Local
Comings & Goings
Ortiz lands at LMO Advertising; Ryan to ACLI
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 Jake Amador Ortiz who has begun his new position as Media and Marketing Strategist with LMO Advertising. LMO is located in Arlington, Va., and according to its website is “a fully integrated marketing agency that helps companies capture market share, increase demand, launch new products, differentiate themselves, and drive their business into the future.” On taking the position he said, “I’m so excited to be joining such an established advertising agency. I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge in marketing and media with their amazing team.”
Ortiz has worked as a New York digital marketing intern for iHeartRadio and created multiple social media campaigns to promote popular music artist playlists and cultivated more than 5,000 impressions. He researched and presented marketing strategies and outreach operations to corporate executives to improve the company against other large competitors and assisted in celebrity photo shoots, promotional events, and high-profile concerts. He has worked as a D.C. brand ambassador for them.
Ortiz is a recent graduate of George Washington University earning a bachelor’s in communication. While in school he was a division 1 athlete in swimming and diving where he was selected by his peers as senior captain and a representative to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. There he worked to make student athletes voices heard across the university. He was on the GW teams that were Atlantic 10 Conference, Men’s Swimming and Diving Champions (2017, 2018, and 2019). He volunteered with the Adapted Swimming Program, Arlington Parks & Recreation.
Congratulations also to Vincent Ryan who recently relocated from Delaware to Washington, D.C., to begin his new position with the American Council of Life Insurers, (ACLI). He will work as a legislative director responsible for all legislative, regulatory and political affairs for the organization and member companies in an assigned region. According to its website, “ACLI advocates on behalf of 280 member companies dedicated to providing products and services that promote consumers’ financial and retirement security. ACLI represents member companies in state, federal and international forums for public policy that supports the industry marketplace and the families that rely on life insurers’ products for peace of mind. ACLI members represent 95 percent of industry assets in the United States.”
Previously, Ryan worked as senior adviser to the Delaware Commissioner responsible for managing all legislative and public affairs for the Delaware Department of Insurance. Among his other responsibilities he assisted the department in rate review and negotiation process for Affordable Care Act Exchange plans, including liaising with congressional delegations and CMS administrators. Prior to that, Ryan worked as a litigation paralegal for Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia.
Ryan has been a longtime activist in Delaware politics and is a fundraising professional having raised money for among others Hillary Clinton, Phil Murphy, Ralph Northam, and the Delaware Democratic Party. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and received a Hancock Presidential Achievement Scholarship.
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 Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
Comings & Goings
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Calendar: April 10-16
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Man faces first S.C. ‘hate intimidation’ charge
Police mental health struggles gain growing attention
Trump budget would codify expanded global gag rule
Cuba under pressure and without answers
