Gautam Raghavan

Gautam Raghavan is an Indian American political advisor who is the Deputy Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office.[1] Raghavan previously served as the associate director of the Office of Public Liaison in the Obama administration.

Gautam Raghavan
Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel
Assumed office
January 20, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJames Bacon
Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement
In office
October 15, 2011 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byRaul Alvillar
Succeeded byAditi Hardikar
Personal details
BornIndia
Political partyDemocratic
EducationStanford University (BA)

Early life and education

Raghavan was born in India and raised in Seattle, Washington.[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 2004 and attended the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University from 2004 until 2006.

Career

Raghavan served as the associate director of the Office of Public Liaison under President Obama, acting as a liaison to both the LGBT and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities from 2011 to 2014. As the associate director Raghavan facilitated conversation on issues impacting both the LGBT and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, including marriage equality, workplace nondiscrimination, transgender rights, bullying prevention, immigration reform, hate violence, and access to health care.[3] It was during Raghavan's tenure that President Obama spoke out in favor of marriage equality,[4] and later signed an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.[5]

He has also worked for the Progressive Majority, the 2008 Obama campaign, the Democratic National Committee, the Gill Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense as the Outreach Lead for its "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" Working Group.

Outside of government, Raghavan has worked as a consultant for progressive organizations including the Biden Foundation[3] and IMPACT, the Indian American Impact Project & Fund, the latter being an initiative that supports Indian Americans in politics.[6] He was also founding executive director of IMPACT, 2016–18.[7] Raghavan was the editor of West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House, which includes personal accounts by eighteen Obama Administration staffers.[2]

From December 2018 to July 2020, Raghavan was the chief of staff for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.[8] In June 2020, Biden selected Raghavan to serve on his presidential transition team.[9]

Personal life

Raghavan is openly gay. He lives with his husband, Andy, and their daughter in Washington D.C.[2]

References
  1. "Biden Makes More Senior Hires, Including Deputy Chief of Staff". Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  2. "Gautam Raghavan | Penguin Random House". www.penguinrandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  3. "The Biden Foundation Brings on Two Obama White House Experts - Biden FoundationBiden Foundation - A new stage of public service". Biden Foundation. 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  4. Gast, Phil. "Obama announces he supports same-sex marriage". CNN. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  5. "White House LGBT liaison to depart Obama administration - Metro Weekly". www.metroweekly.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  6. "About". Indian American Impact Fund. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  7. "Gautam Raghavan Appointed Chief of Staff to Rep. Pramila Jayapal". Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  8. "Jayapal Announces Gautam Raghavan As Chief of Staff". Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  9. Reporter, India-West Staff. "Biden Names Indian American Gautam Raghavan to Transition Team". India West. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
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