Local
Blade Foundation awards two journalism fellowships
Students to spend 12 weeks learning, reporting
The Blade Foundation, a non-profit that works to educate the next generation of LGBTQ journalists and to fund enterprise projects into queer topics, announced this week it has awarded two $2,000 fellowships to aspiring journalists.
The first is a reporting fellowship focused on topics of interest to the D.C. LGBTQ community funded by a grant from the DC Front Runners Pride Run Foundation, which presented the Foundation with a $2,000 donation at last June’s Pride Run 5K.
The fellowship goes to Michelle Siegel, who is studying multi-platform investigative journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
“I moved to the Washington, D.C. area last year in hope of finding the support system of resources, mentors and fellow LGBTQ journalists that I never had out in rural Michigan, so receiving a Blade Foundation Reporting Fellowship is, quite literally, my dream come true,” Siegel said. “I am grateful to the Blade Foundation and the DC Front Runners for making this opportunity available to me, and I am excited to become a better reporter through working with the Blade.”
“We are thrilled to support the Blade Reporting Fellowship through proceeds from the DC Front Runners Pride Run Foundation. We offer our warmest congratulations to Michelle upon her selection and wish her well as she pursues her journalism studies with this valuable hands-on experience at the Blade Foundation,” said Pride Run Foundation Directors Rob Geremia and Ivan Cheung.
Siegel will start her fellowship in March and work for 12 weeks mentored by Blade staff.
The second fellowship is the Blade Foundation Steve Elkins Memorial Journalism Fellowship, named in honor of Elkins, a journalist and co-founder of the CAMP Rehoboth LGBT community center, who passed away in March 2018. Elkins served as editor of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth in Delaware for many years as well as executive director of the center.
The fellow covers issues of interest to the LGBTQ community of Delaware for 12 weeks during the summer months. Topics include coverage of legislative and political issues out of Dover; LGBTQ business issues in Wilmington; the summer beach season in Rehoboth and more. Stories are published in the Washington Blade online and print editions. The fellowship is funded by Rehoboth community donations at an annual summer kickoff event in May. This year’s event is slated for May 15. Details to come soon.
The Elkins Memorial fellowship goes to Joshua Keller, a student at Washington University in St. Louis and native of Northern Virginia. His fellowship will commence in late May.
“I feel so honored to receive the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship,” Keller said. “I look forward to working with the Blade and Delaware’s LGBTQ community.”
“I can only imagine how excited Steve would be to know the Fellowship named in his honor will continue to support young journalists,” said Murray Archibald, Elkins’s husband and co-founder of CAMP Rehoboth. “I look forward to congratulating Joshua in person, and sharing with him a little of Steve’s passion for his life’s work.”
Kevin Naff, executive director of the Blade Foundation, congratulated the students and thanked donors.
“First, congratulations to Michelle and Joshua, we look forward to seeing what they can do this spring in highlighting the stories of our community,” Naff said. “And thank you to everyone at Front Runners for donating to the Blade Foundation and thanks to the generous LGBTQ community in Rehoboth Beach for opening their wallets to fund this important work.”
To donate to the Blade Foundation, please visit bladefoundation.org.
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/
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