Raffi Freedman-Gurspan (born May 3, 1987 in Intibucá, Honduras) is an Honduran American

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

rights activist and the first openly transgender person to work as a

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. ...

staffer. She was also the first openly transgender legislative staffer to work in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

. She served as director of external relations at the

National Center for Transgender Equality The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) is a nonprofit social equality organization founded in 2003 by transgender activist Mara Keisling in Washington, D.C. The organization works primarily in the areas of policy advocacy and medi ...

, based in Washington, DC. She is a longtime advocate and

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

specialist on matters concerning human rights, gender, and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

people.

Early life and education

Freedman-Gurspan was born to a

Lenca The Lenca or Lepawiran "people of the jaguar" are from present day southwest Honduras and eastern El Salvador in Central America. They once spoke many Dialects such as Chilanga, Putun, Kotik etc. Although there were different dialects, they under ...

family living in Intibucá,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

on May 3, 1987. The

are the indigenous people of western Honduras and eastern

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. Unable to be raised by her birth family, she was adopted as an infant by an

American Jewish American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...

couple and raised in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, where she attended the

Edward Devotion School The Florida Ruffin Ridley School, formerly known as the Coolidge Corner School and the Edward Devotion School or Devo, is a public K-8 school located at 345 Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of Public Schools ...

and

Brookline High School Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. It is a part of Public Schools of Brookline. The Headmaster is Anthony Meyer who holds a Master of Education in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard ...

. She said of her Jewish education in 2016: "My Jewish identity and family played an enormous role in shaping the individual I am today...Embracing diversity and understanding different perspectives was...a value I learned through Judaism...I believe this progressive Jewish upbringing, both at synagogue and at home, deeply impacted the path I took to work on public policy matters that affect the neediest in our society

As a teenager, she developed an interest in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, and went to

Skogfjorden Skogfjorden is a Norwegian language village and campsite affiliated with the Concordia Language Villages. It is located at the Concordia site at Turtle River Lake near Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. Skogfjorden is a village for language immer ...

, a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

language immersion Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making it ...

run by the Concordia Language Villages. She self-identifies as

and as

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Freedman-Gurspan received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and Norwegian with a Concentration in Nordic Studies from St. Olaf College in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

in 2009. During her junior year, she studied abroad at the

University of Oslo Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law ( no, Det juridiske fakultet) of the University of Oslo is Norway's oldest law faculty, established in 1811 as one of the four original faculties of The Royal Frederick University (renamed the University of Oslo in 1939) ...

where she took classes in

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

with a focus on

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

. She is a proficient Norwegian speaker.

Political career

After graduating from university in 2009, Freedman-Gurspan joined the

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition'' (MTPC) is an organization dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. The MTPC educates the public, lobbies state and local government, and encoura ...

(MTPC), where she worked on legislative and policy issues. Starting in May 2009, she worked as a Course and Research Assistant for

Boston University's Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. In January 2010, she was hired by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone of

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

to serve as the city's LGBT liaison. Through her work with the MTPC and as Somerville LGBT Liaison she met then-

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

State Representative

Carl Sciortino Carl Michael Sciortino Jr. ( ; born July 6, 1978) is an American politician serving as executive director of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts. A Democrat from Massachusetts, he represented the 34th Middlesex district in the Massachusett ...

, a Medford

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. At the time he was one of the lead sponsors on a bill in the state legislature that would expand state civil rights protections to transgender residents. In July 2011, Freedman-Gurspan join Sciortino's office as a

legislative aide A legislative assistant (LA) or legislative analyst is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer, a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the government relations and regulatory affairs industry by monitor ...

, becoming the first openly transgender legislative staffer in the

Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lo ...

. She played an instrumental role in helping Sciortino pass the transgender civil rights bill in November 2011, which was signed into law by then- Governor Deval Patrick in January 2012. Freedman-Gurspan worked as Sciortino's legislative director until he retired from the

in the spring of 2014. In July 2014, Freedman-Gurspan was hired as policy advisor at the

(NCTE) and moved to Washington, DC. There her work focused on issues facing transgender people of color and those living in poverty. Her work included criminal justice and incarceration reform, immigration detention conditions, housing and homeless shelter policies, and sustainable economic development opportunities for transgender people in the United States. On August 18, 2015, Freedman-Gurspan was hired by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

and

Recruitment Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the processes involved in choosing individual ...

Director in the

Presidential Personnel Office The White House Presidential Personnel Office (PPO, sometimes written as Office of Presidential Personnel) is the White House Office tasked with vetting new appointees. Its offices are on the first floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building ...

at the White House, becoming the first openly transgender person to work as a White House staffer. He subsequently appointed her as the White House’s primary LGBT liaison in 2016, making her the first openly transgender person in the role. She served in this role until January 6, 2017. On January 17, 2017, President Obama appointed her to a 5-year term as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the Board of Trustees of the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. On April 3, 2017, Freedman-Gurspan rejoined the National Center for Transgender Equality as its new director of external relations. In this role she led and enhanced NCTE's organizing and public education efforts, and supported the organization’s policy and communications programs. In May 2019, Freedman-Gurspan left NCTE to become Deputy Campaign Director for the All on the Line Campaign, a project with a mission to end

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

. In January 2022, Freedman-Gurspan was appointed by President Joe Biden to Deputy Director of Public Engagement at the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

, where she works on behalf of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigeig.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedman-Gurspan, Raffi Transgender rights activists Jewish American community activists Legislative staff White House Office Transgender women Transgender Jews LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Honduran LGBT people LGBT people from Massachusetts 1987 births People from Intibucá Department Lenca people American adoptees Honduran emigrants to the United States People from Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline High School alumni St. Olaf College alumni University of Oslo alumni American expatriates in Norway Honduran expatriates in Norway Living people 21st-century American Jews Honduran Jews Transgender history in the United States