Press Release

Holiday Closure

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Holiday Closing. Information about our holiday schedule below.

We would like to inform our community members that The DC Center will be closed from December 25, 2019 and reopens on January 2, 2020. We are closed to let staff members spend time with their loved ones. Any meetings/events scheduled for those days are cancelled.

We recognize that many of us in the LGBTQ community struggle during the holidays. We hope that while we are away, you can connect with loved ones for support. If you are having an emergency, please see these options for support:

LGBTQ National Help Center: 888-843-4564  www.glbthotline.org  (all ages – various lines/hours)
Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
LGBTQ under 25: Trevor Lifeline: 866-488-7386  
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
DC Mobile Crisis: 202-673-9300

Maryland Mobile Crisis: 240-777-4000

 

We wish everyone good holidays and a good start to 2020!
~ The DC Center for the LGBT Community

Statement from the DC Center Board of Directors

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Update 11/3/19:

 

 

The DC Center Board of Directors have released the following statement on the search for a new Executive Director.

 

 

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback on our search for a new Executive Director. Because community input is a crucial part of this process, we are launching a survey to get additional feedback from all of you. We would really appreciate your participation in this survey, as we will use the results to inform the selection criteria and interview questions for Executive Director candidates. Please share with your friends and across your networks. We would like to hear from as many members of the community as possible.

 

The job description for the Executive Director is posted here. We look forward to receiving your applications and encourage you to share the job posting widely!

 

To apply, please submit a brief cover letter, including salary expectations, résumé, and references as attachments via e-mail to:  careers@lgbtcenters.orgwith Subject Line:  DC Center ED Search

 

If you have any questions or comments please fill out our survey or contact the Board of Directors at jobs@thedccenter.org.

 

Update 9/10/19:

 

The DC Center Board of Directors have released the following statement on the search for a new Executive Director.

 

We are currently interviewing candidates for the Interim Executive Director position and we are also very excited to embark on the next stage in the DC Center’s history. Choosing an Executive Director who will lead us into the future, helping the Center and our community to grow and flourish, is an important task — one that we do not take lightly. For this reason, we have engaged CenterLink to assist in managing the search process.

CenterLink is an organization, founded more than twenty years ago, that supports the development of strong, sustainable LGBT community centers. The DC Center has been a member of CenterLink for many years, our Board members and staff have attended their conferences, and we have long found their resources to be very helpful. CenterLink has significant experience assisting with recruiting leaders for LGBT centers, and we are certain that they will be an invaluable asset as we begin our search.

Please send any comments or questions on the process to jobs@thedccenter.org.

8/27/19

 

The DC Center Board of Directors have released the following statement on the departure of David Mariner as Executive Director.

 

David has worked incredibly hard on behalf of the DC LGBT community and specifically The DC Center for over a decade and we will always be grateful for the blood, sweat, and tears he has poured into the Center to get it to where it is today. He has been a strong leader and activist for LGBTQ rights in the DC community and has demonstrated unwavering dedication to ensuring  our community receives the support and resources needed to thrive. His hard work has laid an incredible foundation for us to build upon. We look forward to seeing him continue to do amazing things at Camp Rehoboth and we wish him the best of luck in all of his endeavors. We know he will continue to be a strong advocate for our fight for equality.

We are looking forward to leading the DC Center for the LGBT Community as we embark on this new chapter in its history. We understand the importance of the perspective the wider community can offer in our search for the next Executive Director of the Center and welcome your ideas and suggestions as we begin the selection process. Please reach out to jobs@thedccenter.org to share your thoughts with us!

The DC Center Board of Directors

Saying Goodbye to the DC Center for the LGBT Community

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David Mariner

Dear Friends

In 1999, the Cherry Fund and Whitman Walker Clinic formed an Ad Hoc Committee to create an LGBT Community Center in the District. That vision became a reality when theDC Center for the LGBT Community was incorporated in 2004 with signatories Patrick Menasco, Jeff Englar, Larry Stansbury, and Ed Craft.

As we celebrate our 15th Anniversary this year, I hope we all take time to celebrate the many visionary board members, staff, volunteers, and community partners who have brought us to this point, including our past board chairs Michael Sessa and Michael Fowler, and our current board co-chairs Rehana Mohammed and Jonathan Gilad.

2019 also marks my 11th and final year at the DC Center.   September 30th will be my last day serving as Executive Director of this remarkable organization.  While I look forward to the opportunities in my future, the DC Center will always hold a very special place in my heart.

I will spend my remaining time here assuring a smooth and strategic transition.   2020 will be a year of growth for the DC Center with a significant increase in grant funding. This includes a groundbreaking grant from DC Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL).   This grant, which will help us better serve older LGBTQ adults, is the first grant ever given by DACL to an LGBT organization.

I am grateful to be able to leave the DC Center in the hands of very capable board members and staff,   It is the right time to make way for new leadership, ideas, and vision.   I look forward to seeing where we go from here.

Please make plans to join me at the DC Center Fall Reception on Friday September 13th at the Warner Building celebrate our 15th Anniversary.   Purchase your tickets now at: thedccenter.org/events/fifteen

Best Regards,

David Mariner

Letter from Rainbow Caucus of LGBTQ Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners

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The Rainbow Caucus of LGBTQ Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners submitted a letter on June 19 the Chairman Phil Mendelson. You can read the text of the letter copied below, or view the entire letter in its original format at the following link: RainbowCaucusLetter.pdf

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The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004

Via E-mail

19 June 2019

Dear Chairman Mendelson:
We write as DC’s highest-ranking LGBTQ elected officials charged with ensuring the best interest of the District of Columbia as a whole. While the DC Council contains many self-
professed LGBTQ allies, we have not had true representation on the Council since Councilmembers Catania and Graham left office. The Council’s silence on hate crimes and
transgender violence, its refusal to provide even $1 in increased funding for the Office of
Human Rights and Office of LGBTQ Affairs that 15 organizations advocated for, its failure
to address anti-LGBTQ discrimination and violence, and its lack of action to ensure that we
have safe and respectful housing and job opportunities for LGBTQ people of all ages – and
in particular trans women of color – deeply concerns and disgusts us.

We learned long ago that Silence = Death … and your silence and inaction is killing
members of our community or placing them in harm’s ways and hospital emergency rooms. We will not be complacent, we will not be silent, and we will hold every single
Councilmember accountable for their failures – both now and during election time.

LGBTQ people are suffering when they walk down the street, they are targets, and they are
dying from preventable causes. Recent instances include the brutal murders of Ashanti
Carmon and Zoe Spears – both transgender woman of color, the violent attack on Carl
Craven and Braden Brech outside of Nellie’s on U Street, NW, on June 16th, and three
people stabbed inside the Fireplace on P Street, NW, also on June 16th. Sadly, violence like
this is all too common in our community, and it is happening on your watch.

Furthermore, the Council continues to fail in its oversight role. There is institutional
disrespect and homophobia/transphobia throughout our District government agencies,
particularly toward transgender people. Yet you do nothing. Your silence condones this
discrimination.

Words of friendship and support no longer ring true. Both as elected officials and your
constituents, we call on you to act now. Money talks, and we need to hear a mighty roar
from the Council by securing a minimum of $5M in funding for the programs and agencies
that support our community and make us safe.

We look forward to your response and are committed to rolling up our sleeves to work
together until every last one of us can walk down the street in safety and dignity.

Kent C. Boese
Commissioner, 1A08
Chair, ANC1A

Michael Wray
Commissioner, 1A09

Jason Clock
Commissioner, 1A12

James Turner
Commissioner, 1B09
Chair,ANC1B

Robb Hudson
Commissioner, 1B11

Ted Guthrie
Commissioner, 1C03
Chair,ANC1C

Birdget Pooley
Commissioner, 1C02

Japer Bowles
Commissioner, 1C07

Matthew Sampson
Commissioner, 2B01

Randy Downs
Commissioner, 2B05

Mike Silvertein
Commissioner, 2B06

Michael. D Shankle
Commissioner, 2C01

John Fanning
Commissioner, 2F04
Chair, ANC2F

Monika Nameth
Commissioner, 3F06

Madeleine Stirling
Commissioner-elect, 2F05

Councilmember Robert White’s Statement on Violence Against the LGBTQ Community

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Councilmember Robert White has released a Statement on Violence Against the LGBTQ Community. You may read the statement, copied below, which was originally released on June 21, 2019.

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The recent spate of attacks against LGBTQ members of our community is part of a pattern of violence in our city and around the country, and it has to stop. We cannot and will not tolerate hate crimes such as these in the District of Columbia. No one should endure the terror of being targeted and attacked for being who they are. I want my LGBTQ neighbors to know that I see you, I hear you, I support you, and I am deeply troubled and disturbed by these attacks.

On March 30, I was saddened to hear of Ashanti Carmon’s still unsolved murder. And on June 13, I was stunned to hear that her friend, Zoe Spears, was also shot and killed just blocks away. I know the DC transgender community is reeling from these losses. Yet, even at the LGBTQ community center Casa Ruby, where they should feel safest, transgender women were recently threatened by a man with a gun.

In 2019, ten transgender women have been violently killed in the United States; all were African-American. Fatal violence against transgender women of color is a national issue and having two of these horrific deaths in our own backyard is an outrage. Transgender women experience clear anti-transgender bias, and their transgender status often puts them at risk in other ways. They experience discrimination in the workplace, when they look for housing, and even when trying to access government services. This sometimes forces them into unemployment, homelessness, or survival sex work, all of which puts them at greater risk of violence.

LGBTQ individuals continue to face discrimination and harassment in public spaces both in DC and across the country. Just a few days ago, Karl Craven and Braden Brecht were attacked on U Street by men using a homophobic slur. DC is, and should always be, a welcoming community. It is our responsibility to address and denounce all hate crimes.

We have not done enough to protect and support LGBTQ residents in the District. I plan to work with the Mayor, my colleagues on the Council of the District of Columbia, government agencies, and LGBTQ organizations and individuals to address LGBTQ access to basic needs and services such as safe housing and mental health. I will work with the rest of the Council to release a statement of no tolerance for violence against transwomen and sex workers. I also will introduce legislation to create a platform for transwomen of color to shape the policies and programs that they believe they need to improve both health and safety. And I will work with the Council to hold a roundtable with government agencies and community organizations that work with transgender women to discuss how we as a city can better serve them.

I am sending letters to Mayor Muriel Bowser and to Chairman Phil Mendelson to ask for their support and assistance in addressing these issues. We can do better to protect marginalized communities. I ask the Mayor, the Council, and the District as a whole to join me as I learn about the issues and fears LGBTQ members of our community face and to take action to improve their safety and overall well-being.

# # #

 

Welcome to the DC Center’s New Board

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the DC Center 2019 Board of Directors

The DC Center Board Announces New Co-Chairs, New Members


CONTACT INFORMATION:
The DC Center for the LGBT Community
Rebecca Bauer, Chief Communications Officer
202-682-2245
rebecca@thedccenter.org

RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2019
THE DC CENTER BOARD ANNOUNCES NEW CO-CHAIRS, NEW MEMBERS

Jonathan Gilad & Rehana Mohammed to lead the DC Center as Co-Chairs

[WASHINGTON, DC, February 1] — Jonathan Gilad and Rehana Mohammed begin as the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s first Board co-chairs. Rehana, a Muslim bisexual woman, and Jonathan, a Jewish gay man are proud that the co-chair model enables diversity at the organization’s highest level of leadership.

Jonathan and Rehana succeed Michael Fowler, who has served as the DC Center Board Chair for the last five years. Executive Director, David Mariner shared, “I am grateful for the many years of service Michael Fowler has given our community, both as a board member and board chair.  We are fortunate that Michael will remain on the board this year to assure a smooth transition while welcoming new ideas and energy. The DC Center and our community is lucky to have Rehana, Jonathan, and our entire leadership team.”

Jonathan Gilad joined the DC Center Board of Directors in December of 2016 and was elected Chief Communications Officer. While on the Board, Jonathan has revitalized programs for the DC Center, including the annual Gay Day At The Zoo, and event which quickly became one the Centers’ signature fundraisers. Prior to his work with the DC Center, Gilad was active in the Washington DC Jewish LGBTQ community, serving as the Chair of Nice Jewish Boys DC (NJB), a social group that serves GBTQ men in their 20’s and 30’s. He also served on the Programing Committee of the Washington DC JCC’s Kurlander Program for LGBTQ Engagement. Jonathan is a communications and advocacy professional, currently working at MCI-USA, where he is a Senior Programming and Communications Manager. He has a master’s degree from the George Washington University Graduate of Political Management, where he focused on digital advocacy. Jonathan moved to DC after completing his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2008 from Queens College, City University of New York.

Rehana Mohammed is a passionate leader and management professional with a background in public policy.  She has served on the DC Center Board of Directors since June 2018 and was elected Secretary in August 2018. Prior to joining the Board, Rehana was a 2017 Victory Empowerment Fellow with the LGBTQ Victory Institute. Rehana is Director of Program Development at the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) where she oversees change management, data analysis, and outreach for the Rural Health Care program. Previously, she was a Presidential Management Fellow at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).  She has a MS in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She is originally from Takoma Park, MD and currently lives in Washington, DC with her wife and two cats.

In addition to the leadership transition, the Board welcomed two new members, Tiera Craig and Luke Scuitto. Tiera Craig, a Detroit native, is an experienced LGBT activist, advocate, and change agent with a passion for LGBT veterans. A United States Army Disabled Combat Veteran, she currently works at the Department of Veterans Affairs. For more than 15 years, Tiera has volunteered with several organizations serving on boards and committees including Equality Michigan, Motor City Pride, National Black Justice Coalition, Harlem Pride, and LOCS Network. Tiera is also a founding member of The Garden Collective, serving as the Board Vice President. Luke Scuitto is the Development Associate for the Council on Foundations. Luke is a part of Council on Foundations’ DEI Advisory Group, which executes a series of internal and external events, policies, and procedures in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion space. Prior to joining the Council, Luke was the Senior Class Gift Coordinator at the George Washington University for the Class of 2018 and worked as a Development Intern at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. He is excited to return to the DC Center as a Board Member.

 

To learn more about the DC Center for the LGBT Community, visit www.thedccenter.org