District of Columbia
SMYAL Fall Brunch to focus on celebration — even in these dark times
‘This is why we fight — this is why we come together’
SMYAL Executive Director Erin Whelan has one goal for this year’s SMYAL Fall Brunch — to center joy.
“Joy is just as important as the pain and the worry in the advocacy,” Whelan told the Washington Blade in an interview.
It’s not that SMYAL’s Fall Brunch, now in its 28th iteration, hasn’t always been a joyful fête. Or that the organization, which has also been around for four decades, doesn’t have much to celebrate.
It’s that during a time when President Donald Trump’s administration is bent on curtailing LGBTQ rights, whether by blocking minors’ access to gender affirming care or prohibiting gender marker changes on IDs, LGBTQ advocates find themselves in an environment in which they have more to worry about than to celebrate.
But Whelan believes it’s still important to applaud the examples of progress even if the progress can sometimes be more individualized than collective.
“There are still stories being told and individuals being impacted in amazing ways by work that’s happening,” Whelan said. “When we think about us as a whole and as a community, [the current political climate] feels heavy. And what is at stake of being lost and [has] already been lost also feels heavy. But those individual stories, those moments of joy that you get to see on youths’ faces that are speaking at the brunch, bring incredible joy.”
“These [are] moments of ‘This is why we fight. This is why we come together,’” she continued.
Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders — otherwise known by the acronym SMYAL — will host its annual Fall Brunch celebrating the youth the organization works with on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 10:30 a.m. at the Marriott Marquis in Washington D.C. The event includes a cocktail reception, silent auction, a three-course brunch, and remarks from local leaders in the LGBTQ community.
This brunch is SMYAL’s premier event, Whelan said, and the organization is expecting about 900 attendees. The brunch also has more than a dozen sponsors including prominent companies in corporate America such as Amazon, KPMG and Verizon. (The Washington Blade is also a sponsor of the event.)
The event will begin with a cocktail reception accompanied by a silent auction, the proceeds of which will benefit SMYAL’s youth advocacy work. Thereafter, guests will sit for brunch and listen to speeches highlighting SMYAL’s accomplishments with LGBTQ youth.
One of the event’s speakers, activist Lily Rood, plans on making a call to action for those in the queer movement to stay interconnected.
“I’m hoping that people will come away with a call to think about what their role in movements for queer and trans life and liberation can look like,” Rood told the Blade in an interview. “It’s going to take a community that cares for another in all the different ways to make thriving possible for the next generation.”
“I want people to see me up there, living as my full self a life of strength and joy as an open, out, proud trans woman and think, ‘What is it going to take? What am I going to do to support the next Lily?’” Rood said
Tickets are available at smyal.org/brunch.
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
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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