Local
Comings & Goings
Goines takes new post at Victory Fund
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 Ron L. Goines on his new position as Managing Director of Development with the Victory Fund & Victory Institute. Upon accepting the position he said, “For nearly a decade, I have supported the work of Victory Fund and Victory Institute because of their impact on American politics and the movement for LGBTQ equality. I am thrilled to build upon my history with the organizations at a time when the importance of leadership is so evident. LGBTQ leaders are needed now more than ever and I am ready to ensure these elected officials and candidates have the programs and resources they need to succeed.”
Prior to joining the Victory Fund, Goines was Director of Major Gifts and Corporate Relations with The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in D.C. Before that he was with Planned Parenthood Southeast, Atlanta, as Vice President of Development and had worked for a number of Planned Parenthood offices in Texas. He also worked with AIDS Foundation, Houston and the Human Rights Campaign in Texas.
Goines has his bachelor’s in politics with a minor in African-American Studies from Oberlin College in Ohio.
Congratulations also to Stephen Belcourt who joined Talis (a SAGE Publishing Company) as Sales Manager, North America. Belcourt said, “We work with over 100 institutions globally, helping them reach strategic goals around teaching & learning, learner analytics and student experience. Our products are Talis Aspire, an online resource list that integrates seamlessly with your Learning Management System and Library Management System; and Talis Elevate, a universal content player that enables collaboration, engagement and insight into resources.” Universities and colleges throughout North America will be Belcourt’s market.
He previously worked for ProQuest and RefWorks-COS as an Account Manager. He has his MSc International Management, University of Liverpool, Laureate International Universities.
Congratulations also to Bryant Sanders, director and co-founder of the new company Grassroots Analytics Non-Profit (GANP). The company aims to disrupt traditional event-based and high-dollar donor fundraising models to more efficiently generate consistent revenue for mission-focused organizations. Sanders said, “I’m looking forward to using the power of data and analytics to support progressive organizations, which takes the guesswork out of fundraising. We want to help nonprofits meet goals they may have previously found out of reach.”
GANP uses a vetted and prospected proprietary database of more than 17 million donors and can accurately and efficiently identify new prospective donors and the best mission-aligned messaging to cultivate those donors into long-term giving relationships.
Prior to co-founding this company, he worked for The Center for Voter Information and Voter Participation as Deputy Director of Development. Before that he was with Victory Fund & Victory Institute as Corporate and Foundation Gifts Manager. He has also worked as a Donor Relations Manager for the D.C. Central Kitchen and for U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as a staff assistant.
He has his bachelor’s in Public Affairs with a concentration in Ethics and a minor in German from Wells College, Aurora, N.Y.
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.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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