White House Appoints First Openly Transgender Staff Member

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, formerly of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), was appointed as Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Photo: NCTE

In a breakthrough for Transgender rights, the White House announced on Monday that National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) staff member Raffi Freedman-Gurspan had been appointed the new Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. 

“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.

“Raffi’s decade of experience brings important qualities to this historic appointment. She has been a vital part of NCTE focusing on the experiences of transgender people of color and those living in poverty. Her work included advocacy on issues such as improving the conditions for transgender prisoners, addressing biased policing against transgender communities, limiting the use of detention for undocumented transgender immigrants, and finding solutions to address violence against transgender women of color. Her experience and knowledge of how to accomplish policy change, as well as her core commitment to racial and economic justice, has made NCTE’s work better.”

With her new job, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan will oversee the recruitment of qualified candidates for presidentially appointed jobs within the West Wing and throughout the departments of government, essentially serving as a kind of head of human resources and head hunting for the administration.