Local
Financial manager, Blade film critic Brian Carney dies at 58
A passion for both words and numbers
Brian T. Carney, a financial manager and fundraiser for nonprofit organizations in the Washington, D.C. area and other states who served for the past nine years as the film and television critic for the Washington Blade, died on Jan. 28 from complications associated with congestive heart failure and advanced kidney disease. He was 58.
Known for his talent and skills in financial management and writing, Carney has told friends and associates that he had a passion for using both words and numbers.
Among the nonprofit organizations he worked with in financial management include the D.C.-based AIDS United and National LGBTQ Task Force, the Pittsburgh-based Kuntu Repertory Theatre, and the Cincinnati-based Educational Theatre Association.
In his role as the Blade’s film and TV critic Carney wrote reviews, previews and interviews about movie releases and regional film festivals. His reviews often focused on films and TV shows with LGBTQ subjects and characters. In one of his last reviews for the Blade in September before he became too ill to continue writing, Carney provided an interesting glimpse of the fall of 2020 film releases, including films with an LGBTQ theme.
“Brian was a beloved member of the Washington Blade family,” said Blade editor Kevin Naff. “He was a total pro, and his insightful columns of film criticism elevated our arts coverage and will live forever in our archive. All of us at the Blade will miss his sense of humor and passion for the arts and for writing.”
Carney’s husband, Brian Long, said Carney was born and raised in Monroe, Conn. A write-up about Carney that Long provided to the Blade and Carney’s LinkedIn page show he earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in urban studies and management. He received a master’s degree in fine arts with a field of study in theater and playwriting at Southern Illinois University, his LinkedIn page says.
Prior to writing for the Blade, Carney worked for 10 months as senior manager of compliance and grants management at AIDS United, the D.C. group that advocates for people with HIV and AIDS. His LinkedIn page says he worked from 2011 to 2014 as program coordinator at the World Resources Institute, a D.C.-based global research organization that works on environmental, climate, and natural resources issues in the U.S. and 60 countries.
Other nonprofit groups he worked for as a financial manager and fundraiser in other states, his LinkedIn page says, were the International Baccalaureate Organization and the Advocacy Institute. Among the volunteer work he performed in recent and past years included serving on the Steering Committee for the LGBT Alumni Association at the University of Pennsylvania; as the founding artistic director for of the theater group Lavender Productions; and as a member of GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.
Long said he and Carney, who lived in Wheaton, Md., for the past seven and a half years, had been a couple since 2007 and were married in 2014. He said the two first met when they lived in Pittsburgh and that Carney lived and worked in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York City before moving to the D.C. area.
“I am grateful that we got to do so many awesome things together,” said Long. “We got to see a lot of theater and movies,” he said.
“With Brian’s family and friends spread out all over, along with the challenges of COVID-19, there will be no memorial services,” Long told the Blade. “A lifelong mentor and teacher, he had his body donated so that he could help medical students,” Long said. “His cremains will reside with his mother in Alabama.”
Carney is survived by his husband, Brian Long and their three cats, Ava, Zephyr, and Jack. He is also survived by his mother, Barbara Carney; his sister, Susan Baxter; his nephew, Joey Baxter of Leeds, Ala.; his mother-in-law, Carol Long, of Greensburg, Pa..; and by the Madsen-Hoskin family of Harrisburg, Pa.
Long said memorial donations in Carney’s name can be made to the Visiting Nurses Association of Indiana County, Pa.., which provided care for Carney when he first became ill with diabetes while living in Pennsylvania via https://vnaindiana.org.
Delaware
New LGBTQ visitor center slated for Wilmington, Del.
The Collective to feature gift shop, queer museum, more
During Pride month this year, the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective (DSGC) announced plans for “The Collective,” the first LGBTQ+ visitor center in Wilmington in nearly 40 years.
“We’ve been talking about the concept of a brick-and-mortar space for a long time,” said Noah Duckett, co-founder of the DSGC.
A licensed clinical social worker, Duckett co-founded DSGC with his mother, Julissa Corianno, in 2018. Established under Sussex Pride, the DSGC serves as a hub for leaders and organizations working directly with LGBTQ+ communities throughout Delaware.
“Our vision for The Collective is a place where our community can come to learn, create, work, and be inspired,” said Corianno.
The Collective will feature a visitor center and gift shop highlighting LGBTQ-owned businesses in Delaware.
“I think that this is something that’s going to benefit our community so much,” said Duckett.
Some of the LGBTQ-owned businesses that DSGC has already partnered with include Stressed Induced Art Attack, Moonbeam Art Collaborative, Voce Coffee, Groovy Gemini Co., Scout Cafe, Macaron Social, and Huxley and Hiro.
“Specifically in Wilmington, we haven’t had an LGBTQ-dedicated space in almost 40 years,” said Duckett.
The last LGBTQ community center in Wilmington was The Griffin Community Center, which was open for only a few years in the 1990s.
“The Griffin was a community space in the ’90s, founded by our friends James and Evo, who are so incredible and have been so supportive throughout this process,” said Duckett.
Duckett said the DSGC hopes to carry on The Griffin’s legacy.
“I think now more than ever, there’s more and more spaces closing their doors. More and more spaces are losing funding, seeing reduced funding and reduced access, especially LGBTQ+ organizations and communities,” said Duckett.
The Collective will also feature Delaware’s first LGBTQ history museum, curated by queer historian Carolanne Deal.
“We don’t have any permanent displays in the state about Delaware’s queer history, and we want people to be able to access that history any day of the year, not just during Pride month,” said Deal.
With a master’s degree in art history for museum professionals, Deal has more than seven years of experience in curatorial work and hands-on collections care.
“It’s mainly going to be a graphic display with photographs, articles, and accessible text that draws people in and creates a story for the community,” said Deal.
Although the museum will not initially have an object collection, Deal said she hopes to add physical archival pieces in the future.
“Delaware has been at the forefront of a lot of queer civil rights, and it’ll be really amazing to have that enshrined in a permanent display that’s not only up for Pride month,” said Deal.
Duckett said DSGC is currently raising funds with the goal of breaking ground this summer and opening by the end of the year.
“We would love to have rent paid for, like, multiple years up front,” said Duckett.
Duckett told the Blade that fundraising efforts have reached just under $29,000 and that the organization is awaiting several major donations from community partner organizations.
However, he said DSGC continues to be denied many grants tied to federal or state funding because of restrictions on those funds being used for LGBTQ-serving organizations.
“Private and corporate donations are absolutely vital,” said Duckett.
Anyone interested in supporting the construction of The Collective can donate online or contact [email protected] for more information.
District of Columbia
D.C.’s Mary’s House For Older Adults names new executive director
Charlene Leach to succeed Imani Woody as leader of LGBTQ-supportive seniors home
The board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, the D.C.-based home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, has announced it has named longtime nonprofit organization leader A. Charlene Leach as its new executive director.
Leach, who is now serving in the executive director’s position, is succeeding Dr. Imani Woody, the Mary’s House founding president and CEO, who announced her retirement from her official leadership role at Mary’s House on July 7.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing the lead role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort DuPont neighborhood.
“With over three decades of nonprofit experience and 15 years serving as an executive director, Charlene brings a wealth of knowledge in organizational leadership, program development, and community engagement,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Her proven track record of building impactful programs and leading mission-driven organizations makes her uniquely suited to guide Mary’s House into its next phase of growth,” the statement continues. “Charlene is deeply aligned with the mission of Mary’s House and is committed to advancing its work to provide safe, inclusive housing and supportive services for LGBTQ+ older adults,” it says. “Under her leadership, the organization will continue to expand its impact while remaining grounded in the values that define our community.”
Leach’s LinkedIn page shows she has most recently served since 2022 as executive director of the African American AIDS Task Force in Minneapolis. Prior to that, it shows she served as executive director of the Fredericksburg Area Health and Support Services organization in Fredericksburg, Va., and before that as director of development for the D.C.-Baltimore area Women’s Collective.
Her LinkedIn page says she has been involved with Mary’s House as a volunteer and grant writer since 2016.
The newly built and enlarged Mary’s House, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025 attended by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, includes 15 single-occupancy residential apartments and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
An earlier statement released by the Mary’s House board announcing Woody’s retirement said Woody would continue to be involved with the organization as a member of the board. The earlier statement and board’s more recent statement on July 29 announcing Leach’s appointment as executive director did not say whether the board plans to name someone else as president and CEO, the title that Woody held before her retirement. But the latest statement says Leach will be running Mary’s House’s day-to-day operations as Woody did.
Virginia
Doug Ollivant to face Eugene Vindman in Va. 7th Congressional District
Republican defeated challengers in Tuesday’s primary
Republican Doug Ollivant will face off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
Ollivant defeated his Republican opponents in Tuesday’s primary. Vindman ran unopposed.
Vindman in 2024 ran to succeed then-Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger in the U.S. House of Representatives after she ran for governor. Spanberger succeeded Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2025.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Tuesday easily won his primary. All other Democratic incumbent members of Congress from Northern Virginia also won their respective primaries.
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