Local
Comings & Goings
Robinson named to Lambda board; Maggiano to Washington Chorus
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
The Comings and 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].
Bishop Gene Robinson has been elected to the board of directors of Lambda Legal. Robinson became the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, a major step forward for the LGBT community. Robinson is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in D.C.
Lambda Legal is the nation’s first legal organization dedicated to achieving full equality for LGBT people.
Retired Bishop V. Gene Robinson (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Congratulations also go to Chase Maggiano, who was named the new executive director of The Washington Chorus (TWC). He will begin work with TWC in July. He is currently executive director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C.
At the Washington Chorus, Maggiano will succeed Dianne Peterson who is retiring from at the end of the 2015-2016 season after serving as the Chorus’ executive director for more than 30 years. She is the longest-serving chief administrator of a major American chorus. Speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Chorus, Board Chair Chris Denby said, “TWC is thrilled to welcome Chase to the Executive Director role. Although he has very big shoes to fill, Chase will bring tremendous leadership skills, energy, and passion to the organization. The entire Board joins me in welcoming him warmly to The Washington Chorus family.”
“I am honored to be joining The Washington Chorus family and energized to return to my classical roots,” Maggiano said. “TWC’s reputation for presenting challenging and new repertoire is a prized asset within the bountiful choral scene in Washington. I hope to honor and build on the legacy of my friend and mentor, Dianne, whose 30 years of dedication have brought TWC to national and international acclaim. As we celebrate Julian Wachner’s final season with TWC, we are well poised to find the next great maestro/a for Washington.”
Maggiano will be missed at the GMCW where he expanded the inclusivity of the mission and programming, created the first LGBTQ and allied youth chorus in Washington, and forged relationships with local and international presenters, including an historic concert tour of Cuba. Prior to joining GMCW, he served in arts education and fundraising roles at the Washington Performing Arts. Growing up locally as a classically trained violinist, Maggiano has combined his lifelong dedication to music and entrepreneurial spirit to ensure that more art happens in Washington. He remains an avid violinist and shares his perspective on the business of art at chasingtheart.com.
Chase Maggiano (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Joseph DeSanto Jones, M.Ed., has been named director of strategic initiatives at NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. NASPA’s mission is to be the principal source of leadership, scholarship, professional development, and advocacy for student affairs. As director, he will work with executive management and volunteer leaders to pursue and achieve tactical objectives of the NASPA strategic plan.
Jones has previously served NASPA as director of member engagement and community programs, where he directed various educational programs, and supported NASPA Regions, Knowledge Communities, and volunteer leaders. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park where he earned his bachelor’s in communication studies and a master’s in college student personnel.
Joseph DeSanto Jones (Photo courtesy Jones)
Baltimore
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
Leon’s closed in July after its owner’s death
By JULIE SCHARPER and WESLEY CASE | Soon after Jim Becker came out as gay in 1967, he ducked into a Mount Vernon bar called Leon’s.
In the dark, smoky bar, men used pseudonyms for fear of being outed, as homosexual acts were illegal in Maryland. Bartenders, wary of vice squad raids, would blow a whistle if couples leaned in for a kiss.
But to Becker, arriving at Leon’s was a kind of homecoming. He could explore his identity, connect with other gay men and build community in the anxious years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Protest Pizza owners say community has expressed support
Gay activist Randy Downs said he and his business and life partner Ricky Bennett are grateful for the support they have received from the Dupont Circle community after they released a video showing a suspect breaking into their recently opened pizza shop and taking money from a cash register shortly before 3 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.
The surveillance video shows a man wearing black clothing with his face covered, smashing the glass front door of Protest Pizza, located at 1633 ½ P St., N.W. The video, which Downs and Bennett provided to D.C. police, also shows the suspect climbing over the bar to get to a cash register, which he opened to take out cash.
A D.C. police report obtained by the Washington Blade lists the incident as a Burglary in the Second Degree and says the owners reported “approximately $78 in cash” was taken from the cash register. The report says the incident is not listed as a suspected hate crime.
Downs told the Washington Blade that after he and Bennett reported the break-in and theft on social media, they received an overwhelming showing of support from neighbors and others, including business owners, from across the nation.
“The break-in was upsetting, but it is not what will define Protest Pizza,” Downs said. “What defines us is how quickly people showed up,” he told the Blade. “One person came looking for a cash register; our community saw a gathering place worth protecting. The response reminded us that Protest’s real value was never in the register.”
Downs said he and Bennett, who live around the corner on the section of 17th Street, N.W., near several other bars and restaurants, including the gay bar JRs are located, opened Protest Pizza in November 2025.
“Ricky and I built Protest Pizza as a positive, welcoming, queer owned neighborhood restaurant and bar — a space for protest and joy,” he said.
A D.C. police spokesperson said police offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of a suspect responsible for the type of burglary and theft that occurred at Protest Pizza. Police say anyone with information to help solve this type of crime should call the police tipline at 202-727-9099.
District of Columbia
Advocates honored at Engendered Spirit Awards
Annual ceremony held at conclusion of Trans Pride DC
The 2026 SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards ceremony took place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in D.C. on Saturday. The ceremony was held at the conclusion of the day-long Trans Pride DC: Encore.
Honorees included D.C. Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs Deputy Director Vida Rangel; the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Inc.; and Connor Keuntje, CLP, CLPC.
Trans Pride DC: Encore was held throughout Saturday with several workshop sessions and a virtual conversation with actress and advocate Dominique Jackson.
The annual Engendered Spirit Awards were renamed the “SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards” in honor of SaVanna Wanzer, founder of D.C. Trans Pride. Wanzer died on April 24 of this year.
Speakers at the ceremony included Japer Bowles, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and Bianca Sprague, executive director of D.C. Trans Pride.
“The intent behind this award and honoring members of our communities, organizations, and allies, is to really elevate all of the work that they’re doing to provide resources, tools, learning opportunities and connections: centering trans folks, gender non-conforming, and gender diverse individuals,” Sprague said.
Dolly Parton dies at 80
Monument to LGBTQ Canadians officially unveiled
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
When home becomes a journey: migration, memory, and the African diaspora
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Trump-Vance administration’s LGBTQ brain drain: what you need to know
UPDATE: Impulse Group’s ‘PrEP Pool Party’ cancelled
Not all trans people are the same
Calendar: August 21-27
