compared to those who are heterosexual. LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, feelings of hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. Nearly 36 percent of LGBTQ students report they have a suicide plan, and 26.7 percent of respondents say they have attempted to die by suicide.
The commission’s recommendations seek to combat the mental health crisis among the state’s LGBTQ students. They are also a call for local and state governments to work towards implementing them.
Virginia
Va. lawmakers consider partial restoration of Ryan White funds
State Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million from Part B program
The Virginia General Assembly is considering the partial restoration of HIV funding that the state’s Department of Health cut last year.
The Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million — or 67 percent of total funding — from the Ryan White Part B program.
The funding cuts started with the Trump-Vance administration passing budget cuts to federal HIV screening and protection programs. Rebate issues between the Virginia Department of Health and the company that provides HIV medications began.
Advocates say the funding cuts have disproportionately impacted lower-income people.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a federal program started in 1990, provides medical services, public education, and essential services. Part B offers 21 services, seven of which remained funded after the budget cuts.
Equality Virginia notes “in 2025, a 67 percent reduction severely destabilized HIV services across the commonwealth.”
Virginia lawmakers have approved two bills — House Bill 30 and Senate Bill 30 — that would partially restore the funding. The Ryan White cuts remain a concern among community members.
Both chambers of the General Assembly must review their proposed changes before lawmakers can adopt the bills.
“While these amendments aren’t a full restoration of what community-based organizations lost, this marks a critical step toward stabilizing care for thousands of Virginians living with HIV,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “Equality Virginia plans to continue their contact with lawmakers and delegates through the conference and up until the passing of the budget.”
“We appreciate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who recognized the urgency of this moment and will work to ensure funding remains in the final version signed by the governor,” added Rahaman.
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
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