White House appoints first trans person as LGBT liaison
The White House has named Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a transgender woman, as its primary liaison for LGBT issues.
Freedman-Gurspan, who became the first openly transgender White House staff member last year, will be the first out trans person to serve as the White House's LGBT liaison. In August, Freedman-Gurspan was named outreach and recruitment director in the presidential personnel office.
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Freedman-Gurspan previously served as a policy adviser for the National Center for Transgender Equality. She led the nonprofit organization's racial and economic justice initiative, which focuses on low-income and transgender people of color.
Leading LGBT advocates cheered Freedman-Gurspan's appointment.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, called the selection a "great choice."
"President Obama has said he wants his administration to look like America, and they have moved to include trans Americans," Keisling said in a statement. "Raffi's skills and personality make her the exact right person for this important job."
JoDee Winterhof, the senior vice president for policy and political affairs for the Human Rights Campaign, also supported her appointment in a statement.
“We believe it is a tremendous decision by the White House to recognize Raffi’s leadership as well as the importance of having transgender leadership in an important role for the community,” he said.
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Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
