Biden appoints Indian Americans Gautam Raghavan, Vinay Reddy as additional members of White House senior staff
Dec 22, 2020
Washington [US], December 22 : US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday appointed Gautam Raghavan and Vinay Reddy to the post of Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel and Director of Speechwriting respectively.
The announcement was made when Biden declared the names of his Additional Members of White House Senior Staff. Besides, Raghavan and Reddy, Anne Filipic has been named as Director of Management and Administration, Ryan Montoya as Director of Scheduling and Advance, Bruce Reed as Deputy Chief of Staff, and Elizabeth Wilkins as Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff.
While announcing the names, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said, "Our country is grappling with a pandemic, an economic crisis, a long-overdue reckoning on racial injustice, and a climate crisis. To meet these challenges, we need a team that reflects the very best of our nation. These public servants have the knowledge and experience to help us deliver on our commitment to build our country back better. And I look forward to working with them to usher in a brighter future for all Americans."
Gautam Raghavan currently serves as Deputy Head of Presidential Appointments on the Biden-Harris Transition. He had earlier served as Chief of Staff to US Representative Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Previously, Raghavan served as an Advisor to the Biden Foundation, and as Vice President of Policy for the Gill Foundation, one of the oldest and largest private foundations dedicated to the cause of LGBTQ equality.
During the Obama-Biden Administration, Raghavan served in the White House as the liaison to the LGBTQ community as well as the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, and in the White House Liaison Office for the US Department of Defense and as Outreach Lead for the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Working Group.
Vinay Reddy serves as a speechwriter on the Biden-Harris Transition. He had earlier served as Senior Advisor and Speechwriter for the Biden-Harris Campaign. He previously served as chief speechwriter to Vice President Biden in the second term of the Obama-Biden White House, after which, he worked as Vice President of Strategic Communications at the National Basketball Association.
