District of Columbia
Casa Ruby receiver files complaint against Ruby Corado, former board members
Wanda Alston Foundation seeks restitution, ‘punitive damages’
The Wanda Alston Foundation, which assumed control over the operations of the LGBTQ community services group Casa Ruby in August under a court appointed receivership role, filed its own civil complaint on Dec. 23 in D.C. Superior Court against former Casa Ruby Executive Director Ruby Corado and eight former members of the Casa Ruby board of directors.
News of the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint surfaced at a Jan. 6 D.C. Superior Court status hearing for the pending civil complaint against Casa Ruby and Corado filed by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General this past July and as amended by the office with additional allegations in November.
The attorney general’s complaint, among other things, alleges that Casa Ruby, under Corado’s leadership, violated the city’s Nonprofit Corporations Act in connection with its financial dealings. The amended complaint charges that Corado withdrew more than $400,000 of Casa Ruby funds for unauthorized use in El Salvador.
For unexplained reasons, the Superior Court’s online court records, including the court docket, did not show that the Wanda Alston Foundation had filed its separate complaint against Corado and the board members as of Friday, the day of the court status hearing.
The court docket as of Jan. 6 also did not show that the Wanda Alston Foundation on Dec. 16 filed its Receiver’s Third Interim Report, which is highly critical of Corado and the Casa Ruby board. The Washington Blade obtained copies of the interim report and the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint from the court’s media and public affairs director.
The Wanda Alston Foundation complaint identifies each of the eight former board members as defendants and “respectfully request[s] restitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, receivership fees and expenses, court costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and any other relief the court deems necessary and proper.”
The board of directors “failed to hold regular meetings and/or maintain official records — thereby exercising no oversight or governance over the organization,” the complaint states.
“Ever Alfaro, Carlos Gonzales, Consuella Lopez, Jackie Martinez, Hassan Naveed, Jack Quintana-Harrison (sic), Miguel Rivera and Meredith Zotlick were directors of Casa Ruby, Inc.,” the complaint says. “By neglecting their duty to provide any oversight and governance, they engaged in a persistent course of conduct that caused tortious injury to the organization,” the complaint states.
Harrison-Quintana on Saturday declined to comment to the Blade. Lopez and Naveed did not return requests for comment.
In its allegations against Corado, which it says are based on its own investigation since assuming the role as Casa Ruby receiver, the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint uses stronger language than that used in the D.C. attorney general’s complaint.
“Ms. Corado drained the organization’s accounts and unjustly enriched herself through multiple cash withdrawals, checks and money orders, wire transactions, online payment services and electronic funds transfers to herself and to other companies that she set up — embezzling over $800,000 from the organization,” the complaint states.
Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson, who is presiding over the Casa Ruby case, pointed out at the Jan. 6 court hearing that the Wanda Alston Foundation submitted a required court filing called a Motion for Leave asking for permission to file its own complaint against Corado, the Casa Ruby board members and the three individual companies that Corado created that are defendants in the attorney general’s complaint.
Dayson said the parties named in the Wanda Alston Foundation complaints have a right to file an objection to the Motion for Leave, and she set a deadline of Friday, Jan. 13, for filing such an objection. The judge then said if she approves the Motion for Leave by the Wanda Alston Foundation, the deadline for the parties, including Corado and the board members, to file a response to the Wanda Alston Foundation’s complaint against them will be March 6.
Dayson said the parties named in the attorney general’s complaint, which include Corado and companies she created, must also file their response to that complaint by March 6.
Corado has denied engaging in any improper financial actions and has insisted the Casa Ruby board approved her actions, including her decision to open a Casa Ruby operation in El Salvador.
In an interview last month in El Salvador, where she now lives, Corado told the Blade the allegations that D.C. officials have made against her amount to “persecution.”
At the Jan. 6 status hearing, which was held virtually through the court’s online Webex system, Corado reiterated what she has said in previous court hearings — that the D.C. government was responsible for Casa Ruby’s closing in July 2022 by withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars that Corado says the city owes Casa Ruby for services it provided under city grants.
City officials have disputed those claims, saying the funds were withheld or discontinued because Casa Ruby did not provide the required documentation or reports showing that it performed the work associated with city grants.
Similar to an earlier court hearing in September, Corado at the Jan. 6 hearing told Dayson that she had yet to retain an attorney to represent her. Dayson told Corado that because she is named as a defendant in the attorney general’s complaint and in the complaint filed by the Wanda Alston Foundation, which is listed as a “cross complaint,” Corado or an attorney representing her must file a response to the complaints.
The judge also pointed out that Corado is listed as the registered agent for three limited liability companies that Corado created to reportedly help Casa Ruby provide services to its clients, including a Casa Ruby pharmacy. Both the attorney general’s complaint and the Wanda Alston Foundation compliant name the three LLC companies as defendants. The judge said Corado would be responsible for arranging for the three LLCs to file a response to the two complaints against them.
In its 12-page Receiver’s Third Interim Report filed in court on Dec. 16, the Wanda Alston Foundation said it conducted its own investigation into Casa Ruby’s operations using, among other things, detailed financial records it obtained from Ayala, Vado and Associates, an accounting firm that provided accounting services for Casa Ruby for over five years from at least 2016 to 2020. The documents it obtained, the report says, include multiple Casa Ruby bank records and records of cash withdrawals by Corado.
“Based on our review of the accounting firm’s records, Casa Ruby, Inc. did not collapse due to the loss of an $800,000 grant from the District of Columbia,” the report says. “In 2021, financial records show deposits from multiple revenue streams totaling $5,169,098 to M&T Tailored Business Checking Account,” the Wanda Alston Foundation report says, noting that a significant stream of income came from private donors.
“The organization failed because of multiple cash withdrawals and overseas transfers that Ms. Corado made to set herself up for a lavash retirement in El Salvador,” the report states. “She made no secret of her intentions — openly broadcasting them on social media,” it says. “When it was evident that there was no meaningful oversight by the board of directors, she finally dropped all pretenses and started openly looting the organization.”
Nick Harrison, an attorney representing the Wanda Alston Foundation in its role as the Casa Ruby receiver, told the Blade the Wanda Alston Foundation decided to file its own complaint as an extension of its mission of serving the needs of the LGBTQ community.
“In our capacity as receiver, the Wanda Alston Foundation has taken legal action in the form of a cross-party complaint and a third-party complaint to attempt to recover some of the financial losses of Casa Ruby,” Harrison said. He said the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint names Casa Ruby board members as defendants because the board “had a legal and ethical responsibility to protect the organization’s finances, the vulnerable clients they served, and the community members they employed.”
In her interview with the Blade from El Salvador in December, Corado said she believes she is being targeted because she always tells the truth and people are being distracted from the truth because of a system that benefits from “lies and defamation.”
During the Jan. 6 court hearing, Corado said she has received threats against her life since the D.C. attorney general first filed its complaint against her and the Wanda Alston Foundation released derogatory statements against her in the receiver’s reports.
“It really puts my life in danger,” she said.
Dayson scheduled the next court hearing for the Casa Ruby case on March 17.
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
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