Sterling Washington is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs.  Sterling holds a B.A. in political science from The George Washington University and a B.Mus. in music history from Howard University.  From 1997 – 1999, he was a presidential appointee in the Clinton White House, serving first as a Special Assistant in the Office of Administration and then as Coordinator of the Information Technology Management Team.  Following his political appointment at The White House, Sterling worked in information technology at the U.S. Department of Labor for several years.  He later served as a Project Coordinator at Octane Public Relations Firm and Special Projects Coordinator at Us Helping Us, People into Living, Inc.  Prior to becoming Director of GLBT Affairs, he was the Resource and Grants Development Manager for the Center for Black Equity (CBE) for 4 ½ years.

Throughout this time, Sterling was active in LGBT rights movement. While enrolled at Howard University, Sterling co-founded the Bisexual, Lesbian, and Gay Organization of Students at Howard (BLAGOSAH) in October 2000.  He was Co-Facilitator of BLAGOSAH during its first year. From 2001 - 2003, Sterling served as the first president of BLAGOSAH (now known as CASCADE) and, in 2004, was made the organization's President Emeritus. Sterling is a former Vice President of the DC Coalition of Black LGBT Men and Women (DCC), the nation’s oldest Black LGBT political organization, and a former board member of both DC Black Pride and Transgender Health Empowerment.  He also served on Mayor Anthony Williams’ LGBT Advisory Committee from 2002-2003 and has been a member of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club for many years.  For his work on behalf of the LGBT community, Sterling has received numerous awards, including: Youth Pride Award (2003); Capital Pride Hero Award (2006); and the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club’s Richard Rausch Award (2010).

In addition to his LGBT activism, Sterling has been engaged on other facets of the community.  He is affiliated with the A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems, having attended several leadership and diversity conferences and serving on staff as an administrator for one.  A classically-trained singer, Sterling is the tenor soloist and section leader at National City Christian Church in Washington, DC.