Governor Ralph Northam on Friday announced his appointment of Evelyn BruMar, founder and executive director of Casa BruMar Foundation, to the newly-established Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. 

BruMar, a local activist and advocate, has been active in Prince William County and across the Commonwealth of Virginia for years. In 2019, BruMar founded the Casa BruMar Foundation with the mission “To bridge the gap that leaves the LGBTQ+ community behind when it comes to equality that is equitable in education, social services, and human dignity in the Commonwealth of Virginia and in Prince William County.” 

“Since I can remember, many of us in the LGBTQ+ community have been paving our own paths by candlelight while trying to help others in the queer community who can see the dim light of hope,” BruMar told PW Perspective. “The more we gathered stray dim candles the stronger the light became. LGBTQ+ inclusive progress has been made, queer people just became a protected class, and now with the newly created Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, we can be a foundational beacon of change, instead of the random candlelight of hope.”

According to the Board’s description online, it will be charged to: “1. Advise the Governor regarding the development of economic, professional, cultural, educational, and governmental links between the Commonwealth and the LGBTQ+ community in Virginia. 2. Undertake studies, sponsor symposiums, conduct research, and prepare factual reports in order to gather information to formulate and present recommendations to the Governor relating to issues of concern and importance to the LGBTQ+ community in the Commonwealth. 3. Advise the Governor as needed regarding any statutory, regulatory, or other issues of importance to the LGBTQ+ community in the Commonwealth. 4. Apply for, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from public, quasi-public, or private sources, including any matching funds as may be designated in an appropriation act, to enable it to better carry out its objectives. 5. Submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly for publication as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports.”

The Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board is one of many advisory boards and committees established in the Commonwealth in order to assist the governor with leading Virginia forward. The responsibilities and powers of these boards vary depending on the topics they address. 

“I personally am incredibly honored to be appointed to this advisory board. It will make the work I do with Casa BruMar Foundation more efficient. All these individual LGBTQ+ centers and organizations in Virginia can now collaborate more efficiently, support each other, and share resources. We can (the community and organizations) effect inclusive change through the Commonwealth instead of one city, town, school board, or county at a time. It means that police, jails, courts, hospitals, first responders, and teachers will have standardized LGBTQ+ inclusive training. It means that the young disowned lesbian homeless youth I once was, can rest, knowing that her survival and perseverance is now bearing fruit. “

The Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board was created by a bill introduced by Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-49) during the 2021 legislative session. The foundation of this Board is one of many moves the Commonwealth of Virginia has made in the past year to become a more welcoming place for the LGBTQ+ community. In April of 2020, Northam signed the Virginia Values Act, making Virginia the first Southern state to implement protections for the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier this year, Virginia became the twelfth state in the country to ban the “gay panic defense”. 

These sweeping changes represent a shift in the Commonwealth and the nation as we begin to address the indignities of the past.