Local
Comings & Goings
Combs named president of CAMP Rehoboth

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 Ronaldo Ribeiro on his new position as a coordinator on the RedfinNow team. In his new role he will be helping the Asset Managers effectively list and manage their portfolio of properties. On accepting the new position he said, “RedfinNow was launched on the East Coast in March of 2021. Within just nine months of its business in the DMV, the area has become one of the largest markets for Redfin nationally. I am excited to be a part of this amazing team and cannot wait to see how far we will go in the New Year.”
Prior to this, Ribeiro was Transaction Coordinator with Leverage Network in Ellicott City, Md.; and a licensed Realtor with Keller Williams Integrity, also in Ellicott City.
Ribeiro is a member of the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors. He is fluent in native Portuguese and basic Spanish. He is working toward a bachelor’s degree in Economics at Towson University, with anticipated graduation in fall 2022.

Congratulations also to Wesley Combs the new president of CAMP Rehoboth, the Rehoboth Beach LGBTQ+ community center. On being named president, Combs said, “CAMP Rehoboth has a special place in my heart and I look forward to working with the board, staff, volunteers and supporters to ensure it continues to serve all members of our community. My husband Greg and I met in Rehoboth 33 years ago and it is because of CAMP Rehoboth that we now call this home. I want to especially thank outgoing President Chris Beagle for his years of service to CAMP Rehoboth and for his mentorship over the past two years.”
Combs is the founding principal of Combs Advisory Serviceswhere he serves as an executive coach and adviser helping organizations and individuals reach their highest potential. Prior to that, he served as the North American Diversity & Inclusion Director at The Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm. He has also worked as a Senior Manager at Accenture Ltd. Prior to that Combs was president and co-founder of Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc. He currently serves as a DC Advisory Board member of WAMU, DC’s NPR station. He and his husband, Greg Albright, are actively engaged in their communities in Washington, D.C. and Rehoboth Beach, Del.
District of Columbia
Norton reintroduces bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ jurors in D.C. Superior Court
Congresswoman notes Congress controls local court system

D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) on Friday, June 20, reintroduced her bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ D.C. residents in the process for selecting people to serve as jurors in D.C. Superior Court.
“The bill would clarify that D.C. residents may not be excluded or disqualified from jury service in the local D.C. trial court, the D.C. Superior Court, based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Norton said in a statement.
“Specifically, this bill would clarify that the term ‘sex,’ which is a protected class under the nondiscrimination law that applies to jurors in the D.C. Superior Court includes sexual orientation and gender identity,” Norton said.
She points out in her statement that under the D.C. Home Rule Act approved by Congress that created D.C.’s local government, including an elected mayor and City Council, the federal government retained control over the local court system.
“Therefore, until D.C. is given authority to amend Title 11 of the D.C. Code, which one of my bills would do, an act of Congress is required to clarify that LGBTQ+ jurors in the D.C. Superior Court are protected from discrimination,” according to her statement.
A spokesperson for Norton couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether Norton is aware of specific instances where residents were denied jury service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Online records of congressional action on Norton’s juror nondiscrimination bill show she had introduced it in 2019, 2021, and 2023, when it died in committee each year, except for the 117th Congress in 2022, when it was approved by a committee but died in the full House.
“During Pride month we are reminded of the many contributions of the LGBTQ+ community,” Norton said in her June 20 statement. “Nobody, including D.C. jurors, should be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and D.C. juries should not be deprived of the service of LGBTQ residents,” she added.

The Washington Blade’s second day of Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC ended with a fireworks show on Saturday, June 7. The fireworks show was presented by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

















State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) will face John Reid in the race to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor.
Hashmi won the Democratic primary with 27.49 percent of the vote. She defeated former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach), Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado and Alexander Bastani.
“Tonight, Virginians made history,” said Hashmi in a statement. “We didn’t just win a primary, we sent a clear message that we won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington.”
Reid, a gay conservative talk show host, in April won the Republican nomination to succeed Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The incumbent governor days after Reid secured the nomination called for him to withdraw his candidacy amid reports that a social media account with his username included “pornographic content.” Reid, who would become the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in Virginia if he wins in November, has strongly denied the reports.
Former state Del. Jay Jones defeated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor in Democratic attorney general primary. Jones will face Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares in November.
Youngkin cannot run for a second, consecutive term.
Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger will face off against Earle-Sears in November. The winner will make history as the first woman elected governor in the state’s history.