NCTE Applauds Appointment of HHS White House Liaison Jaan Williams

Washington, DC - February 16, 2016 - The National Center for Transgender Equality congratulates Jaan Williams on his appointment to the position of White House Liaison at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, Williams will recruit, support and develop appointees for HHS in partnership with the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. NCTE commends HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell for appointing Williams to this position as the first out transgender person to serve as a White House Liaison for any government agency.

Before starting at HHS, Williams trained hundreds of LGBT leaders as the Director of Domestic Programs at the Victory Fund and Institute. Williams, who is originally from Joshua, Texas, has also held positions at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and NCTE. In 2013, he was named to the inaugural Trans100 list of transgender individuals working for the improvement of the transgender community in the United States.

The National Center for Transgender Equality is the nation's leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people. As a national social justice organization, NCTE is devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people.