Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a
man who transitioned into a woman, as an official in the White house was the
first transgender to be employed in the White house under Obama’s regime.
Abc News reports that the
28-year-old was formally announced as an employee appointed to serve in the
White House. She made history today as she begins her new job today. She is the
new outreach and recruitment director for presidential personnel in the White
House Office of Presidential Personnel, according to the National Center for
Transgender Equality (NCTE).
Describing the new
employee, the White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said she “demonstrates
the kind of leadership this Administration champions. “Her commitment to
bettering the lives of transgender Americans, particularly transgender people
of color and those in poverty, reflects the values of this Administration.”
Freedman-Gurpsan formerly
served as a policy advisor for NCTE’s Racial and Economic Justice Initiative.
President Obama made equality for the LGBT community a priority of his
administration, and advocates are now praising the president for diversifying
his White House. Mara Keisling, executive
director of the National
Center for Transgender Equality, said:
“I am elated that Raffi
Freedman-Gurspan will become the first openly transgender staff member at the
White House. President Obama has long said he wants his Administration to look
like the American people. I have understood this to include transgender
Americans. A transgender person was inevitably going to work in the White
House. That the first transgender appointee is a transgender woman of color is
itself significant. And that the first White House transgender appointee is of
a friend is inspiring to me and to countless others who have been touched by
Raffi’s advocacy.”
Lobatan
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