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Comings & Goings
Domi to chair Balkans Observatory Initiative

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 Tanya Domi hired by New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy to chair the Balkans Observatory Initiative. Domi said, “I am delighted to have been hired by New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy to chair the Balkans Observatory Initiative. This is a critical moment in the geopolitics of the Balkan region, which presents possibilities to support democratic efforts underway there that deserve the support of the international community. I am also thrilled to join my colleagues in Sarajevo at the Strategic Analysis Initiative, a new think tank that seeks to address security questions and challenges not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but in the broader Balkans region. I look forward to contributing to the work of this new, vital institute.”
Domi is a scholar and international affairs and human rights campaign strategist. She is a Media Skills Trainer & Consultant as well as a writer/journalist. Domi is a fellow at the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, with the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, the Graduate Center, CUNY, and Alliance for Peacebuilding. She hosts “The Peace: We Build It!” a podcast for the Alliance.
Previously, she worked as an adjunct lecturer for Contemporary Global LGBTQ Human Rights with the Hunter College, Roosevelt Public Policy Institute. She was Harriman Institute Faculty Fellow at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. Among other positions she has held, since 2013 Domi is an Asylum Consultant for LGBTI persons from the Balkans seeking asylum in the United States.
Domi has won many awards and has many publications to her name. She has been a guest lecturer at Columbia, Duke, Harvard, New York University, and the U.S. Army War College, among others institutions.
Congratulations also to Robert Conner on his award as Media Relations Titan, from PR News. It is awarded to communicators who have worked tirelessly to build strong relationships with journalists and influencers through all channels, including social networks, or succeeded at repositioning a brand through media outreach.
“I am honored to be named to the PR News, People of the Year list, as a Media Relations Titan,” Conner said. “My work as the media relations manager of Scott Circle Communications allows me to advise national organizations on how to effectively communicate about timely issues such as health care access, pending legislation, and cutting-edge research. This past year, I paid particular attention to the issues affecting the LGBTQ community during Pride month. I was able to offer expert commentary through interviews in Forbes and Psychology Today, and I published LGBTQ communication guidelines through bylines in PR News and PR Daily. I remain passionate about the power of the media to elevate the voices of historically marginalized communities and to inspire changes in law and public policy.”
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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