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Comings & Goings
Ronté Pierce new director of Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s Seasons of Love Ensemble
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 Ronté Pierce who joined GMCW as director of the Seasons of Love Ensemble. Seasons of Love is a 15-member outreach ensemble of the GMCW, with the mission to celebrate and promote social justice advocacy through soulful music that inspires, strengthens, and unites our community. Ronté said “I’m excited to lead such a talented and fun ensemble whose diversity is represented in its members and repertoire. The ensemble’s versatility in performing R&B, gospel, pop and other genres is truly amazing. I’m excited for the opportunity to contribute to the development of artistic, community and outreach programming with Thea Kano, GMCW’s Artistic Director.”
Ronté brings over 33 years of singing, performing and directing experience with faith-based, community, academic and choral vocal ensembles; as well as experience with musical theater and opera to his position as the director of the Seasons of Love Ensemble. Ronté currently serves as one of three music teachers at Jackson-Reed High School in D.C., where he directs a successful choir program.
Ronté has his Bachelor of Arts in Music from North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C.; master’s in music, Boston University and Education Specialist degree from Grand Canyon University.
Congratulations also to Lucas Fox Schleusener on his new position as a lecturer at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Lucas said “I’m thrilled at the opportunity to teach graduate students at Georgetown in a first-of-its-kind course on the history, political science and public policy that undergirds the relationship between the national security state and LGBTQIA+ Americans. Translating my research and lived experience in national security into scholarship to be shared widely fills me with immense pride.”
Lucas also announced the formation of an advisory board, a body of senior national security and foreign policy practitioners, and other subject matter experts and luminaries, to enhance and further the mission of Out in National Security (ONS), the non-profit he began and currently serves as CEO. The first two members of this new and growing body are Brian Hale and Jesse Salazar. Out in National Security, is a non-profit professional and advocacy association with more than 2000 members. Lucas helped place more than two dozen LGBTQIA+ presidential appointees at the highest level across the government. He previously served with QOMPLX in Reston, Va., as Director of Public Policy. Prior to that he served in the Department of Defense in D.C. as speechwriter to the Secretary of Defense. Lucas is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, 2021-2026; sponsor of the Naval Academy LGBT Spectrum Club; and was a Security Fellow for Truman National Security Project, Class of 2019.
Lucas has his B.A. in History and International Affairs from Wesleyan University and an M.A., Middle East Studies from the University of Chicago.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
Trailblazing trans Brazilian lawmaker refuses to set foot in Trump’s America
Lebanese LGBTQ group responds to latest war
Inside the LGBTQ records of Todd Blanche and Markwayne Mullin
Calendar: April 10-16
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
