doi:10.7916/6628-fv33Oral history interview with Aditi S. Hardikar, 2020Hardikar, Aditioral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesSexual minority community--United StatesSame-sex marriage--Law and legislation--United StatesPresidential campaigns--United StatesGender-neutral toilet facilities--United StatesSexual reorientation programs--United StatesHardikar, AditiObama, BarackObama, Michelle, 1964-Aditi Hardikar reflects on the relationship between the LGBTQ community and the Obama administration, which she supported through her work on the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, and in the White House as the associate director of public engagement in the Office of Public Engagement (OPE) from 2014 to 2016, where she was the administration's primary liaison to the LGBTQ and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Hardikar describes OPE's maintenance of relationships with outside advocacy organizations, day-to-day engagement activities, and facilitation of encounters between the White House and ordinary people. She also provides details about events and initiatives with which she was closely involved, including the rainbow lighting of the White House in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the administration's response to a petition calling for the banning of conversion therapy submitted through the White House's "We the People" platform, the White House's pride receptions, and the LGBTQ criminal justice roundtable. Also discussed are Hardikar's experience observing Obama's rise to national political prominence as an undergraduate, her LGBT fundraising activities during the 2012 campaign, Michelle Obama's roundtable discussions with queer women of color during the 2012 campaign, and the introduction of gender inclusive restrooms in the White House