Aditi Hardikar is an American public official serving as the deputy chief of staff to

Janet Yellen Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. She previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Yellen is t ...

, the

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

since 2022. She was the associate director of public engagement in the White House Office of Public Engagement and the primary liaison to the LGBTQ and AAPI communities during the second term of the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

Life

Hardikar is the daughter of immigrants from India. She earned a B.A. in economics and political science from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Hardikar helped lead LGBTQ fundraising and outreach efforts on the

Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign The 2012 presidential campaign of Barack Obama began on April 4, 2011, when Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president On September 5, 2012, he again became the nominee of the ...

. She led fundraising and strategy efforts as the director of the AAPI leadership council and director of the LGBT leadership council for the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. During the second term of the

presidency of Barack Obama Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican n ...

, Hardikar succeeded

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

as the associate director of public engagement in the White House Office of Public Engagement, serving as the primary liaison to the LGBTQ and AAPI communities for issues including economic opportunity, health care, transgender rights, data collection, and youth homelessness. She was the first woman of color to serve in those roles. Rainbow colors lit up the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

on the evening of June 26, 2015, in celebration of the ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection ...

''. Hardikar and Jeff Tiller, two White House staffers, first came up with the idea to light up the White House with rainbow colors. In 2016, Hardikar stepped down to serve as the coalitions finance director for the

Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign The 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton was announced in a YouTube video, on April 12, 2015. Hillary Clinton was the 67th United States Secretary of State and served during the first term of the Obama administration, 2009 to 2013. ...

. Hardikar spent three years at the

Obama Foundation The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance (a program Barack Obama began while he was president), ...

, first as chief of staff with a focus on strategic planning and organizational growth, and then as the acting vice president for operations on the development team, overseeing data and analytics, communications, and research. She served as the leadership and training lead for the presidential transition of Joe Biden. In January 2021, Hardikar joined the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

. She was a senior advisor to

Wally Adeyemo Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo (born May 20, 1981) is a Nigerian-American government official serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, United States deputy secretary of the treasury. He was the first president of the Obama Foundation and also se ...

, the U.S. deputy secretary of the treasury. In 2022, Hardikar succeeded Alfred Johnson as the deputy chief of staff to

, the

U.S. secretary of the treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

. Hardikar is a member of the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardikar, Aditi Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) University of Michigan alumni Obama administration personnel Biden administration personnel United States Department of the Treasury officials 21st-century American women civil servants American people of Indian descent American LGBT rights activists American women activists 21st-century American LGBT people American LGBT women