Gautam Raghavan, the White House’s LGBT liaison, will leave the Obama administration after more than five years to join the Gill Foundation as vice president of policy.
Raghavan, who is gay, departs the White House after three years. Previously, he served as Deputy White House Liaison for the Department of Defense and as the Outreach Lead for the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Working Group.
“As I make this transition, I find myself more hopeful than ever that big change (yes, the kind we can believe in!) is possible – because I’ve seen it happen,” Raghavan wrote in an email. “This kind of change can sometimes be slow, challenging, and frustrating. But when fierce advocates, unyielding activists, dedicated public servants, and strong allies work together, we can – and will – bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.”
Raghavan’s last day at the White House is Friday. He will join the Gill Foundation on Monday. “I’m looking forward to joining a creative and innovative team dedicated to advancing equality for the LGBT community, nationally and in the states,” he said.
White House spokesperson Shin Inouye provided no timetable for naming Raghavan’s replacement. In the meantime, Monique Dorsainvil will serve in Raghavan’s place. Dorsainvil serves as the Director of Planning and Events for the Office of Public Engagement and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Previously, she served as a staff assistant in the Office of Public Engagement working on the White House Council on Women and Girls and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Outreach.
“We deeply appreciate Gautam’s work with the AAPI and LGBT communities on behalf of the White House Office of Public Engagement and wish him all the best in his next steps,” Inouye told Metro Weekly.
Raghavan’s departure comes after LGBT-rights advocates secured one of their final requests from President Barack Obama earlier this summer. On July 21, Obama signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from LGBT workplace discrimination and protecting transgender federal employees from discrimination, marking the end of a long campaign by LGBT-rights advocates to convince Obama to take such executive actions.
Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride (D-Wilmington) has made history by becoming the first out transgender person elected to Congress.
McBride, best known for her former role as spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, was declared the projected winner by NBC News with 70% of the vote reporting. The Associated Press has not yet called the race, but McBride was leading James Whalen III, a former police officer, by a margin of 58% to 42% for Delaware's sole congressional seat.
A former White House intern during the Obama administration, employee of the Center of American Progress, and board member of Equality Delaware, McBride has been credited as one of several influential activists who successfully lobbied for the passage of Delaware's comprehensive nondiscrimination law protecting the rights of LGBTQ individuals.
They're havin' a gay old time in Bareback, Idaho. Foot stompin', lumber jackin', and high steppin' dance moves are all part of the charm as the townsfolk prepare for Stacey's (Marla Mindelle) wedding. Welcome to The Big Gay Jamboree.
The only problem is that no one in the town quite understands the leading lady and, after a night of heavy drinking, she can't make sense of them either.
Somehow, she's trapped in a time warp with Flora (Natalie Walker), a nymph shunned for her sexual proclivities, Bert (Constanine Rousouli), a sexy serial killer who is coming to terms with his own sexuality, Clarence (Paris Nix), a handsome, African-American man who is tired of being the token black in the story, but who wins Stacey's affection, and an ensemble of townspeople whose squeaky clean, perma-smile demeanors suggest a Peyton Place vibe with jazz hands.
The word of the week at the 2024 HIV Research for Prevention Conference, held last week in Lima, Peru, was "choice."
As in PrEP choice, a driving concern for the more than 1,300 scientists, advocates, community representatives, and policymakers who gathered at the fifth annual HIVR4P conference, organized by the International AIDS Society.
"This is the only global scientific conference focused exclusively on the rapidly evolving field of HIV prevention research," said Dr. Beatriz Grinsztejn, the infectious diseases researcher serving as IAS president, addressing the event's opening press conference.
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