The Wanda Alston Foundation, which operates the Wanda Alston House providing housing and support services for homeless and at-risk LGBT youth in the District, announced Tuesday evening that the foundation has put in place additional controls to prevent misuse of funds following the revelation that a staff member, since removed, used funds for personal use.
According to a statement released by the foundation that was sent to the donors and media, the foundation's board of directors asked an external accountant to conduct a review of all accounts. That accountant determined that no government funds had been misused. The foundation also apologized for the misuse of funds and offered assurance that problem had been resolved.
Christopher Dyer, a member of the foundation's board of directors, told Metro Weekly that the foundation had also reached out to donors via phone to inform them and reassure them of the importance of their support.
The board of directors has added additional safeguards to prevent a similar breach in the future, to include requiring that all disbursements be made by check, and increasing restrictions for direct withdrawal of foundation funds.
''The board moved swiftly to address the misuse of funds, and is confident that the strict financial controls that have been instituted in its wake will prevent any future issue of this type,'' the board said in its letter to donors. ''The Foundation is a young organization. As it finds increasingly secure footing, its accountability to you, our donors, is paramount.''
Although the statement did not directly name the staff member in question, the statement follows an abrupt announcement in mid-March that named Pettigrew the interim executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation and announced the sudden departure of Brian Watson, the former executive director, who left ''to pursue other activities,'' according to a press release announcing Pettigrew's appointment.
''Once the funds were discovered missing, the staff member immediately resigned and has agreed to a repayment plan,'' the board's letter reads.
Watson was a former employee of the transgender service agency Transgender Health Empowerment (THE), which shut its doors last year after the organization filed for bankruptcy as a result of mismanagement, failure to pay federal employee payroll taxes, and failure to pay employees for hours worked. According to bankruptcy-filing documents, Watson is among several creditors owed thousands of dollars in unpaid wages by THE. Watson was also among the first class of Metro Weekly Next Generation awardees, in 2009.
Attempts to reach Watson for comment were unsuccessful.
...moreThink you know what to expect at a typical awards dinner? Great, but that's not what you'll find when the Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (aka the Chamber) celebrates its 24th anniversary and honors a diverse group of local business and community leaders at its Annual Awards Dinner and Gala on Friday, April 25, at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel.
Chamber Vice President Katie McElroy, owner of the event-planning company Katie Rose LLC, says this year's event has been redesigned with more entertainment under a new theme: Indulge in Business Excellence.
Max Major
"We are really excited to be the organization that acknowledges and commends businesses and leaders within the local LGBTA community, and we are honored and humbled by this responsibility," says McElroy. "The Chamber has created this event to break the mold and elevate the Annual Awards Dinner beyond the typical D.C. gala that can feel sterile and routine. We want to treat our nominees and the community to an evening of opulence and grandeur that will indulge all your senses."
Guests will be charmed, delighted, wooed and astounded by the entertainers participating in this year's gala, where awards are given out in several categories: Excellence in Business, Business Leadership, Emerging Entrepreneur, Corporate Partner, and the Volunteer of the Year Award. More information is available about this year's nominees online at caglcc.org.
As part of this year's exciting changes to the event's programming, honorees will be announced at the dinner during a special awards presentation by this year's master of ceremonies, magician Max Major. Twice voted D.C.'s "Best Performance Artist" by readers of the Washington City Paper and voted "DC's Hottest Bachelor" by Inside Edition, Major will use a combination of magic, psychology and charm to entertain attendees while he pulls the award winners "out of the hat" of nominees in each category.
Entertainment will also be provided by the Rorschach Theatre, acclaimed for its fierce performance style and its bold use of theatrical space. The company will delight guests with its interactive, rococo-themed, in-costume and in-character performances throughout the evening.
"We are very grateful to have been part of such a warm and supportive community in Washington for the last 14 years, so we always love the opportunity to give back," says Rorschach's co-artistic director, Jenny McConnell Frederick. "Collaborations like these are essential in ensuring a really vibrant commerce ecology of our city -- and we know it's going to be a blast!"
Also performing will be singer Darsha Davis, who will treat attendees to an intimate set of soulful contemporary classics. "The opportunity to celebrate this year's award candidates and 'movers and shakers' in our area is awesome," says Davis.
The event will also feature the Royal Auction, sponsored by Malvin, Riggins and Company P.C. The auction consists of luxury items ranging from high-end clothing and accessories to special edition artwork. Some of this year's auction items include a TAG Heuer men's watch, donated by Tiny Jewel Box, and a DeLonghi Nespresso espresso maker, donated by Bloomingdale's. This year, the Chamber offers the opportunity to bid online prior to the dinner, including "Buy Now" prices. For more information about the auction, visit the Chamber's website.
Beyond the entertainment and Royal Auction, the value in attending the gala is the opportunity for networking. As described by Silvia Tergas, dinner co-chair and Chamber board member: "You can make new connections, meet a lot of decision makers, and build relationships. This is a fantastic business opportunity, wrapped in an evening of fun."
The Chamber's Annual Awards Dinner and Gala is Friday, April 25, at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets, starting at $210, and sponsorships are available on the Chamber's website.
The Chamber Means Business. For more information visit caglcc.org or facebook.com/CAGLCC. On Twitter, follow @DCLGBTBIZ
Robert E. McLean, a CAGLCC member, owns REM Association Services, a full-service association management company in Arlington.
...moreAn ideal evening at the theater for precocious high schoolers and the politically curious, Lawrence Wright's Camp David is a primer on President Jimmy Carter's brokering of an uneasy peace in the Mideast conflict as it stood in 1978. Written with mild humor, a certain passion and a storyteller's talent, this lesson in the vital and complex problems of this political and religious morass slips down with the ease of a geopolitical gel cap.
Though it may not be overflowing with edge or insight, it's still no mean feat considering Lawrence covers not only the crisis as it stood then (both for the Mideast and Carter's presidency), but also the contemporary and ancient history that led to it and a generous dose of the personal histories of the key players.
Camp David: Khaled Nabawy as Anwar Sadat, Richard Thomas as Jimmy Carter and Ron Rifkin as Menachem Begin
(Photo by Teresa Wood)
Of course some hearing this will rightly wonder whether this ambition invites preachiness or over-simplification. Well, the answer falls somewhere between, "You can't please all of the people all of the time," and "Yes."
There is no doubt that for some audience members -- the grey-haired, news-junkie, jaded Beltway-insider types in particular -- Lawrence's potted takes on the posturing and negotiations will all seem a little too contrived and sanitized. These are the same folk who may find the frequent injections of personal anecdote -- each with a painfully obvious subtext -- tiresome, if necessary. Thus, although Lawrence works hard to mitigate the simplifications by inserting contradictions, and somewhat tempers the educational narrative with humor, his goal won't work for everyone. Especially not for those who like their theatrical politics to operate on the plane of, say, Frost/Nixon.
But for anyone who wants a very palatable and reasonably frank discussion of the barriers to compromise in the Mideast (still very much in existence today) or simply a trip down a particularly interesting memory lane, this piece will serve and compel.
And however you view the vehicle, the cast makes a strong go of it with Richard Thomas delivering a Jimmy Carter that smartly never goes overboard into a political impression. Sporting an accent that only nods toward Carter's thick Georgian drawl, Thomas avoids caricature by trying instead to describe a more universal man; one with a lot of power but few answers. He is confident, tortured, driven, proud and very human. If his dissimilarity to Carter distracts, think of him as less of a portrait of the man and more as Lawrence's take on what it took. Although some will want more, most will agree that the architecture is intact.
Matters are a little more complex when it comes to Lawrence's rendering of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, the two leaders who come to the seclusion of the presidential retreat (Camp David), to consider negotiating a peace. Since any student of political history will know how the story ends, this is really about what may or may not have happened as these great men collided and wrangled on behalf of their people. Both had much to gain and much to lose. But with no media allowed, their negotiations were off-stage -- at least until any agreement was reached.
Unfortunately, in the writing of these two, Lawrence's urge to educate looms large and thus, by necessity, the characters become far too obvious. In ways that are less than subtle, we learn that both men were the products of difficult lives and deep cultural traditions that informed their attitudes toward compromise with one another. Though the racism is delivered in careful (often humorous) context and the personal anecdotes are sometimes informative, it is all a bit too color-by-numbers. Hence the initial thought that this play will work well for the educated young, if not the politically initiated.
Still, as Begin, Ron Rifkin confirms his theater chops with a nicely pitched interpretation of Lawrence's not overly subtle characterization. Rifkin starts with a credible accent and goes on to layer his Begin with a passion, fear and defiance that goes a long way to color the intractable man Lawrence offers. It is Rifkin's consistent and well-drawn picture of the person behind Begin's immovable position that makes his 11th-hour compromise all the more affecting. Who knows if it really went down that way? It captures the impossible distance between sovereign necessity and human frailty, whatever the nation, whomever the victims of conflict.
A charismatic presence, Khaled Nabawy's Sadat exudes statesmanship and a kind of quirky self-possession. It would have given him an even more enduring and intriguing authenticity if director Molly Smith had opted for a lower volume and Lawrence had injected a bit more complexity.
Rounding out the quartet is Jimmy Carter's wife, Rosalynn, who comes and goes like a wry commentator on the proceedings. Though she delivers some of the better comedy and Hallie Foote gives her an utterly memorable demeanor, her smug positioning as an unassailably all-American, all-wise wife and peace-broker is a toe-curler. It makes a play that might have been global, local, and turns a profound conundrum into an afterschool special.
Still, it's a subject well worthy of a revisit and so consider compromising your own expectations and negotiate your way to an evening of history and politics.
Camp David (
) runs to May 4 in Arena Stage's Kreeger Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Tickets are $65 to $110. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.
Following a January confrontation with a staff member, a transgender teenager has been moved from DCF custody to an adult prison despite not being charged.
After a three-judge panel heard arguments in the federal case challenging Utah's ban on marriage equality this morning, court observers expect the ruling to come down in favor of the freedom to marry.
The lawyer representing Utah's governor now says the discredited, antigay parenting study from Mark Regnerus has 'very little relevance' to the state's defense of its constitutional ban on marriage equality.
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