White House appoints first openly transgender official
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a transgender woman, has been appointed the Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
The appointment makes Freedman-Gurspan the first openly transgender person in history to serve in the White House.
"Raffi Freedman-Gurspan demonstrates the kind of leadership this Administration champions," declared Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama, in a statement. "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-Gurspan previously served as a policy adviser to the Racial and Economic Justice Initiative at the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).
Mara Kiesling, the executive director of NCTE, said she was "elated" about the appointment in a statement.
"President Obama has long said he wants his Administration to look like the American people. I have understood this to include transgender Americans," said Kiesling. "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."