Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

ENROLLED ORIGINAL

                               A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

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                   IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

                                         August 3, 2021

To recognize and honor Sheila Alexander-Reid, Director of the Office of Lesbian, Gay,

       Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Affairs, for her service to the District of

       Columbia and its residents, on the occasion of her departure from her role as Director.

      WHEREAS, in 1981, Sheila Alexander-Reid graduated from Spelman College with a

Bachelor of Arts in English (Mass Communications);

       WHEREAS, Ms. Reid joined the marketing and community outreach staff of the

Washington City Paper in 1987 and helped lead that organization through a period of impressive

growth, including as Director of Strategic Engagement;

        WHEREAS, in the early 1990s, Ms. Reid founded Women in the Life, an organization

that provided a newsletter and then a magazine celebrating the accomplishments of Black

women, produced events centered around Black lesbians, and advocated for social justice;

        WHEREAS, Ms. Reid has served the Districts LGBTQ communities as the host of the

Inside Out radio show, as a Vice President of the organization now known as Capital Stonewall

Democrats, and as publisher of Zoras Journal, a collection of breast cancer memoirs by lesbians

of color;

       WHEREAS, in 2014, Ms. Reid joined the Washington Blade, a longstanding news

organization serving LGBTQ communities in the District of Columbia and nationwide, as Vice

President of Strategic Branding and Digital Initiatives;

       WHEREAS, in January 2015, Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed Ms. Reid as Acting

Director of the District of Columbia Office of LGBTQ Affairs (then known as the Office of

GLBT Affairs), and on April 14, 2015, the Council of the District of Columbia unanimously

confirmed Ms. Reids nomination as Director;

       WHEREAS, the Office of LGBTQ Affairs serves and advocates on behalf of the LGBTQ

population of the District of Columbia, which is proportionally greater than that of any U.S.

state;

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                                                                   ENROLLED ORIGINAL

        WHEREAS, during Ms. Reids tenure as Director, she has built ties across the District

government, overseen the Office of LGBTQ Affairs growth, led the implementation of the

LGBTQ Homeless Youth Reform Amendment Act of 2014, and established the Offices location

in the Frank D. Reeves Center, to increase its accessibility to the community;

       WHEREAS, organizations including the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community and An

Uncommon Legacy Foundation Inc. have honored Ms. Reid for her contributions to the District

of Columbia and its LGBTQ communities; and

       WHEREAS, Ms. Reid has announced her intention to depart the Office to take on the

challenge of promoting diversity and addressing bias in other areas.

        RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this

resolution may be cited as the Sheila Alexander-Reid Recognition Resolution of 2021.

       Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors Sheila Alexander-

Reid for her service to the District of Columbia and its LGBTQ communities.

       Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.

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