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Comings & Goings
Painter elected chair of Library of Congress GLOBE
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
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].
Jeffrey Taylor
Congratulations to Jeff Taylor recently awarded the 2017 Top Individual Agent of the TTR Sotheby’s International Realty Downtown Brokerage. Taylor is a Realtor Associate with 14 years of real estate sales experience.
He began his real estate career in Texas, with Zane Anderson Real Estate in Bryan, Texas. After relocating to D.C., he said, “his passion for real estate grew, as did his love for the city, its architecture, and its people.” Taylor is known for his local expertise, strategic marketing efforts, and his commitment to achieving an unsurpassed level of service to his clients.
He has been featured in Washington Life, Capitol File, and the Washington Post for his historic home and condominium sales in Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Columbia Heights, Shaw, LeDroit Park, and Bloomingdale, where he resides with his family.
Congratulations also to Travis Painter, elected chair of Library of Congress Globe (LC GLOBE). LC GLOBE is an educational, recreational and cultural organization for LGBT employees in the Library of Congress. LC GLOBE promotes cognizance in areas that are of interest to LGBT employees while supporting positive working relationships among employees of all sexual orientations.
Painter said, “our goal for 2018 is to form a close relationship with the other LGBT organizations on the Hill and leverage our staff to effect the most positive change for our LGBT staff and members.” He is currently the Interpreting Services Program Manager at the Library of Congress. In that role he also serves as the library’s Director of Accessibility and provides agency-wide accessibility and disability sensitivity training for senior management and all new employees.
Painter was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as a member of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities. He is a Nationally Certified Sign Language Interpreter, and a member of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). He’s a former president of Eastern Kentucky University’s American Sign Language Association. He received his bachelor’s in American Sign Language Interpreter Training from Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Ken.
Travis Painter
Congratulations also to Ben de Guzman, the new Community Outreach Relations Specialist for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. In this role, he will work to connect LGBTQ residents of the District of Columbia to city government agencies, services, and programs.
De Guzman recently served as one of the co-chairs of the Host Committee for the Task Force’s 2018 Creating Change Conference, the nation’s largest LGBT social justice conference. He coordinated programming and services for LGBT elders, people with disabilities, and people of color for the conference’s 30th anniversary.
Prior to working in the Mayor’s Office he was National Managing Coordinator for the Diverse Elders Coalition, where he advocated for policies and programs that improved lives for aging people of color; American Indians and Alaska Natives and LGBT people. He coordinated local and national strategies to bring the voices of diverse constituencies to the 2015 White House Conference on Aging. He also served for almost 10 years as principal staff at the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, where he managed the policy and programmatic work for NQAPIA and its federation of 40 Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander LGBT groups around the country.
Ben de Guzman
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
Rehoboth Beach
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Labor Day Weekend bustling with events, including David Archuleta performance
Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end of summer in Rehoboth Beach, but there will be no shortage of LGBTQ events, with CAMP Rehoboth’s annual SUNFESTIVAL taking over town this weekend.
Thursday (9/3)
Get your Labor Day Weekend started early Thursday night with happy hour from 5-7 p.m. at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, followed by Naughtee Bingo hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 8:30 p.m.
After bingo, the party continues with Dancing at Diego’s from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Aqua Bar & Grill will also kick off its Labor Day Weekend festivities Thursday with a DJ spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Friday (9/4)
The weekend ramps up Friday night at Aqua, where DJ Matt Bailer will keep the dance floor moving from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Over at Diego’s, DJ Steve Sidewalk will then take over Diego’s for Freedom Friday from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Saturday (9/5)
The main event of the weekend arrives Saturday with the opening night of CAMP Rehoboth’s SUNFESTIVAL.
Billed as the ultimate party to close out the summer, SUNFESTIVAL has become one of Rehoboth’s signature Labor Day Weekend events. The annual celebration sells out each year, with proceeds benefiting CAMP Rehoboth.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments available at the cash bar while attendees are invited to socialize and find their seats.
Saturday night will feature local singer Ashley Williams as the opening performer, followed by headliner David Archuleta. The event will also feature a live auction.
Back across town Saturday, Aqua will continue its Labor Day Weekend DJ lineup from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Diego’s will also have plenty happening, with ‘Splash Party’ hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 5 p.m., followed by a Saturday Dance Party with Brett Oosterhaus from 9 p.m.- 1:30 a.m.
The Blue Moon hosts its popular Legends Show at 9 p.m. It’s an all-live singing show by the Blue Moon cast of celebrity impersonators.
Etienne Pilon has taken Rehoboth by storm this summer. Check out the talented singer/pianist at The Pines from 7-10 p.m.
Sunday (9/6)
Sunday’s SUNFESTIVAL event will shift the focus to the dance floor, with globally renowned DJs Robbie Leslie and James Anthony scheduled to perform. Doors open at 7 p.m., with dancing continuing until 1 a.m.
On Sunday, Aqua will throw its annual White Party, with DJs spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress in white for the holiday weekend celebration.
Diego’s will host its Sunday High T-Dance with Pamala Stanley at 5 p.m. Later that evening, DJ Tannr will be spinning at 9 p.m.
John Flynn is on the piano from 6-8 p.m. at the Blue Moon.
Monday (9/7)
The final day of Labor Day Weekend brings one last chance to hit the dance floor before summer officially winds down.
Aqua will close out its five-day Labor Day Weekend celebration with DJ Biff from 3-7 p.m.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Conservative groups challenged system’s policy
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff cannot use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it, according to an internal document reviewed by the Banner, a change that comes after conservative groups challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity.
Teachers union president Kristina Korona told members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance undermines district policy on acceptance and inclusivity and “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
Previously, the district didn’t require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity, the internal document says. Now it does. The change comes as parents challenge the suburban school system’s gender identity policy and regulation in court and the Trump-Vance administration threatens the district’s funding.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Everton Blair makes history as first openly gay congressman from Ga.
Mujer trans salvadoreña se encuentra sin vida
Iceland implements gender-neutral blood donor rules
Blade Foundation to host fundraiser in Rehoboth on Sept. 12
New book examines fashionista Audrey Smaltz’s fabulous life
Gloria Steinem dies at 92
Pentagon expands testosterone screening as trans troops face hormone therapy restrictions
Swiss government backs nationwide conversion therapy ban
Calendar: September 4-10
