Local
Whitman-Walker announces new CEO for Health System division
Blanchon departing after 15 years

Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive heath care provider, announced on Sept. 8 that it has named Dr. Ryan Moran, the Assistant Vice President of the Baltimore-based MedStar Health system, as the new CEO of Whitman-Walker Health System.
Moran will replace Don Blanchon, Whitman-Walker Health System’s current CEO, who announced in January he planned to step down from his position by the end of this year to pursue a career change. Whitman-Walker says Moran will begin his new job Nov. 1.
“I’m delighted that the Health Care System’s Board of Directors has chosen Ryan,” Blanchon said in a statement released by Whitman-Walker. “I have no doubt that he has the vision, values and entrepreneurial spirit to advance our mission-driven work in the community for many years.”
The Sept. 8 announcement says Naseema Shafi will remain in her position as CEO of Whitman-Walker Health, the division of Whitman-Walker that provides direct medical services to its clients in HIV/AIDS care and other health care services.
“After a comprehensive national search process, we are thrilled to select Ryan,” said Harry Fox, chair of the Whitman-Walker Health System Board. “In what is essentially a newly envisioned role, Ryan’s experience, knowledge, and expertise will be critical to growing the Whitman-Walker Institute into a leading national research, policy and education powerhouse and supporting the Whitman-Walker Foundation in raising much needed funds to make our care programs and clinical work sustainable,” Fox said in the Sept. 8 statement.
The statement says that in his role as Assistant Vice President of Medstar Health, Moran oversaw the operations of MedStar’s four Baltimore area hospitals – Franklin Square Medical Center, Union Memorial Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, and Harbor Hospital.
“I am grateful to work closely with the board and the entire team at Whitman-Walker to ensure that we advance efforts to root out all systems of inequity, discover new scientific breakthroughs in health care and ensure philanthropic growth for care and support of our future home at St. Elizabeths,” Moran said in the statement.
He was referring to Whitman-Walker’s soon to be opened health care center at D.C.’s newly redeveloping St. Elizabeths Hospital Campus in Southeast Washington.
In a separate statement released in January, Blanchon, who is credited with playing a leading role in expanding Whitman-Walker’s operations over the past 15 years, said he was “humbled and grateful” to be a part of Whitman-Walker’s family.
“Leadership change is an essential ingredient to how nonprofits like Whitman-Walker remain relevant and responsive to those we serve,” he said. “This consideration combined with my interest to explore new paths in my life are the reasons why I have decided to leave Whitman-Walker Health System at the end of 2021,” Blanchon said. “My decision, while bittersweet, has been in the works for a few years now and coincides with the beginning of our next chapter of work.”
Virginia
Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note
Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.
Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.
The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.
“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.
She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.
Reid has strongly denied the reports.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
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