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.
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
Police mental health struggles gain growing attention
Man faces first S.C. ‘hate intimidation’ charge
Trump budget would codify expanded global gag rule
Cuba under pressure and without answers
