Raffi Freedman-Gurspan

Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh! Blessed Samhain/Halloween - tonight the veil between this world and the next is thin. Samhain is also the traditional Celtic New Year, as winter in the old calendar begins on November 1st.🎃👻💀#Halloween #Samhain #Celtic #NewYear #Autumn #Winter

Just as coming out was about embracing my full self, so too is this new chapter.

Here’s to living authentically — in who we are, how we love, and how we navigate the world. 💜

I appreciate the love and support I have received from my parents, siblings, boyfriend, friends and colleagues who already know and have helped me transition to this new reality. 👩🏻‍🦯

I consider myself low vision, and I see this not as a setback but as another way I’ve adapted to move through life with clarity and confidence.

I am grateful that in June I received my cane as well as training through the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind so I could learn to maneuver the world with my new tool. It’s been a game changer.

In 2014, I made the hard but necessary decision to stop driving due a near accident that caused me to realize my vision was getting worse, and this past spring, in consultation with my doctors, I decided it is time for me to use an ID cane as I live with further reduced peripheral vision.

When I was born in Honduras 38 years ago, I was born prematurely by almost a month and at a very low birth weight, and my eyesight has never been the strongest because of it.

I also want to share another piece of my truth that has changed aspects of my life recently.

It may also come as a surprise to many of you.

🌈✨ On this National Coming Out Day, I celebrate living openly and authentically — out as an LGBTQ community member since 1999 and as a transgender woman since I transitioned in 2007.

Just as coming out was about embracing my full self, so too is this new chapter.

Here’s to living authentically — in who we are, how we love, and how we navigate the world. 💜

I appreciate the love and support I have received from my parents, siblings, boyfriend, friends and colleagues who already know and have helped me transition to this new reality. 👩🏻‍🦯

I consider myself low vision, and I see this not as a setback but as another way I’ve adapted to move through life with clarity and confidence.

I am grateful that in June I received my cane as well as training through the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind so I could learn to maneuver the world with my new tool. It’s been a game changer.

In 2014, I made the hard but necessary decision to stop driving due a near accident that caused me to realize my vision was getting worse, and this past spring, in consultation with my doctors, I decided it is time for me to use an ID cane as I live with further reduced peripheral vision.

When I was born in Honduras 38 years ago, I was born prematurely by almost a month and at a very low birth weight, and my eyesight has never been the strongest because of it.

I also want to share another piece of my truth that has changed aspects of my life recently.

It may also come as a surprise to many of you.

I remain hopeful that wisdom and compassion will ultimately prevail by Providence’s grace and that our collective story toward liberty and happiness shall be attained for the benefit of future generations. We cannot stop marching toward freedom.

While the world has changed since that time – in many respects for the better including for the transgender community – I know that today many diverse communities in the United States are facing unprecedented turbulence and persecution as a backlash to the progress we helped usher in a decade ago.

But most importantly, I served the nation and was proud to contribute in the small way that I did to American history and help open the door to future transgender political appointees at the White House and forthcoming Administrations.

For the next year, 4 months and 19 days I worked hard for President Obama including my final position as Senior Associate Director for Public Engagement responsible for LGBTQ outreach (i.e. “the LGBTQ Liaison). I made lasting friendships. I had incredible experiences. And, yes, I had a ton of fun.

Looking back, I realize how young I was in that moment and while I was somewhat prepared for the notoriety, I learned about the spotlight and the responsibility of being one of many voices representing communities that I belong to, especially the transgender American community on that day.

Public service is a great responsibility that I was taught at a young age as my mother had been a public servant for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and both my social worker parents instilled strong ethics around civic participation and compassion for all in the community.

I remember saying to my supervisor at the end of the day that indeed I was aware of the excitement around my appointment – friends alerted me that pop icon Ricky Martin had tweeted a congratulations to me! – but I understood first and foremost I was here to do a job and serve the American people.

Within minutes my phone was going off with calls, messages and well-wishing emails; by noon, it felt as if most of the building knew who I was by face recognition – whispers of “that’s her,” I heard as I went from meeting to meeting on my first day working for the President.

As soon as I literally got to the Eisenhower Executive Building and sat down, a news flash appeared on the TV screen that every White House office has somewhere on its wall, and behold my face was on the tube for all to see and the news of ‘making history’ was shared with the entire world.

We had thought that perhaps it would make a “splash” only in the LGBTQ news outlets and in progressive circles but otherwise wouldn’t make headlines. We were very much mistaken.

The leadership of NCTE and others in the #LGBTQ movement had recognized the significance of my political appointment, as I would be the first openly transgender person on staff at 1600 Penn, and had prepared embargoed press releases and statements in coordination with the White House.

I was nervous, excited and curious about what it would be like entering that building for the first time as a member of staff. I had been to the White House before as an advocate with the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), mainly for meetings and events.

On Tuesday August 18, 2015 I got up and got ready for my first day at the Presidential Personnel Office at the Obama-Biden Administration White House. I had worked in government positions before though this was my first experience with a federal level job. This time would be very different.

“We stand steadfast against any government, foreign or domestic, that would seek to reach into Massachusetts and impose their distorted views and laws on our residents."

The bill passed the House 136 to 23.