Taylor Leanne Chandler, who has been a member of the Capital Pride Alliance board of directors since 2019 and most recently served as the board’s secretary, submitted her resignation on February 24, citing the board’s failure to address instances of “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization.
The Washington Blade received a copy of Chandler’s resignation from an anonymous source the day after he submitted it. Chandler, who identifies as transgender and intersex, said in an interview that he did not send the letter to the Blade, but that he suspected officials at Capital Pride, which organizes the annual LGBTQ Pride event in Washington, D.C., “wanted to make this letter public.”
“It is with heavy hearts that I make it clear that I am immediately submitting my resignation from the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors,” Chandler said in the letter. “I have dedicated almost 10 years of my life to this organization,” she wrote, noting that she first became involved as a volunteer and then as an event producer as chair of the organization’s transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex committee.
“Capital Pride once had deep meaning to me: a space of safety, visibility, and community for people who were often denied all three,” her letter continues. “That’s no longer the organization I’m a part of today.”
“I, along with other board members, have raised credible concerns about sexual misconduct (a long-standing pattern of behavior) with this board,” Chandler said in the letter. “What happened next was not accountability. What happened next was retaliation. Rather than address what was reported, the officer and his fellow officers chose to discipline those of us who came forward.”
The letter added: “Through its actions, this committee has made its priorities clear: protecting sexual predators is more important than protecting those who have had the courage to come forward. … I have been targeted, bullied, and made to feel like an outsider for doing what any honest person would do: tell the truth.”
In response to a request for comment from the Blade, Capital Pride board chair Anna Jinkerson sent a statement to the Blade praising Taylor Chandler’s efforts as a Capital Pride volunteer and board member, but did not specifically address the issue of sexual misconduct allegations.
“I am also aware that her resignation letter has been shared with the media and lists her concerns,” Jinkerson said in a statement. “If a concern is brought to the CPA, we will act and address it quickly and appropriately,” she said.
“As we continue to grow our organization, we are proactively enhancing the policies and procedures that shape our systems, infrastructure, and support we provide to our teams and partners,” Jinkerson said in a statement. “We are doing this because the community’s experience with CPA must always be safe, positive, empowering and inclusive,” she added.
In an interview with the Blade, Chandler said he was not the subject of any sexual harassment allegations.
He said Capital Pride’s investigation identified an individual engaging in a “pattern” of sexual harassment-related behavior over a period of time. But she said she is bound by a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that applies to all board members and cannot reveal the names of those involved in the alleged sexual misconduct or those who complained about it.
“It was one individual, but there was a pattern and a history,” Chandler said, noting that’s about as much as she could uncover.
“And I say this,” she added. “In my opinion, the tactile emotionality that sometimes happens in gay culture is just part of the culture and doesn’t necessarily equate to something like sexual assault. But at the same time, if someone doesn’t want that advances and they say no and try to push you away or try to avoid you, that’s what happens regardless of culture.”
When asked when the sexual harassment allegations first surfaced, Chandler said, “Over the past year, one person came forward with an accusation. But as all of this was going on, other people came forward and discussed cases, and some of them showed a pattern.”
Chandler’s resignation comes about five months after Capital Pride Alliance announced in an October 2025 statement that then-board president Ashley Smith resigned on Oct. 18 after Capital Pride became aware of “allegations” about Smith. The group hired an independent firm to investigate the matter, according to a statement, but no further details have been released since then. Mr. Smith declined to comment on the matter.
Asked by the Blade whether Smith’s resignation was in any way connected to the sexual misconduct allegations, Chandler said: “I can’t comment on that one way or the other.”
Chandler’s resignation and allegations come after the Capital Pride Alliance was found to have played a leading role in organizing the D.C.-sponsored World Pride Celebration, which hosted dozens of LGBTQ-related Pride events from May to June 2025.
The resignation also came days before Capital Pride Alliance’s annual Reveal event, scheduled for February 26th at the Hamilton Hotel. At the event, the theme for DC’s June 2026 LGBTQ Pride event was to be announced, along with other Pride plans.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
