Transgender Official Joins West Wing

Tue., Aug. 18, 2015

This handout photo provided by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) shows Raffi Freedman-Gurspan in Washington. The White House announced Freedman-Gurspan's appointment Tuesday as an outreach and recruitment director for presidential personnel in the Office of Personnel. Transgender advocates say she is the first openly transgender official to serve in the White House. (National Center for Transgender Equality via AP)

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

The first openly transgender White House official started work Monday in the West Wing, a milestone cheered by transgender rights activists and President Barack Obama’s top aides. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, who was a policy adviser at the National Center for Transgender Equality, was hired by Mr. Obama’s team as the director of outreach and recruitment for the White House personnel office. She started at the White House while Mr. Obama is on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, set to return to Washington on Sunday. Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, said in a statement that Ms. Freedman-Gurspan’s hiring “demonstrates the kind of leadership this administration champions”/ Wall Street Journal . More here.

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