Brian Bond discusses his service as deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (OPE) from 2009 to 2011 during the presidency of Barack Obama. In OPE, Bond was responsible for the management of relations between the Obama administration and the LGBTQ+ community, and he focuses on his engagement with relevant outside advocacy organizations during his years in the White House. Bond describes the issues around which advocacy groups were organized, remembers encounters with particular activists and organizations, and provides details about major policies, legislative initiatives, and efforts with which he was closely involved, including the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Defense of Marriage Act, the HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, the lifting of the HIV travel ban, and the Affordable Care Act. Bond also reflects on the diversity of personnel in the Obama White House and the representation of LGBTQ+ staff and officials, the support of key administration figures for LGBTQ+-related issues and the LGBTQ+ community, the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community at White House events and ceremonies, and the involvement of Joe and Jill Biden on LGBTQ+-related efforts. Also discussed are the White House's participation in the It Gets Better Project's campaign against teenage bullying, the movement for marriage equality, and the structure and activities of the administration's working group on LGBTQ+-issues, which worked to coordinate policy across federal departments and agencies
Presidents--United States; Hate crimes--Law and legislation--United States; Travel restrictions--United States; Bullying--Prevention--United States; Same-sex marriage--Law and legislation--United States; Gay rights--United States; Sexual minorities--Political activity--United States; Bond, Brian; Obama, Barack; United States; Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010; Defense of Marriage Act; Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
90 pages
Note (Biographical)
Brian Bond has an extensive career in politics in the LGBTQ+ movement, including as former executive director of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and, at the time of the interview, executive director of PFLAG. He served as a deputy director of public engagement in the President Obama's White House from 2009 to 2011. After leaving the White House, he moved to the Environmental Protection Agency as associate administrator for public engagement and environmental education. He joined PFLAG in 2014
Note
Interviewed by Michael Falco on September 11 and December 11, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Brian K. Bond, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022