Raffi Freedman-Gurspan has been hired by the White House as its outreach and recruitment director for presidential personnel in the Office of Personnel, making her the first out transgender official hired by this administration or any other.
Her background is impressive: "Freedman-Gurspan previously worked as the policy adviser for the racial and justice initiative at the National Center for Transgender Equality. She also served as the legislative director to state Rep. Carl M. Sciortino Jr. in Boston, the LGBT liaison for the city of Somerville, Massachusetts, and as a legislative and policy staffer at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition."
[Content Note: Trans silencing] It wasn't so long ago that the President was interrupted during an LGBTQ event at the White House by trans immigration activist Jennicet Gutiérrez, who was shushed by the room and dismissed by the President.
The (justifiably) cynical view will be that the White House was looking for some good PR after that event, but I'm going to remain optimistic and hope that hiring the evidently talented Freedman-Gurspan in a key role signals a new willingness on the part of the White House to listen to trans voices.
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