Gautam Raghavan discusses his contributions to the domestic and military policies of the Obama administration, in which he served as the White House liaison for the Department of Defense from 2009 to 2011 and associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (OPE) from 2011 to 2014. In both the Department of Defense and the White House, Raghavan served as a liaison between the gover nment and LGBTQ communities, and he outlines the importance of meetings and connections with LGBTQ advocacy organizations to the development and implementation of relevant policy initiatives. Raghavan provides details about several of these initiatives with which he was closely involved, including the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the White House's support for marriage equality, and the impacts of the healthcare reform effort on the LGBTQ community. Also discussed are OPE's efforts to expand access to the White House for members of historically-underrepresented communities, the importance in shifts in public opinion on LGBTQ issues over the course of the Obama presidency, the diversification of cultural celebrations held at the White House, and the administration's response to the shooting at the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in August 2012
Same-sex marriage--Law and legislation--United States; Gay rights--United States; Presidents--United States; Health care reform--United States; Raghavan, Gautam; Obama, Barack; White House (Washington, D.C.) Staff; United States; Department of Defense; Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
71 pages
Note (Biographical)
Gautam Raghavan is a political advisor who served as White House liaison for the U.S. Department of Defense from 2009 to 2011, and then as associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement from 2011 to 2014. From 2018 to 2020, Raghavan was the chief of staff for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. In June 2020, he was selected to serve on the Biden-Harris transition team, and was later appointed director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office by President Biden
Note
Interviewed by Michael Falco on October 30, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Gautam Raghavan, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022