Gautam Raghavan


Gautam Raghavan was the Associate Director of Public Engagement under President Obama, acting as a liaison to both the LGBT and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities from 2011 to 2014. He has also worked for the Progressive Majority, the 2008 Obama campaign, the Democratic National Committee, the Gill Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense as the Outreach Lead for its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Working Group. Raghavan currently serves as a consultant for progressive organizations including the Biden Foundation and the Indian American Impact Project & Fund, the latter being an initiative that supports Indian Americans in politics. He is also the editor of the forthcoming book West Wingers: Stories from the Dream Chasers, Change Makers, and Hope Creators Inside the Obama White House, which includes personal accounts by eighteen Obama Administration staffers, to be published by Penguin Books on September 25, 2018.

Obama Administration

As the Associate Director of Public Engagement, Raghavan facilitated conversation on issues impacting both the LGBT and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, including marriage equality, workplace nondiscrimination, transgender rights, bullying prevention, immigration reform, hate violence, and access to health care. It was during Raghavan's tenure that President Obama spoke out in favor of marriage equality, and later signed an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Personal life

Raghavan was born in India and raised in Seattle. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 2004, and attended the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University from 2004 until 2006. Raghavan lives with his husband, Andy, and their daughter in Washington D.C.